# Namco System 11 and System 12

The Namco System 11 is a 32-bit arcade system board developed jointly by Namco and Sony Computer Entertainment. Released in 1994, the System 11 is based on a prototype of the PlayStation, Sony's first home video game console, using a 512 KB operating system and several custom processors. The Namco System 12 is an upgraded version of the System 11 that was released in 1996, featuring faster processing power.

## History

Namco's research managing director Shegeichi Nakamura met with Sony Computer Entertainment head Ken Kutaragi in 1993 to discuss the preliminary PlayStation specifications, with Namco subsequently developing the System 11 arcade board based on PlayStation hardware and Tekken as their answer to Sega's popular Virtua Fighter. Tekken was initially planned for the Namco System 22, after Namco heard Sega was developing Virtua Fighter 2 for their new Sega Model 2 board, before the development of Tekken was later moved to the System 11 after the meeting with Kutaragi. Tekken was the first game to use the System 11, and was initially released for arcades in September 1994, several months before the PlayStation's Japanese release in December 1994.
Although the System 11 was technically inferior to the Sega Model 2 arcade board, its lower price made it an attractive prospect for smaller arcades. According to the June 1995 issue of Edge:
   Namco took a significant risk in basing its Tekken coin-op on raw PlayStation hardware, considering that it would be competing directly with Sega's Model 2-powered Virtua Fighter 2 ... For once, a home system can boast an identical conversion of a cutting-edge coin-op ... Namco's research section managing director, Shegeichi Nakamura ... explains: "When Sony came along we decided to go for a low-cost system—in short, we've left the big arcade stores to Sega and VF2 and Tekken has been sold to smaller arcade centres" ... Namco has a further four titles planned for System 11, all of which are likely to make the jump to the PlayStation.
Namco System 12 was developed using the same basic configuration as System 11 but with the CPU operating frequency increased 1.5 times and higher memory capacity. This board was first publicly used for Tekken 3 released in March 1997.

## Technical specifications

* Main CPU: MIPS R3000A 32-bit RISC processor @ 33.8688 MHz (System 11) or @ 48 MHz (System 12), Operating performance - 30 MIPS, Instruction Cache - 4KB
* BUS: 132 MB/s.
* OS ROM: 512 KB
* Sound CPU: Namco C76 (Mitsubishi M37702)
* Sound chip: Namco C352
* Main RAM: 2 MB
* Video VRAM: 2 MB
* Sound RAM: 512 kB
* Graphical Processor: 360,000 polygons/s, sprite/BG drawing, adjustable framebuffer, No line restriction, 4,000 8x8 pixel sprites with individual scaling and rotation, simultaneous backgrounds (parallax scrolling)
* Sprite Effects: Rotation, Scaling up/down, Warping, Transparency, Fading, Priority, Vertical and Horizontal Line Scroll
* Resolution: 256x224 - 640x480
* Colors: 16.7 million colors, Unlimited CLUTs (Color Look-Up Tables)
* Other Features: custom geometry engine, custom polygon engine, MJPEG decoder

## Games

List of Namco System 11 games :
| Year | Title | Genre |
| 1994 | Tekken | Fighting |
| 1995 | Tekken 2 | Fighting |
| 1995 | Tekken 2 Ver.β | Fighting |
| 1995 | Soul Edge | Fighting |
| 1996 | Dunk Mania | Sports |
| 1996 | Xevious 3D/G | Vertical-scrolling shooter |
| 1996 | Dancing Eyes | Puzzle |
| 1996 | Soul Edge Ver. II | Fighting |
| 1996 | J-League Soccer: Prime Goal EX | Sports |
| 1997 | Star Sweep | Sports |
| 1997 | Pocket Racer | Racing |
| 1998 | Point Blank 2 | Lightgun shooter |
| 1998 | Family Bowl | Sports |
| 1998 | Kosodate Quiz My Angel 3: My Little Pet | Quiz |
List of Namco System 12 games :
| Year | Title | Genre |
| 1997 | Tekken 3 | Fighting |
| 1997 | LiberoGrande | Sports |
| 1998 | Soulcalibur | Fighting |
| 1998 | Techno Drive | Driving simulator |
| 1998 | Super World Stadium '98 | Sports |
| 1998 | Fighting Layer | Fighting |
| 1998 | Derby Quiz: My Dream Horse | Quiz |
| 1998 | Tenkomori Shooting | Vertical-scrolling shooter |
| 1999 | Tekken Tag Tournament | Fighting |
| 1999 | Mr. Driller | Puzzle |
| 1999 | Aqua Rush | Puzzle |
| 1999 | Golgo 13 | Lightgun shooter |
| 1999 | Super World Stadium '99 | Sports |
| 1999 | Ghoul Panic | Lightgun shooter |
| 1999 | Um Jammer Lammy NOW! | Rhythm |
| 1999 | Kaiun Quiz | Quiz |
| 2000 | Golgo 13 Kiseki no Dandou | Lightgun shooter |
| 2000 | Point Blank 3 | Lightgun shooter |
| 2000 | Super World Stadium 2000 | Sports |
| 2000 | Truck Kyosokyoku | Driving simulator |
| 2001 | Golgo 13 Juusei no Requiem | Lightgun shooter |
| 2001 | Super World Stadium 2001 | Sports |