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CP System
File:Cps1 board.gif
CP System
Manufacturer Capcom
Release Date July 1988 (1988-07)
Input 8-way arcade joystick,
3 to 6 buttons
CPU Main: 68000 @ 10 MHz
Display Raster,
horizontal orientation,
384×224 resolution,
60 Hz refresh rate,
3072-4096 out of 65,536 colors
Sound Sound CPU:
Z80 @ 3.579545 MHz
Sound chips:
YM2151 @ 3.579545 MHz,
MSM6295 @ 7.576 MHz

The CP System (CPシステム Shīpī Shisutemu?) or CPS-1 is an arcade system board developed by Capcom which was first used by the 1988 game Forgotten Worlds. The first three games in Capcom's Street Fighter II series, The World Warrior, Champion Edition, and Turbo: Hyper Fighting, all ran on this board. More than two dozen arcade titles were released for CPS-1, before Capcom shifted game development over to its successor, the CPS-2.

Technical specifications[ | ]

  • CPU:
    • Primary: Motorola 68000 @ 10–12 MHz (16/32-bit CISC instructions @ 1.75–2.1 MIPS[1])
    • Secondary: Zilog Z80 (8/16-bit) @ 3.579 MHz (8/16-bit instructions @ 0.52 MIPS[1])
  • Sound chips:[2]
    • Yamaha YM2151 @ 3.579545 MHz: 8 FM synthesis channels
    • Oki MSM6295 @ 7.576 MHz: Stereo,[3] 4 ADPCM channels, 4-bit ADPCM (8-bit PCM) depth, 32 kHz sampling rate[4]
  • GPU chipset: Capcom CPS-A & CPS-B[5] @ 16 MHz[6]
  • Display:
    • Monitor: Raster, progressive scan, rotation support[7]
    • Resolution:
      • Horizontal orientation: 384×224 (active), 512×256[7] to 518×259[6] pixels (overscan)
      • Vertical orientation: 224×384 (active), 256×512[7] to 259×518[6] pixels (overscan)
    • Refresh rate: 59.6 Hz,[3] 59.61 Hz,[6] 59.6294 Hz[7]
    • Color depth: 12-bit RGB with 4-bit brightness value
    • Color palette available: 65,536[3] (4096 unique with 16 brightness levels each)[5]
    • On-screen colors: 3072[6] (192 global palettes[5] with 16 colors each) to 4096[3]
  • Sprites:
    • Simultaneously displayable: 256[8] (per scanline)
    • Sprite size: 16×16[5] to 256×256[8]
    • Colors per sprite: 16 (15 unique + 1 transparent)
    • Sprite capabilities: Vertical & horizontal flipping, sprite buffering, double buffering[8]
    • Sprite texels: 16 MHz video clock cycles,[6] 268,324 (59.6294 Hz) to 268,456 (59.6 Hz) pixels per frame, 1036 to 1048 sprite texels per scanline
  • Background planes:
    • Tilemaps: 3 tile layers
    • Bitmaps: 2 starfield layers[5]
      • Bitmap capabilities: Scrolling,[5] parallax scrolling
  • RAM: 466 KB (64 KB main, 384 KB video, 16 KB cache, 2 KB sound)
    • 68000: 64 KB work RAM + 192 KB VRAM (shadow)
    • PPU: 192 KB VRAM + 16 KB cache RAM
    • Z80: 2 KB work RAM

History[ | ]

After a number of arcade game boards designed to run only one game, Capcom embarked upon a project to produce a system board that could be used to run multiple games, in order to reduce hardware costs and make the system more appealing to arcade operators.

The system was plagued by many bootleg versions of its games. In particular, there were so many bootleg versions of Street Fighter II, that they were more common in some countries than the official version. This problem was virtually eliminated by Capcom in the later CP System II.

The CP System hardware was also utilized in Capcom's unsuccessful attempt at home console market penetration, the CPS Changer (Capcom's answer to the Neo Geo AES).

File:CPS1 CPU.jpg

CP System's 10 MHz 68000 CPU and graphics IC

List of games[ | ]

Release date Developer English title Japanese title Genre
1988-07 Capcom Forgotten Worlds Lost Worlds
(ロストワールド)
Shoot 'em up
1988-12 Capcom Ghouls 'n Ghosts Daimakaimura
(大魔界村)
Platformer
1989-03 Capcom Strider Strider Hiryū
(ストライダー飛竜)
Platformer
1989-04 Capcom Dynasty Wars Tenchi o Kurau
(天地を喰らう)
Beat 'em up
1989-06 Capcom Willow Willow
(ウィロー)
Platformer
1989-08 Capcom U.N. Squadron Area 88
(エリア88)
Shoot 'em up
1989-12 Capcom Final Fight Final Fight
(ファイナルファイト)
Beat 'em up
1990-02 Capcom 1941: Counter Attack 1941
(1941)
Shoot 'em up
1990-03-02 Capcom Mercs Senjō no Ōkami II
(戦場の狼Ⅱ)
Run and gun
1990-06-19 Capcom Mega Twins Chiki Chiki Boys
(チキチキボーイズ)
Platformer
1990-06-23 Capcom Magic Sword - Heroic Fantasy Magic Sword
(マジックソード)
Platformer
1990-10-09 Capcom Carrier Air Wing U.S. Navy
(U.S.NAVY)
Shoot 'em up
1990-11-20 Capcom Nemo Nemo
(ニモ)
Beat 'em up
1991-02-06 Capcom Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
(ストリートファイターⅡ -The World Warrior-)
Head-to-Head Fighting Game
1991-05-20 Capcom Three Wonders Wonder 3
(ワンダー3)
Multigame
1991-07-11 Capcom The King of Dragons The King of Dragons
(ザ・キングオブドラゴンズ)
Beat 'em up
1991-09-28 Capcom Captain Commando Captain Commando
(キャプテンコマンドー)
Beat 'em up
1991-11-27 Capcom Knights of the Round Knights of the Round
(ナイツオブザラウンド)
Beat 'em up
1992-03-13 Capcom Street Fighter II': Champion Edition Street Fighter II′ (Dash): Champion Edition
(ストリートファイターⅡダッシュ -Champion Edition-)
Head-to-Head Fighting Game
1992-06-11 Capcom Capcom World 2: Adventure Quiz Adventure Quiz Capcom World 2
(アドベンチャークイズカプコンワールド2)
Quiz game
1992-06-12 Capcom Varth: Operation Thunderstorm Varth: Operation Thunderstorm
(バース -オペレーションサンダーストーム-)
Shoot 'em up
1992-07-01 Capcom Quiz & Dragons: Capcom Quiz Game Quiz & Dragons
(クイズ&ドラゴンズ)
Quiz game
1992-12-09 Capcom Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting Street Fighter II′ (Dash) Turbo: Hyper Fighting
(ストリートファイターⅡダッシュターボ -Hyper Fighting-)
Head-to-Head Fighting Game
1994 Capcom/Togo/Sigma Ken Sei Mogura Ken Sei Mogura
(拳聖土竜)
Whack a mole
1994-06-08 Compile Pnickies Pnickies
(ぷにっきいず)
Puzzle game
1995-01-23 Capcom Quiz Tonosama no Yabō 2: Zenkoku-ban Quiz Tonosama no Yabō 2: Zenkoku-ban
(クイズ 殿様の野望2 全国版)
Quiz game
1995-05-11 Mitchell Buster Buddies Pang! 3 -Kaitōtachi no kareina gogo-
(パン!3 -怪盗たちの華麗な午後-)
Platformer
1995-09-22 Capcom Mega Man: The Power Battle Rockman: The Power Battle
(ロックマン ザ・パワーバトル)
Platformer

CP System Dash[ | ]

CP System Dash
File:CPS 1.5 board.gif
CPS-1.5
Manufacturer Capcom
Release Date December 1992 (1992-12)
Input 8-way arcade joystick,
3 to 6 buttons
CPU Main: 68000 @ 10 MHz
Display Raster,
horizontal orientation,
384×224 resolution,
60 Hz refresh rate,
3072-4096 out of 65,536 colors
Sound Sound CPU:
"Kabuki" Z80 @ 8 MHz
Sound chip:
Q-Sound @ 4 MHz

A year before releasing the CP System II, Capcom released an enhanced version of the original CP System dubbed the CP System Dash, which released in December 1992 and had some features that would later be used in the CP System II, such as the Q-Sound chips.

The CP System Dash boards have four interlocking PCBs and are contained in gray plastic boxes. To combat piracy, "suicide batteries" were implemented, which power the volatile RAM which contained the ROM decryption tables. If the batteries' voltage should drop below +2V, or if an attempt was made to dump the encryption codes, the decryption algorithms stored in RAM would be lost, and the CPU would no longer have valid code to execute, rendering the game inoperable, and necessitating the operator sending the board to Capcom to be fixed, at his own expense. Unlike the CP System II, CP System Dash sound ROMs were encrypted using "Kabuki" Z80s.

Technical specifications[ | ]

  • Input:
  • CPU:
    • Main CPU: 68000 @ 10 MHz
    • Sound CPU: "Kabuki" Z80 @ 8 MHz
  • Sound chip: Q-Sound @ 4 MHz
  • Display:

List of games[ | ]

Release date Developer English title Japanese title Genre
1992-10-02 Capcom Warriors of Fate
Sangokushi II (Asia)
Tenchi o Kurau II: Sekiheki no Tatakai
(天地を喰らう2・赤壁の戦い)
Beat 'em up
1993-02-01 Capcom Cadillacs and Dinosaurs Cadillacs Kyōryū Shinseiki
(キャディラックス 恐竜新世紀)
Beat 'em up
1993-04-22 Capcom The Punisher The Punisher
(パニッシャー)
Beat 'em up
1993-07-13 Capcom Saturday Night Slam Masters Muscle Bomber: The Body Explosion
(マッスルボマー -The Body Explosion-)
Sports game
1993-12-06 Capcom Muscle Bomber Duo: Ultimate Team Battle Muscle Bomber Duo: Heat Up Warriors
(マッスルボマーDUO -Heat Up Warriors-)
Sports game

Capcom Power System Changer[ | ]

A home version of the CP System, the Capcom Power System Changer was released in 1994. Capcom released the CPS Changer as an attempt to sell their arcade games in a home-friendly format. The CPS Changer adapter was basically an encased SuperGun (Television JAMMA adapter), and was compatible with most JAMMA standard PCBs. Capcom's "protection" against people using the CPS Changer on other arcade boards was the physical shape of the device. On a normal JAMMA PCB it would not attach firmly and tended to lean at odd angles, but it would work. The CPS Changer has outputs for composite video, S-video and line-level mono audio.

The CPS Changer featured an adapter that allowed the user to plug in the "CPS Fighter", a joystick controller Capcom originally released for the Super Famicom (and later the Mega Drive) when they released the Super Famicom version of Street Fighter II in 1992.

All of the CPS Changer games were based on the CPS arcade hardware. The CPS Changer games were simply arcade PCBs in a special plastic shell suitable for home use. This concept was later re-used in the CP System II hardware. Some CPS1 games were changed slightly for home release, sometimes including debugging features or other easter eggs[citation needed].

The CPS Changer was sold as a package deal of the console itself, one CPS Fighter joystick controller, and the Street Fighter II ′ (Dash) Turbo game for 39,800 yen. Additional games were sold for about 20,000 yen.

The final game for the CPS Changer was a back-ported version of Street Fighter Zero. Originally released on the CP System II hardware, this special CPS Changer version, released at a premium 35,000 yen, was degraded slightly for the older hardware: it had fewer frames of animation for the game characters, fewer onscreen colors, and the sound and music effects were sampled at a lower rate.

List of games[ | ]

Release date Developer English title Japanese title Genre
1994 Capcom Capcom World 2: Adventure Quiz Adventure Quiz Capcom World 2
(アドベンチャークイズカプコンワールド2)
Quiz game
1995 Capcom Captain Commando Captain Commando
(キャプテンコマンドー)
Beat 'em up
1994 Capcom Final Fight Final Fight
(ファイナルファイト)
Beat 'em up
1995 Capcom Knights of the Round Knights of the Round
(ナイツオブザラウンド)
Beat 'em up
1995 Capcom Muscle Bomber Duo: Ultimate Team Battle Muscle Bomber Duo: Heat Up Warriors
(マッスルボマーDUO -Heat Up Warriors-)
Sports game
1994 Capcom Saturday Night Slam Masters Muscle Bomber: The Body Explosion
(マッスルボマー -The Body Explosion-)
Sports game
1994 Capcom Street Fighter II': Champion Edition Street Fighter II Dash: Champion Edition
(ストリートファイターⅡダッシュ -Champion Edition-)
Versus Fighting
1994, pack-in Capcom Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting Street Fighter II Dash Turbo: Hyper Fighting
(ストリートファイターⅡダッシュターボ -Hyper Fighting-)
Versus Fighting
1996 Capcom Street Fighter Alpha Street Fighter Zero
(ストリートファイターZERO)
Versus Fighting
1995 Capcom The King of Dragons The King of Dragons
(ザ・キングオブドラゴンズ)
Beat 'em up
1992-10-02 Capcom Warriors of Fate
Sangokushi II (Asia)
Tenchi o Kurau II: Sekiheki no Tatakai
(天地を喰らう2・赤壁の戦い)
Beat 'em up

See also[ | ]

References[ | ]

External links[ | ]

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