It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Cassette Vision

November 25, 2024 4:04 AM

The Epoch Cassette Vision was a moderate success. But in 1983, that all ended, when Nintendo and Sega released new consoles, which had more advanced hardware that allowed for better graphics and games stored on ROM. Epoch went from dominating the cartridge-based game market in Japan to a distant third practically overnight. But it’s not like they were unaware of the issue with the µPD777 they had tied themselves to. In 1984, Epoch launched their last, best hope at regaining their video game success. Imagine, if you will, a cassette vision: but super.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs (5 comments total)

super!
posted by HearHere at 6:27 AM on November 25, 2024 [1 favorite]

Nice articles, but I'm struggling to understand what the µPD777 is. A microprocessor? Microcontroller? Weird glob of logic like those early AY TV game chips?

I promise not to set my RCA Studio II-obsessed friends on this website.
posted by scruss at 9:48 AM on November 25, 2024 [1 favorite]

The µPD777 was, I'm pretty sure, the first, non-Super, version of the Cassette Vision, the Atari 2600-era machine that had come in the lead during the early Japanese console wars. Its library was examined by Jeremy Parish in some Youtube videos: Baseball, Galaxian & Big Sports, Battle Vader, New Baseball & PakPak Monster, Monster Mansion & Astro Command, and Monster Block & Elevator Panic. Jeremy's also done at least one episode on the Super Cassette Vision.
posted by JHarris at 12:44 PM on November 25, 2024 [1 favorite]

but it's a chip: see pictures of the µPD774C in boards
posted by scruss at 3:50 PM on November 25, 2024

Ah I got it now, I followed only one of the links (the second one) when I first perused this post. I think the µPD777 was a system on a chip design, but as a microprocessor, with the program code (but not the graphics) on die, within the chip. Each game would require is own separate version with custom program code. That would mean no processor in the console itself. I'm not certain though.
posted by JHarris at 6:59 PM on November 25, 2024