CPS Changer, the first and last Capcom console
Capcom makes videogames all along, and there are no doubts about the fact that the company is particularly good at it. But there was a time, around the half of the Nineties, when the award-winning Japanese producer tried to enter the hardware market too, during the fourth generation of consoles when Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo shared the domestic market while the others were watching.
Capcom branded home console attempt is called CPS Changer (Capcom Power System Changer), and as the name suggests is based on the popular arcade board CP System also known as CPS-1, the first generation of one of the most important videogaming platforms for the Nineties and in general, just to understand the one on which run historic cornerstones like Ghouls’n Ghosts (and I am the “King of Ghouls’n Ghosts“ :-P), Strider, Final Fight, Three Wonders, Street Fighter II, Mega Man, Magic Sword (Heroic Fantasy) and so on.
Marketed in 1994 and abandoned soon after because of the poor sales results, the CPS Changer has resurfaced from memories on the Capcom’s discussion board, where in the past days a user asked if the software house had ever thought of making its own console. “In the 90s“, answered company’s Strategic Planning & Business Development section vice president Christian Svensson, “there was a very small run of Capcom hardware that were effectively based on the CPS2 system. It ran CPS2 ROMs and was meant to compete with the Neo Geo“.
Obviously Svensson is incorrect when he talks about CPS-2 because, as already said, the CPS Changer is based on the first generation of the CP System rather than on the second one, nevertheless his statement confirms that Capcom had tried to mimic the SNK effort that with the Neo Geo console offered a system capable of running in a domestic environment the same games designed for the arcade market. CPS titles weren’t anything but arcade boards contained in a plastic envelope, and the “console” itself behaved like an adapter between the boards’ JAMMA interface, two SNES-compatible ports for as much joysticks and the audiovisual output in s-video or composite video format.
CPS Changer home adventure lasted only two years, and the games released for the system will end up being about a third of those released in arcade edition. Pretty oddly, Capcom decided to reward the console (very few) fans’ love by delivering, as the last game, a special version of Street Fighter Alpha/Zero backported from the more powerful CPS-2 system.
Thereafter, as Svensson himself confirms, the Japanese firm has always been “a content company, not a hardware company“. A company involved in bringing some of the best titles available on the major modern videogaming platforms including the computer. This last one is considered by Capcom as a strategic format to sustain actively even through PC Gaming Alliance, the non-profit pro-PC supporters organization that just recently added the Japanese software house to its members’ list.
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5 Responses to “CPS Changer, the first and last Capcom console”
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Don’t take this the wrong way, but work on your English. This article was extremely confusing because of your awkward, fluff-filled English. I would encourage you to take a formal class in the English language at a local community college or university to improve your command of the language.
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You’re right, English isn’t my mother tongue so I have to “translate” my thoughts (which are in Italian) into it before writing on the blog.
The fact is, or better still part of the problem is even though I’ve studied English since my early days in school I still write in Italian first here on the blog, then I translate my posts in English.
And the two languages, Italian and English, tend to be very different in many cases so the translation isn’t always good. Anyway my last translated-posts should be a lot better, and I’m trying to improve day by day
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Actually, there’s nothing wrong with your writing. It’s not “fluff-filled,” but nor is it dumbed-down to meet the needs of the average Internet user. The first comment was probably written by someone who wanted something a bit simpler.
In fact, your level of writing is rather high, particularly your usage of punctuation (you don’t make mistakes that are frequently made by Americans and Brits, for example).
My advice to you is to continue on the same path while developing your writing abilities, and to remain sensitive to the fact that some of the people you are writing for are not going to be as smart as you. It is, sadly, that simple.
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Your advice is very much appreciated
The fact is: I write “professionally” in Italian for some years now, but I try to always having clear in my mind that my mastery of the Italian language is way beyond what I could possibly achieve with English/American without spending some time (years?) in UK/USA….
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I disagree. You are already beyond the level at which extensive English exposure would take you to a new level (though it would of course be helpful!).
Speaking English and writing English are separate skills.
Just make your sentences shorter. Honestly, that will take care of 90% of any issues native English speakers have with your articles, including (probably) the previous poster.
By the way, I teach English to non-natives for a living. And I have a background in professional writing (journalism only) myself. Gaming is a hobby.
These are my opinions.
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