CP System

Short description: Arcade system board developed by Capcom

CP SystemManufacturer| Capcom

|

Type| Arcade system board
Release date| May 13, 1988 (1988-05-13)
Discontinued| May 11, 1995 (1995-05-11)
CPU| Motorola 68000 (@ 10 MHz)
Display| Raster, 384 × 224 pixels (horizontal), 4096 colors
Input| 8-way joystick, from 3 to 6 buttons
Successor| CP System II

The CP System (CPシステム, CP shisutemu), also known as Capcom Play System[1] or CPS for short (and retroactively as CPS-1), is an arcade system board developed by Capcom that ran game software stored on removable daughterboards. More than two dozen arcade titles were released for CPS-1, before Capcom shifted game development over to its successor, the CP System II. Technical support for the CPS-1 ended on March 31, 2015.[2]

The CP System is best known for its many beat 'em up titles such as Dynasty Wars, Final Fight, The King of Dragons, Captain Commando, Knights of the Round, Warriors of Fate, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, and The Punisher, as well as fighting games such as Street Fighter II and Muscle Bomber.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Technical specifications
* 3 List of games (32 games)
* 4 CP System Dash
* 4.1 List of games (5 games)
* 5 Capcom Power System Changer
* 5.1 List of games (11 games)
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## 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.

Capcom began developing the CPS hardware around 1986, when Capcom president Kenzo Tsujimoto came up with the concept inspired by the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). He saw the rise of home video games as competition for the arcades, so said the "only way we can make money is to give people twice what they can get at home".[3]

Capcom developed the CPS hardware for about two-and-a-half years, during which time they developed two custom microchips that they called the CPS Super Chips, equivalent to the power of ten normal arcade printed circuit boards (PCBs) at the time.[4][5] The two chips cost £5,500,000 or $Expression error: Unexpected < operator. (equivalent to $Error when using {{Inflation}}: NaN, check parameters for non-numeric data: `|value=Expression error: Unexpected < operator.` (parameter 2). in 2024) to develop.[4]

The CP System hardware was also utilized in Capcom's unsuccessful attempt at home console market penetration, the Capcom Power System Changer (or CPS Changer), a domestic version of the CP System similar to the Neo Geo AES.

Capcom ceased production of the CP System hardware on May 11, 1995; however, new software continued to be released for the hardware as late as 2000. Capcom ended technical support for the CP System hardware and its games on March 31, 2015.[2]

## Technical specifications

CP System's 10 MHz 68000 CPU and graphics IC

* CPU:
* Primary: Motorola 68000 @ 10 MHz (some later boards 12 MHz)
* Secondary: Zilog Z80 @ 3.579 MHz
* Co-processors: 2x CPS Super Chip[4][5][6]
* Sound chips:
* Yamaha YM2151 @ 3.579 MHz
* Oki OKI6295 @ 1 MHz (7.576 kHz samples)
* Display
* Resolution: Raster, 384×224 @ 59.6294 Hz
* Color depth: 16-bit (12-bit RGB with 4-bit brightness value)
* Colors available: 65,536[7]
* Onscreen colors: 4096[7] (192 global palettes with 16 colors each)
* Sprites:
* Simultaneously displayable: 256 (per scanlines)
* Sizes: 16×16, max. 16 colors (15 unique + 1 transparent)
* Vertical and horizontal flipping capability
* Tiles: Sizes 8×8, 16×16, 32×32 with 16 colors (15 unique + 1 transparent)
* Tile maps: 3 maps, 512×512, 1024×1024, 2048×2048 pixel
* 68000 RAM: 64 KB WORK RAM + 192 KB VRAM (Shadow)
* PPU: 192 KB VRAM + 16 KB CACHE RAM
* Z80 RAM: 2 KB WORK RAM

## List of games (32 games)

English title  | Release date  | Developer  | Japanese title  | Genre

|
|
|
|

Forgotten Worlds | May 13, 1988  | Capcom | Lost Worlds
(ロストワールド)  | Shoot 'em up
Ghouls'n Ghosts | December 1988  | Capcom | Daimakaimura
(大魔界村)  | Platform
Strider | March 1989  | Capcom | Strider Hiryū
(ストライダー飛竜)  | Platformer
Dynasty Wars | April 1989  | Capcom | Tenchi o Kurau
(天地を喰らう)  | Beat 'em up
Willow | June 1989  | Capcom | Willow
(ウィロー)  | Platform
U.N. Squadron | August 1989  | Capcom | Area 88
(エリア88)  | Shoot 'em up
Final Fight | December 1, 1989  | Capcom | Final Fight
(ファイナルファイト)  | Beat 'em up
1941: Counter Attack | February 1990  | Capcom | 1941
(1941)  | Shoot 'em up
Mercs | March 2, 1990  | Capcom | Senjō no Ōkami II
(戦場の狼II)  | Run and gun
Mega Twins | June 19, 1990  | Capcom | Chiki Chiki Boys
(チキチキボーイズ)  | Platform
Magic Sword - Heroic Fantasy | June 23, 1990  | Capcom | Magic Sword
(マジックソード)  | Platform
Carrier Air Wing | October 9, 1990  | Capcom | U.S. Navy
(U.S.NAVY)  | Shoot 'em up
Nemo | November 20, 1990  | Capcom | Nemo
(ニモ)  | Platformer
Software:Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | February 6, 1991  | Capcom | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
(ストリートファイターII -The World Warrior-)  | Head-to-head fighting
Three Wonders | May 20, 1991  | Capcom | Wonder 3
(ワンダー3)  | Multi-game
The King of Dragons | July 11, 1991  | Capcom | The King of Dragons
(ザ・キングオブドラゴンズ)  | Beat 'em up
Captain Commando | September 28, 1991  | Capcom | Captain Commando
(キャプテンコマンドー)  | Beat 'em up
Knights of the Round | November 27, 1991  | Capcom | Knights of the Round
(ナイツオブザラウンド)  | Beat 'em up
Software:Street Fighter II: Champion Edition | March 13, 1992  | Capcom | 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
Adventure Quiz: Capcom World 2 | June 11, 1992  | Capcom | 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
Software:Varth: Operation Thunderstorm | June 12, 1992  | Capcom | Varth: Operation Thunderstorm
(バース -オペレーションサンダーストーム-)  | Shoot 'em up
Software:Quiz & Dragons: Capcom Quiz Game | July 1, 1992  | Capcom | Quiz & Dragons
(クイズ&ドラゴンズ)  | Quiz game
Software:Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting | December 9, 1992  | Capcom | 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
Pokonyan! Balloon | March 22, 1994  | Capcom | Pokonyan! Balloon
(ポコニャン！バルーン)  | Kiddie ride
Ken Sei Mogura: Street Fighter II | April 18, 1994  | Capcom/Togo/Sigma  | Ken Sei Mogura
(拳聖土竜)  | Whack a mole
Pnickies[8] | June 8, 1994  | Capcom/Compile | Pnickies
(ぷにっきいず)  | Puzzle
Quiz Tonosama no Yabō 2: Zenkoku-ban | January 23, 1995  | Capcom | Quiz Tonosama no Yabō 2: Zenkoku-ban
(クイズ 殿様の野望2 全国版)  | Quiz game
Pang! 3 | May 11, 1995  | Capcom/Mitchell Corporation |  | Platformer
Software:Mega Man: The Power Battle
(CPS-1 version)  | October 6, 1995  | Capcom | Rockman: The Power Battle
(ロックマン ザ・パワーバトル)  | Action
Magical Pumpkin | October 31, 1995  | Capcom | Magical Pumpkin
(マジカルパンプキン)  | Kiddie ride
Ganbare! Marine Kun | April 11, 2000  | Capcom | Ganbare! Marine Kun
(がんばれ!マリン君)  | Redemption
Gulun.Pa! | Unreleased  | Capcom | Gulun.Pa!
(グルンパ!)  | Puzzle

## CP System Dash

CP System Dash

A CPS-1.5 board

Manufacturer| Capcom
Type| Arcade system board
Release date| February 1, 1992 (1992-02-01)
Discontinued| December 6, 1993 (1993-12-06)
CPU| Motorola 68000 (@ 10 MHz)
Display| Raster, 384 × 224 pixels (horizontal), 3072 colors
Sound| Sound CPU: "Kabuki" Z80 (@ 8 MHz)
Q-Sound (@ 4 MHz)
Input| 8-way joystick, from 3 to 6 buttons

A year before releasing the CP System II, Capcom released an enhanced version of the original CP System dubbed the CP System Dash, which had some features that would later be used in the CP System II, such as the QSound chips. The CP System Dash boards have four interlocking PCBs contained in gray plastic boxes; this concept of enclosing arcade PCBs in a special plastic enclosure would later be reused for the CP System II hardware.

To combat piracy, "suicide batteries" were implemented, which power the volatile RAM which contained the manual configuration of the display hardware registers, as well as the priorities registers. If the batteries' voltage drops below +2V, the registers manually defined in factory by Capcom in RAM would be lost, and the PPU would no longer have access to the hardware specific register set on the game used. This renders the game inoperable, necessitating the operator sending the board to Capcom to be fixed at their own expense. Unlike the CP System II, the CP System Dash sound ROMs were encrypted using "Kabuki" Z80s. The CP System Dash 68000 code is not encrypted at all.

### List of games (5 games)

All five games are developed and published by Capcom.

English title  | Release date  | Japanese title  | Genre

|
|
|

Warriors of Fate
Sangokushi II (Asia) | October 2, 1992  | Tenchi o Kurau II: Sekiheki no Tatakai
(天地を喰らう2・赤壁の戦い)  | Beat 'em up
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs | February 1, 1993  | Cadillacs Kyōryū Shinseiki
(キャディラックス 恐竜新世紀)  | Beat 'em up
The Punisher | April 22, 1993  | The Punisher
(パニッシャー)  | Beat 'em up
Saturday Night Slam Masters | July 13, 1993  | Muscle Bomber: The Body Explosion
(マッスルボマー -The Body Explosion-)  | Sports game
Muscle Bomber Duo: Ultimate Team Battle | December 6, 1993  | 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 video game console version of the CP System, the Capcom Power System Changer (or CPS Changer), was released in late 1994 in Japan to compete with SNK's Neo Geo AES.[9] It was Capcom's attempt at selling their arcade games in a home-friendly format.

The CPS Changer was sold as a package deal containing the console itself, one CPS Fighter joystick controller, and Street Fighter II (Dash) Turbo for 39,800 yen. Additional games were sold for about 20,000 yen. Upon its release in November 1994, Capcom initially manufactured only 1,000 units in Japan.[10]

The CPS Changer's adapter was basically an encased SuperGun (i.e. 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 would 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 also featured Super Famicom/Super NES controller ports, allowing the use of all Super Famicom/Super NES controllers, including their own six-button joystick, the "CPS Fighter".

The final game for the CPS Changer was a back-ported version of Street Fighter Zero (also known as Street Fighter Alpha) in 1995, originally released for the CP System II hardware. This port, released at a premium 35,000 yen in 1996, was downgraded slightly for the system's less capable hardware: it ran at a slower frame rate, had fewer onscreen colors , a different soundtrack generated by the system's sound chips, fewer sound effects, and the music and sound effects being sampled at a lower rate. This release was also available in limited quantities overseas in the arcades for publicity testing purposes, including those that couldn't afford the upgrade to the CP System II hardware.

That same year, a back-ported version of Rockman: The Power Battle/Mega Man: The Power Battle (originally released for the CP System II hardware that same year) also appeared. This was not made for the CPS Changer, however (especially since Street Fighter Zero was the last title released for it), but rather was made as a standard CP System release. This version was also downgraded slightly to accommodate the system's less capable hardware, including the aforementioned changes and differences made to the CPS Changer version of Street Fighter Zero. It was also released in limited quantities overseas for publicity testing purposes, especially for those who couldn't afford to upgrade to the CP System II hardware.

### List of games (11 games)

All 11 games were developed and published by Capcom.

English title  | Release date  | Japanese title  | Genre

|
|
|

Warriors of Fate
Sangokushi II (Asia) | 1994  | Tenchi o Kurau II: Sekiheki no Tatakai
(天地を喰らう2・赤壁の戦い)  | Beat 'em up
Capcom World 2: Adventure Quiz | 1994  | 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
Captain Commando | 1995  | Captain Commando
(キャプテンコマンドー)  | Beat 'em up
Final Fight | 1994  | Final Fight
(ファイナルファイト)  | Beat 'em up
Knights of the Round | 1995  | Knights of the Round
(ナイツオブザラウンド)  | Beat 'em up
Muscle Bomber Duo: Ultimate Team Battle | 1995  | Muscle Bomber Duo: Heat Up Warriors
(マッスルボマーDUO -Heat Up Warriors-)  | Sports game
Saturday Night Slam Masters | 1994  | Muscle Bomber: The Body Explosion
(マッスルボマー -The Body Explosion-)  | Sports game
Software:Street Fighter II: Champion Edition | 1994  | 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
Software:Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting | 1994, pack-in  | 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
Street Fighter Alpha | 1995  | Street Fighter Zero
(ストリートファイターZERO)  | Versus Fighting
The King of Dragons | 1995  | The King of Dragons
(ザ・キングオブドラゴンズ)  | Beat 'em up

## See also

* CP System II
* CP System III

## References

1. ↑ Piracy of Intellectual Property on Peer-to-peer Networks. U.S. Government Printing Office. September 26, 2002. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-16-069280-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=PglmV7hxSbEC&pg=PA141.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "弊社基板製品保守サービス業務終了のご案内". Capcom. September 30, 2014. https://www.capcom.co.jp/arcade/news/operator/20140930.html.
3. ↑ "Cover Story: "This Is the Good Time" – Capcom's CPS system brings success to the firm... and offers direction for a troubled video market". RePlay (RePlay Publishing) 15 (7): 183-5. April 1990. https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-7-april-1990-600dpi/RePlay - Volume 14, Issue No. 7 - April 1990/page/183.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Capcom: A Captive Audience". The Games Machine (19 (June 1989)): 24-5. May 18, 1989. https://archive.org/details/the-games-machine-19/page/n23/mode/2up.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "A Real Winner: operators are the real winners with Capcom's Buster Bros and Final Fight". RePlay 15 (4): 32, 34. January 1990. https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-4-january-1990-600DPI/RePlay - Volume 14, Issue No. 4 - January 1990/page/32.
6. ↑ "Magic Sword". RePlay 16 (1): 19. October 1990. https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-16-issue-no.-1-october-1990-600DPI/RePlay - Volume 16, Issue No. 1 - October 1990/page/19.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "CP System arcade system by Capcom Co., Ltd. (1988)". http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=cp-system&page=detail&id=69707.
8. ↑ "Pnickies". Killer List of Videogames. 2017. https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9050.
9. ↑ "Capcom's Home Arcade System". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (67): 50. February 1995.
10. ↑ Akagi, Masumi, ed (February 15, 1995). "Capcom Ships "CP Changer"". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (489): 22. https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19950215p.pdf#page=12.

## External links

* CPS-1 at System 16 - The Arcade Museum
* GameSX Power Stick Analysis — looking at the features and functions of the A10CA stick
* CPS-1, CPS-2 and CPS-3 releases comparison at UVL
* Full list of CP System ROMs

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