Yep! Those are currently not very different from OTL, so I didn't mention them here. Rocko's Modern Life still premiered in 1992, and John K. is still fired by Nickelodeon that same year. Meanwhile, on the Cartoon Network front, their 1992 launch went just as well as in our timeline. The initial Cartoon Cartoons line-up will be a bit different, though, and I'll talk about that more once we reach 1995/96. Really, the first big changes to animation don't even come from those channels; the changes made to Sonic 2 in TTL will have effects on the Sonic cartoons. So expect some coverage on them once 1993 rolls around.
Dear Pesky Partners... - A Nintendo-Philips Timeline
- Thread starter SubparLario
- Start date
Actually, Rocko's Modern Life premiered in 1993, not the year before. Just a little correction that I made on your behalf.
Chapter 19: Summer CES 1992 (Mid 1992 Part 1)
Summer CES 1992 (Mid 1992 Part 1)
May 21st-24th, 1992
Held in Chicago, Illinois, the Summer Consumer Electronics Show 1992 was when the CD add-on race really started picking up steam. Sega had released the Mega CD in Japan a few months prior, and were gearing up for the North American launch in September, while the SNES-CD was a few weeks away from releasing in Japan at the time. Though that isn’t to say cartridge games were less plentiful at the event; far from it, actually.
For Sega, the biggest Genesis cartridge game that they showed off was Streets of Rage 2, a sequel to the popular side-scrolling beat-em-up released the previous year. Sports games, like EA’s NHLPA Hockey ‘93 or Madden ‘93 also received a fair bit of billing. Licensed games were also plentiful; some, like Batman Returns or Home Alone, would be published by Sega themselves, while others like The Terminator were still being published by third-parties. Sega had even brought in a few celebrities to promote games - George Foreman made an appearance to promote Flying Edge’s George Foreman’s KO Boxing, while Vanna White showed off GameTek’s adaption of Wheel of Fortune for the Genesis.
When it came to the Sega CD, however, Sega and their partner Sony went all-out. A big display was made for the add-on, accompanied by music from Nirvana, Michael Jackson, Electronic, and R.E.M. Peter Falk even showed up as Lieutenant Columbo to promote the Columbo Sega CD game. Sega Multimedia Studio made a technical showcase demo disc specifically for this event, which showed off new features like sprite rotation and scaling, increased color depth, and full-screen FMV playback. And quite a few games were shown off, including a game tentatively titled “Dolphin” (which would see a dual Genesis-Sega CD release as Ecco the Dolphin), Heavy Nova, Columbo: Home Detective, and the FMV game Night Trap (which, upon its release, would become quite controversial.)
But the big kahuna of the Sega CD display, the game everyone was talking about, was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Sega claimed that their vision for the game was so grand, there was no way they’d be able to make the game for a cartridge. From the footage that was shown off, one of the biggest additions was Sonic’s new companion, a two-tailed fox by the name of Miles “Tails” Prower. He was seen following Sonic around in levels, collecting rings and defeating badniks alongside the Blue Blur. Time travel was going to be a major element of the game’s plot, as Sonic and Tails would have to follow Dr. Robotnik through different time periods in order to foil his sinister plans. And it seemed like Sonic now had a love interest of sorts: a pink hedgehog named Amy Rose could be found in the footage, though it appears Sonic doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. Sega announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 would be bundled with every Sega CD add-on unit and Sony Play Station combo unit upon their release in September, and the Genesis would receive a price cut to $99.
Meanwhile, Nintendo’s showing was a lot more modest compared to their rival. Mario and his friends (and even Bowser!?) would get to compete in go-kart tournaments in Super Mario Kart, a Mode 7 racing game that would get its North American release come September, while Super Play Action Football was seemingly Nintendo’s answer to the Madden series. Philips, meanwhile, showed off some early footage of their SNES remake/sequel to The Mysterious Murasame Castle, a port of Might & Magic II[1] and a Formula 1 racing game titled Video Speedway that they were publishing. Games shown off by third parties included a port of Capcom’s arcade hit fighting game Street Fighter II for the SNES, Konami was working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time as well as a new Contra game titled Contra III: The Alien Invasion (later renamed Contra III: The Alien Wars), and Square presented Mystic SaGa, a localized version of their RPG Romancing SaGa.
Nintendo was also heavily focusing on the different SNES add-ons that were soon to be released. The Super Scope was a wireless light gun that resembled a bazooka, and they showed off a game titled Battleclash that would make use of it. There was also the SNES Mouse, a two button ball mouse that plugged into a controller slot. Making the most use out of the new control method was Mario Paint, which was less of a game and more of an art tool. Players could draw pictures, make incredibly simple animations, and even compose music, all on their Super Nintendo, and Nintendo confirmed that an enhanced version would later be available on the SNES-CD.
Speaking of which, the SNES-CD add-on did have a place at Nintendo’s booth, though it wasn’t shown off as much as the Sega CD was. The Super Mario Bros. remake tech demo shown off the previous year was now a proper game: Super Mario All-Stars. Featuring enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels - the Japanese sequel to Super Mario Bros. which had never been released internationally before[2]. This would be the pack-in title when the peripheral released in North America in March 1993. The 3D spaceship demo now had the name of Star Fox[3], featuring an anthropomorphic animal cast and full voice acting. It would also be an international launch title. And lastly, Philips showed off a game titled Laser Lords, which combines elements of platform and adventure games. With a sci-fi setting that takes place across multiple planets, it also makes use of voice acting and FMV cutscenes - both animated and live action. Yet again, it would be an international launch title. These were all of the games that Nintendo was able to show off at the time, though they confirmed that more games would be coming soon.
While Nintendo didn’t have the celebrity guests that Sega employed, they did have something unique at their pavilion called Mario In Real Time, or MIRT for short. Powered by a Silicon Graphics workstation, a 3D model of Mario’s head would be overlaid on top of footage, and Mario’s expression would mimic that of a real person using special face tracking hardware. Cameras scattered around Nintendo’s booths would allow a human operator to see and interact with guests, bringing Mario to life in a way never seen before. That human operator was a man named Marc Graue, who got the role after Philips recommended the voice acting studio he was a part of to Nintendo.[4] This was Marc Graue’s first role as the voice of Mario, and would make his in-game debut as Mario[5] with some short voice clips in 1993’s Super Mario Vortex, before having much longer, full sentences of dialogue in the 1994 game Mario Takes America. Marc Graue still voices Mario and Luigi as of 2023.
Craig: “Alright Mario, I’m gonna go and order you some lunch. What all did you want on your sandwich?”
Mario: “Well, you know me, I love some salami and provolone! On rye, too - and make sure they throw some fireballs on it.” [Some giggling can be heard amongst the other guests nearby.]
Craig: “...fireballs?”
Mario: “What, did you not get the hint? I’d like my sandwich to be toasted, of course!”
- An interaction caught on film at Summer CES 1992.[6]
Footnotes:
[1] It’s the OTL SNES port developed by Iguana Entertainment, but Philips picks up the American publishing rights instead of Sammy (and it manages to get a US release ITTL.)
[2] I’m going to assume you already know the deal regarding Super Mario Bros. 2 because it’s become the single most well-known bit of video game trivia in recent years and I just… don’t feel like repeating the same thing everyone else has already said.
[3] While I previously said that Star Fox would be on a cartridge here, I changed my mind, especially since the SNES-CD’s GPU is the SuperFX chip.
[4] Charles Martinet getting the role of Mario was largely a fluke in OTL. He accidentally crashed the auditions for MIRT that Nintendo was doing right at the end! But his take on Mario’s voice was so different that his audition reel was the only one that was sent to Japan.
[5] OTL, Marc Graue did the voice of Mario, Luigi, and Bowser in Hotel Mario, and got his job there through similar means as he did ITTL. Now, I know what you might be thinking: “But Lario, the voice acting in Hotel Mario sucks!” That game was rushed out the door once Wacky Worlds was canceled, and Marc Graue is a legitimate voice actor, having done work for Fallout and many other projects in OTL. So without being rushed and getting some time to get comfortable in the role, I think he’d make a mighty fine Mario and Luigi. But Graue as Mario will have some big effects on the series as a whole. Martinet’s take on his voice was a big influence on the way Mario has been characterized since 64, and Graue’s Italian American Mario voice will push Mario in a bit of a different direction compared to the stereotypical Italian accent Charles did.
[6] Based on an OTL video recorded at the event.
May 21st-24th, 1992
Held in Chicago, Illinois, the Summer Consumer Electronics Show 1992 was when the CD add-on race really started picking up steam. Sega had released the Mega CD in Japan a few months prior, and were gearing up for the North American launch in September, while the SNES-CD was a few weeks away from releasing in Japan at the time. Though that isn’t to say cartridge games were less plentiful at the event; far from it, actually.
For Sega, the biggest Genesis cartridge game that they showed off was Streets of Rage 2, a sequel to the popular side-scrolling beat-em-up released the previous year. Sports games, like EA’s NHLPA Hockey ‘93 or Madden ‘93 also received a fair bit of billing. Licensed games were also plentiful; some, like Batman Returns or Home Alone, would be published by Sega themselves, while others like The Terminator were still being published by third-parties. Sega had even brought in a few celebrities to promote games - George Foreman made an appearance to promote Flying Edge’s George Foreman’s KO Boxing, while Vanna White showed off GameTek’s adaption of Wheel of Fortune for the Genesis.
When it came to the Sega CD, however, Sega and their partner Sony went all-out. A big display was made for the add-on, accompanied by music from Nirvana, Michael Jackson, Electronic, and R.E.M. Peter Falk even showed up as Lieutenant Columbo to promote the Columbo Sega CD game. Sega Multimedia Studio made a technical showcase demo disc specifically for this event, which showed off new features like sprite rotation and scaling, increased color depth, and full-screen FMV playback. And quite a few games were shown off, including a game tentatively titled “Dolphin” (which would see a dual Genesis-Sega CD release as Ecco the Dolphin), Heavy Nova, Columbo: Home Detective, and the FMV game Night Trap (which, upon its release, would become quite controversial.)
But the big kahuna of the Sega CD display, the game everyone was talking about, was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Sega claimed that their vision for the game was so grand, there was no way they’d be able to make the game for a cartridge. From the footage that was shown off, one of the biggest additions was Sonic’s new companion, a two-tailed fox by the name of Miles “Tails” Prower. He was seen following Sonic around in levels, collecting rings and defeating badniks alongside the Blue Blur. Time travel was going to be a major element of the game’s plot, as Sonic and Tails would have to follow Dr. Robotnik through different time periods in order to foil his sinister plans. And it seemed like Sonic now had a love interest of sorts: a pink hedgehog named Amy Rose could be found in the footage, though it appears Sonic doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. Sega announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 would be bundled with every Sega CD add-on unit and Sony Play Station combo unit upon their release in September, and the Genesis would receive a price cut to $99.
Meanwhile, Nintendo’s showing was a lot more modest compared to their rival. Mario and his friends (and even Bowser!?) would get to compete in go-kart tournaments in Super Mario Kart, a Mode 7 racing game that would get its North American release come September, while Super Play Action Football was seemingly Nintendo’s answer to the Madden series. Philips, meanwhile, showed off some early footage of their SNES remake/sequel to The Mysterious Murasame Castle, a port of Might & Magic II[1] and a Formula 1 racing game titled Video Speedway that they were publishing. Games shown off by third parties included a port of Capcom’s arcade hit fighting game Street Fighter II for the SNES, Konami was working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time as well as a new Contra game titled Contra III: The Alien Invasion (later renamed Contra III: The Alien Wars), and Square presented Mystic SaGa, a localized version of their RPG Romancing SaGa.
Nintendo was also heavily focusing on the different SNES add-ons that were soon to be released. The Super Scope was a wireless light gun that resembled a bazooka, and they showed off a game titled Battleclash that would make use of it. There was also the SNES Mouse, a two button ball mouse that plugged into a controller slot. Making the most use out of the new control method was Mario Paint, which was less of a game and more of an art tool. Players could draw pictures, make incredibly simple animations, and even compose music, all on their Super Nintendo, and Nintendo confirmed that an enhanced version would later be available on the SNES-CD.
Speaking of which, the SNES-CD add-on did have a place at Nintendo’s booth, though it wasn’t shown off as much as the Sega CD was. The Super Mario Bros. remake tech demo shown off the previous year was now a proper game: Super Mario All-Stars. Featuring enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels - the Japanese sequel to Super Mario Bros. which had never been released internationally before[2]. This would be the pack-in title when the peripheral released in North America in March 1993. The 3D spaceship demo now had the name of Star Fox[3], featuring an anthropomorphic animal cast and full voice acting. It would also be an international launch title. And lastly, Philips showed off a game titled Laser Lords, which combines elements of platform and adventure games. With a sci-fi setting that takes place across multiple planets, it also makes use of voice acting and FMV cutscenes - both animated and live action. Yet again, it would be an international launch title. These were all of the games that Nintendo was able to show off at the time, though they confirmed that more games would be coming soon.
While Nintendo didn’t have the celebrity guests that Sega employed, they did have something unique at their pavilion called Mario In Real Time, or MIRT for short. Powered by a Silicon Graphics workstation, a 3D model of Mario’s head would be overlaid on top of footage, and Mario’s expression would mimic that of a real person using special face tracking hardware. Cameras scattered around Nintendo’s booths would allow a human operator to see and interact with guests, bringing Mario to life in a way never seen before. That human operator was a man named Marc Graue, who got the role after Philips recommended the voice acting studio he was a part of to Nintendo.[4] This was Marc Graue’s first role as the voice of Mario, and would make his in-game debut as Mario[5] with some short voice clips in 1993’s Super Mario Vortex, before having much longer, full sentences of dialogue in the 1994 game Mario Takes America. Marc Graue still voices Mario and Luigi as of 2023.
Craig: “Alright Mario, I’m gonna go and order you some lunch. What all did you want on your sandwich?”
Mario: “Well, you know me, I love some salami and provolone! On rye, too - and make sure they throw some fireballs on it.” [Some giggling can be heard amongst the other guests nearby.]
Craig: “...fireballs?”
Mario: “What, did you not get the hint? I’d like my sandwich to be toasted, of course!”
- An interaction caught on film at Summer CES 1992.[6]
Footnotes:
[1] It’s the OTL SNES port developed by Iguana Entertainment, but Philips picks up the American publishing rights instead of Sammy (and it manages to get a US release ITTL.)
[2] I’m going to assume you already know the deal regarding Super Mario Bros. 2 because it’s become the single most well-known bit of video game trivia in recent years and I just… don’t feel like repeating the same thing everyone else has already said.
[3] While I previously said that Star Fox would be on a cartridge here, I changed my mind, especially since the SNES-CD’s GPU is the SuperFX chip.
[4] Charles Martinet getting the role of Mario was largely a fluke in OTL. He accidentally crashed the auditions for MIRT that Nintendo was doing right at the end! But his take on Mario’s voice was so different that his audition reel was the only one that was sent to Japan.
[5] OTL, Marc Graue did the voice of Mario, Luigi, and Bowser in Hotel Mario, and got his job there through similar means as he did ITTL. Now, I know what you might be thinking: “But Lario, the voice acting in Hotel Mario sucks!” That game was rushed out the door once Wacky Worlds was canceled, and Marc Graue is a legitimate voice actor, having done work for Fallout and many other projects in OTL. So without being rushed and getting some time to get comfortable in the role, I think he’d make a mighty fine Mario and Luigi. But Graue as Mario will have some big effects on the series as a whole. Martinet’s take on his voice was a big influence on the way Mario has been characterized since 64, and Graue’s Italian American Mario voice will push Mario in a bit of a different direction compared to the stereotypical Italian accent Charles did.
[6] Based on an OTL video recorded at the event.
Next time, we'll take a quick look at the Super Famicom CD launch and Mario All-Stars. I'll see ya then!
Terrific update buddy,from Sega Sony going all in with the launch of their add on and Nintendo slowly riposte with their own One
Seems laser lords is an interesting take on adventures games, seems Philips is getting used to make videogames now
Chapter 20: A Different Kind of Disc System (Mid 1992)
(While I originally didn't plan on making an update for the Japanese SNES-CD launch, I wanted to be able to fully explain the hardware and the CD-i "platform" without an update becoming too long.)
A Different Kind of Disc System (Mid 1992)
All About the Super Nintendo Entertainment System CD
Also Known As: Super Famicom Disc System (Japan), Hyundai Super Comboy CD (South Korea)
CPU: Motorola 68030 @ 25 MHz
Main RAM: 1 MB
GPU: Argonaut SuperFX chip codenamed "MARIO" @ 21 MHz - capable of rudimentary 3D polygon graphics
VRAM: 256 KB
Audio: Philips MCD221 - 8-bit ADPCM, 16-bit stereo, Red Book CD Digital Audio playback
Audio RAM: 128 KB
Drive Speed: 1x/2x modes
SRAM: External Memory Pak that plugs into SNES cartridge slot - a 64 KB version is available at launch and bundled with the system, 128 KB and 256 KB versions made available later on as a separate purchase
Other Hardware: Real time clock
Operating System: CD-RTOS (Compact Disc Real Time Operating System) - based on Microware OS-9
Released: June 27th, 1992 (Japan); March 13th, 1993 (North America); September 11th, 1993 (Europe)
Launch Price: ¥40,000, $270 USD, £219.99
The Super Famicom Disc System logo.
The SNES-CD is an add-on for the Super Nintendo that greatly expands the console’s hardware capabilities and allows for the use of Compact Discs. It plugs into the bottom of the SNES, approximately doubling its height, and uses a tray-loading disc drive. The design of the add-on is much blockier in the US compared to how it looks elsewhere in order to match the North American Super Nintendo design. While it does have a separate power adapter, the brick isn’t at the wall socket, looking more like a modern laptop charger so that it doesn’t take up so much space on a power strip. All of the additional RAM is inside the add-on itself due to the way the expansion port was designed in this timeline, so no HANDS cartridge is necessary. However, you will more than likely have a cartridge inserted into the cartridge slot: a Memory Pak, used for storing game save data. At launch, one 64kb Memory Pak is included with every system, and can also be purchased separately. A 128kb version appears in 1993 in Japan/1994 internationally, and a 256kb option is made available in 1995. While only one Memory Pak can be inserted at a time, it is possible to transfer data between two of them: the system will load whatever data needs to be transferred into work RAM, prompt the user to remove the first Memory Pak and insert the second one, and then write whatever data is being transferred to the new Memory Pak.
The add-on was developed as a joint venture between Nintendo, Philips, and Argonaut Games. Philips was incredibly impressed by Argonaut’s 3D cartridge enhancement chip prototype, and believed that a stand-alone GPU version of the chip would be perfect for the SNES-CD. The SuperFX chip was then split into two variants: a more powerful GPU version that doesn’t share a nametable with the SNES codenamed “MARIO,” and the original cartridge enhancement chip version, codenamed “LUIGI.” The MARIO chip has 256 kilobytes worth of VRAM - 4x more than the maximum VRAM the SuperFX chip ever employed in OTL (and 8x the amount most SuperFX games had). This means that games like Star Fox would be able to run at a smooth 30 frames per second, and not sharing a nametable with the base SNES hardware means that some interesting combined 2D and 3D effects could be pulled off. So while the SNES-CD is capable of some rudimentary 3D graphics, it can also produce some really beautiful 2D games.
The add-on is capable of reading music CD’s and CD+G discs. Games and software for the SNES-CD is stored in the Compact Disc Interactive (CD-i) format, codified in the Green Book in 1986, rather than the CD-ROM Yellow Book specification. CD-i discs also conform to the CD-DA Red Book standard, and can have both CD-DA and CD-i tracks on one disc. CD-i tracks are structured in the same way as CD-ROM XA tracks are, with multiple classes based on their contents (data, video, audio, empty, and “message,” which plays a warning message when a CD-DA player attempts to read a CD-i disc.) Additionally, the CD-i format can interleave audio and video data on a single track, something that a Yellow Book CD-ROM can’t do. It also uses a file system similar to, but not compatible with, ISO 9660 (which you’re likely familiar with as the .iso file format.) For this reason, CD-i discs can only be read on CD-i players, meaning a standard PC disc drive will be unable to read the disc. Since the CD-i format had to be licensed from Philips, this was the system’s main deterrent against piracy[1].
The base Super Nintendo hardware combined with the SNES-CD forms the basis for the CD-i player platform, leading to multiple hardware variations made by different manufacturers. Here is a list of the most notable models:
All About Super Mario All-Stars
Platform: SNES-CD
Also Known As: Super Mario Collection (Japan)
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: June 27th, 1992 (Japan); March 13th, 1993 (North America); September 11th, 1993 (Europe)
Super Mario All-Stars is a compilation of the 8-bit Mario platformers, remade for the 32-bit[4] SNES-CD, which it is a launch title for. It features Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and, released for the first time ever in the West, the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 - now renamed Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. And they really were remade - because the OTL SNES and NES shared the same architecture, the OTL game was mostly a port of the original games’ code, with the main changes being made to graphics routines, the quality-of-life features, and certain bug fixes (like the Minus World.)[5] However, in this timeline, the differing architectures between the NES and SNES(-CD) meant that reusing code wasn’t really possible. All-Stars is still incredibly faithful to the 8-bit originals, however, playing nearly identically to them.
The graphics in Super Mario All-Stars are a bit better than they were in OTL. Nothing too crazy, though, as this was an early SNES-CD game and the developers weren't as experienced with it yet. There are also several quality of life improvements just like in OTL, such as being able to save your progress in each of the games, the requirements to go to Lost Levels’s secret “letter worlds” being reduced (beat the game once without warps rather than eight times,) and infinite continues across all games. Naturally, the biggest improvement to the game now that it’s on CD is to the music. All of the game’s samples are now uncompressed, and it’s an absolute treat to listen to.
A restoration of the SMB1 overworld theme from MaryStrawberry, made by searching through synthesizers and keyboards to find the original samples that were used by the game. This should give you a good idea of what All-Stars sounds like in this timeline!
One other major addition to the game in this timeline was The Museum. Located in-between SMB1 and SMB3 on the game select screen, The Museum lets you watch a few short FMV interviews with figures like Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, and Koji Kondo about the development of the NES games, as well as view some digitized versions of artwork made in the 80’s. The idea for The Museum came from the developers wanting to implement FMV’s in some way, but they couldn’t come up with something that could be achieved in a short enough time for the game’s release. That’s when Shigeru Miyamoto thought about filming short developer interviews about how the Mario platformers came to be.
“Super Mario All-Stars felt like this celebration of Mario up to that point, and what better way to celebrate Mario than to talk about how he got his start!” said Miyamoto in an interview about the game. “But it also let us shine a light on all the different people who work on video games. Games were an emerging type of media at the time, and not a lot of people knew what went into making one. So we were hoping to not just educate people about the art of video game development, but also inspire the younger generation into one day making games of their own.” All-Stars would ultimately achieve that goal, being bundled with every SNES-CD and most combo units internationally. Plenty of curious kids would view the interviews found in The Museum, and gain an interest in learning how to program video games from them.
Super Mario All-Stars is received with critical acclaim. It’s considered a “director’s cut” of the NES platformers, with the improved graphics and CD-quality audio go a long way to improving the experience. All-Stars makes for a pretty good pack-in, too; it takes something people are familiar with, and enhances it with the additional power of the SNES-CD, while keeping everything that made those games great in the first place. However, outside of those updates, the save feature, The Lost Levels, and The Museum, All-Stars doesn’t really innovate much. While the FMV interviews and digitized artwork are technically impressive, since they’re limited to a side mode instead of the main games, The Museum is more of a bonus than anything. Still, Super Mario All-Stars does very well in terms of sales, and for those who are looking for a new 2D Mario game that really innovates, they won’t have to wait very long until Super Mario Vortex.
Footnotes:
[1] Though if you did manage to copy a CD-i disc, the system wouldn’t know any better. The process was just so frustratingly difficult to do in the 90’s that it worked as an anti-piracy measure.
[2] This disc header includes a game title, region info, a developer ID, disc number (only ever used by multi-disc games), and a “genre” flag. Genre 0 is “game,” genre 1 is “education,” genre 2 is “productivity,” genre 3 is “reference” (so encyclopedias and such,) genre 4 is “video,” genre 5 is “audio,” genre 6 is “development” (which can only be read on dev kits,) and genre 7 is “other.”
[3] More on the Modem Pak later on.
[4] Well, mostly 32-bit. While the Motorola 68030 is a true 32-bit processor, the 68000 in the base SNES hardware is still a weird 16/32-bit hybrid.
[5] This is a fact that was discovered not just through the source code found in the Gigaleak, but also certain bugs and some unused content left over from the NES games. SMB1’s Bullet Bill glitch (used in NES speedruns but will softlock the All-Stars version) and SMB3’s debug mode are the most notable examples.
A Different Kind of Disc System (Mid 1992)
All About the Super Nintendo Entertainment System CD
Also Known As: Super Famicom Disc System (Japan), Hyundai Super Comboy CD (South Korea)
CPU: Motorola 68030 @ 25 MHz
Main RAM: 1 MB
GPU: Argonaut SuperFX chip codenamed "MARIO" @ 21 MHz - capable of rudimentary 3D polygon graphics
VRAM: 256 KB
Audio: Philips MCD221 - 8-bit ADPCM, 16-bit stereo, Red Book CD Digital Audio playback
Audio RAM: 128 KB
Drive Speed: 1x/2x modes
SRAM: External Memory Pak that plugs into SNES cartridge slot - a 64 KB version is available at launch and bundled with the system, 128 KB and 256 KB versions made available later on as a separate purchase
Other Hardware: Real time clock
Operating System: CD-RTOS (Compact Disc Real Time Operating System) - based on Microware OS-9
Released: June 27th, 1992 (Japan); March 13th, 1993 (North America); September 11th, 1993 (Europe)
Launch Price: ¥40,000, $270 USD, £219.99
The Super Famicom Disc System logo.
The SNES-CD is an add-on for the Super Nintendo that greatly expands the console’s hardware capabilities and allows for the use of Compact Discs. It plugs into the bottom of the SNES, approximately doubling its height, and uses a tray-loading disc drive. The design of the add-on is much blockier in the US compared to how it looks elsewhere in order to match the North American Super Nintendo design. While it does have a separate power adapter, the brick isn’t at the wall socket, looking more like a modern laptop charger so that it doesn’t take up so much space on a power strip. All of the additional RAM is inside the add-on itself due to the way the expansion port was designed in this timeline, so no HANDS cartridge is necessary. However, you will more than likely have a cartridge inserted into the cartridge slot: a Memory Pak, used for storing game save data. At launch, one 64kb Memory Pak is included with every system, and can also be purchased separately. A 128kb version appears in 1993 in Japan/1994 internationally, and a 256kb option is made available in 1995. While only one Memory Pak can be inserted at a time, it is possible to transfer data between two of them: the system will load whatever data needs to be transferred into work RAM, prompt the user to remove the first Memory Pak and insert the second one, and then write whatever data is being transferred to the new Memory Pak.
The add-on was developed as a joint venture between Nintendo, Philips, and Argonaut Games. Philips was incredibly impressed by Argonaut’s 3D cartridge enhancement chip prototype, and believed that a stand-alone GPU version of the chip would be perfect for the SNES-CD. The SuperFX chip was then split into two variants: a more powerful GPU version that doesn’t share a nametable with the SNES codenamed “MARIO,” and the original cartridge enhancement chip version, codenamed “LUIGI.” The MARIO chip has 256 kilobytes worth of VRAM - 4x more than the maximum VRAM the SuperFX chip ever employed in OTL (and 8x the amount most SuperFX games had). This means that games like Star Fox would be able to run at a smooth 30 frames per second, and not sharing a nametable with the base SNES hardware means that some interesting combined 2D and 3D effects could be pulled off. So while the SNES-CD is capable of some rudimentary 3D graphics, it can also produce some really beautiful 2D games.
The add-on is capable of reading music CD’s and CD+G discs. Games and software for the SNES-CD is stored in the Compact Disc Interactive (CD-i) format, codified in the Green Book in 1986, rather than the CD-ROM Yellow Book specification. CD-i discs also conform to the CD-DA Red Book standard, and can have both CD-DA and CD-i tracks on one disc. CD-i tracks are structured in the same way as CD-ROM XA tracks are, with multiple classes based on their contents (data, video, audio, empty, and “message,” which plays a warning message when a CD-DA player attempts to read a CD-i disc.) Additionally, the CD-i format can interleave audio and video data on a single track, something that a Yellow Book CD-ROM can’t do. It also uses a file system similar to, but not compatible with, ISO 9660 (which you’re likely familiar with as the .iso file format.) For this reason, CD-i discs can only be read on CD-i players, meaning a standard PC disc drive will be unable to read the disc. Since the CD-i format had to be licensed from Philips, this was the system’s main deterrent against piracy[1].
The base Super Nintendo hardware combined with the SNES-CD forms the basis for the CD-i player platform, leading to multiple hardware variations made by different manufacturers. Here is a list of the most notable models:
- Philips Super CD-i: A Super Nintendo with the CD add-on built in, the Super CD-i is considered the “standard” combo unit. Two different versions of it were produced: the first iteration, released in 1992, looks fairly similar to the Philips CDI 220 from our timeline, though it features a cartridge port on top. An updated model, released in 1995, slimmed down the size of the console and resembles the OTL Philips CD-i 450 with a Super Nintendo cartridge slot.
- Philips Edu CD-i: A variant of the Super CD-i made specifically in partnership with the education sector, like schools and libraries. Implements BIOS and disc header checks[2] to prevent non-educational games from being played on the system, so that students can’t bring in their copy of Super Mario All-Stars into class and avoid doing work.
- Philips Net CD-i: Another variant of the Super CD-i that features a built-in Modem Pak[3], released in 1994.
- Sharp Twin Super Famicom (Japan)/Hyundai Twin Super ComBoy (South Korea)/Sharp i-Twin (International): Combo unit produced by Sharp, and considered a successor to the Twin Famicom (a Famicom with the Famicom Disk System built-in.) Was licensed out to Hyundai in South Korea due to laws against Japanese imports. Sold the best in Japan.
- Sharp SF-2 TV: A TV with an SNES and SNES-CD built-in, succeeding the SF-1 TV (which only includes a base SNES). Having only been released in Japan, it’s quite rare and is considered a collector’s item in the modern day.
All About Super Mario All-Stars
Platform: SNES-CD
Also Known As: Super Mario Collection (Japan)
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: June 27th, 1992 (Japan); March 13th, 1993 (North America); September 11th, 1993 (Europe)
Super Mario All-Stars is a compilation of the 8-bit Mario platformers, remade for the 32-bit[4] SNES-CD, which it is a launch title for. It features Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and, released for the first time ever in the West, the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 - now renamed Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. And they really were remade - because the OTL SNES and NES shared the same architecture, the OTL game was mostly a port of the original games’ code, with the main changes being made to graphics routines, the quality-of-life features, and certain bug fixes (like the Minus World.)[5] However, in this timeline, the differing architectures between the NES and SNES(-CD) meant that reusing code wasn’t really possible. All-Stars is still incredibly faithful to the 8-bit originals, however, playing nearly identically to them.
The graphics in Super Mario All-Stars are a bit better than they were in OTL. Nothing too crazy, though, as this was an early SNES-CD game and the developers weren't as experienced with it yet. There are also several quality of life improvements just like in OTL, such as being able to save your progress in each of the games, the requirements to go to Lost Levels’s secret “letter worlds” being reduced (beat the game once without warps rather than eight times,) and infinite continues across all games. Naturally, the biggest improvement to the game now that it’s on CD is to the music. All of the game’s samples are now uncompressed, and it’s an absolute treat to listen to.
One other major addition to the game in this timeline was The Museum. Located in-between SMB1 and SMB3 on the game select screen, The Museum lets you watch a few short FMV interviews with figures like Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, and Koji Kondo about the development of the NES games, as well as view some digitized versions of artwork made in the 80’s. The idea for The Museum came from the developers wanting to implement FMV’s in some way, but they couldn’t come up with something that could be achieved in a short enough time for the game’s release. That’s when Shigeru Miyamoto thought about filming short developer interviews about how the Mario platformers came to be.
“Super Mario All-Stars felt like this celebration of Mario up to that point, and what better way to celebrate Mario than to talk about how he got his start!” said Miyamoto in an interview about the game. “But it also let us shine a light on all the different people who work on video games. Games were an emerging type of media at the time, and not a lot of people knew what went into making one. So we were hoping to not just educate people about the art of video game development, but also inspire the younger generation into one day making games of their own.” All-Stars would ultimately achieve that goal, being bundled with every SNES-CD and most combo units internationally. Plenty of curious kids would view the interviews found in The Museum, and gain an interest in learning how to program video games from them.
Super Mario All-Stars is received with critical acclaim. It’s considered a “director’s cut” of the NES platformers, with the improved graphics and CD-quality audio go a long way to improving the experience. All-Stars makes for a pretty good pack-in, too; it takes something people are familiar with, and enhances it with the additional power of the SNES-CD, while keeping everything that made those games great in the first place. However, outside of those updates, the save feature, The Lost Levels, and The Museum, All-Stars doesn’t really innovate much. While the FMV interviews and digitized artwork are technically impressive, since they’re limited to a side mode instead of the main games, The Museum is more of a bonus than anything. Still, Super Mario All-Stars does very well in terms of sales, and for those who are looking for a new 2D Mario game that really innovates, they won’t have to wait very long until Super Mario Vortex.
Footnotes:
[1] Though if you did manage to copy a CD-i disc, the system wouldn’t know any better. The process was just so frustratingly difficult to do in the 90’s that it worked as an anti-piracy measure.
[2] This disc header includes a game title, region info, a developer ID, disc number (only ever used by multi-disc games), and a “genre” flag. Genre 0 is “game,” genre 1 is “education,” genre 2 is “productivity,” genre 3 is “reference” (so encyclopedias and such,) genre 4 is “video,” genre 5 is “audio,” genre 6 is “development” (which can only be read on dev kits,) and genre 7 is “other.”
[3] More on the Modem Pak later on.
[4] Well, mostly 32-bit. While the Motorola 68030 is a true 32-bit processor, the 68000 in the base SNES hardware is still a weird 16/32-bit hybrid.
[5] This is a fact that was discovered not just through the source code found in the Gigaleak, but also certain bugs and some unused content left over from the NES games. SMB1’s Bullet Bill glitch (used in NES speedruns but will softlock the All-Stars version) and SMB3’s debug mode are the most notable examples.
We've got yet another hardware launch to cover in the next update, where we'll see how the Sega CD does in North America and delve into its pack-in title, Sonic 2. I can't wait to see you then!
Yeah,besides the usual SNES dual release, mostly early life games will come from PC engine CD or ports of computers games
Is it too late to make Mario's live-action film enter development hell? Or at least be a version closer to the 1991 fantasy draft?
tvtropes.org
Super Mario Bros. (1991) / Script - TV Tropes
The live-action Super Mario Bros. (1993) movie went through various states of production on its way to theaters, ultimately culminating in a 1993 release. While the finished film's connection to the games is fairly loose, the very first draft of …
tvtropes.org
Our pod is from 88 so maybe the author could consider it?Is it too late to make Mario's live-action film enter development hell? Or at least be a version closer to the 1991 fantasy draft?
Super Mario Bros. (1991) / Script - TV Tropes
The live-action Super Mario Bros. (1993) movie went through various states of production on its way to theaters, ultimately culminating in a 1993 release. While the finished film's connection to the games is fairly loose, the very first draft of …
I've done quite a bit of research into the live-action Mario movie - Gaming Historian's video on it is spectacular. It really was a mess, from start to finish, so it entering some state of development hell or limbo is certainly possible. I'd say the biggest problems with its development were A) Nintendo took a very hands-off approach with the film and B) Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton's arrogance. I think the best possible point for the film to enter limbo is when Roland Joffé and Jake Eberts rewrite the script after securing funding from Disney in 1992. Jankel and Morton considered quitting at that point in OTL, so what if they actually went through with it? That way, Joffé now has to find another director for the film. Question is, who would be the best fit for the movie?Is it too late to make Mario's live-action film enter development hell? Or at least be a version closer to the 1991 fantasy draft?
Super Mario Bros. (1991) / Script - TV Tropes
The live-action Super Mario Bros. (1993) movie went through various states of production on its way to theaters, ultimately culminating in a 1993 release. While the finished film's connection to the games is fairly loose, the very first draft of …
Perhaps he could bring in Terry Gilliam to make it closer to the original fantasy draft? Maybe since Jim Henson hasn't died yet in TTL he gets involved too.
I even thought up of a cast for that scenario:
Mario: Jim Belushi
Luigi: John Leguizamo
Hildy: Samanta Mathis
Koopa (a puppet): Alan Rickman
Persephone (The Old Hag): Penelope Ann Miller
Now that both the Sega CD and SNES-CD have been released in Japan in TTL it makes me wonder how they compare to the OTL 3DO or OTL Atari Jaguar? They seem pretty comparable those two console's to me. Make's me wonder if Trip Hawkins will even bother releasing the 3DO in TTL.🤔
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Yeah, that could work! I'll put a pin in it for when we get to 1993/1994 (as I have a feeling the movie might get delayed as a result of Joffé needing to find a new director.) And Henson's involvement works for something I've been fiddling around with in the background as I work on some late 90's stuff.
Yeah, they are fairly comparable with the OTL 3DO and Jaguar. From Nivek and I's best estimates, Sega CD could do a somewhat stripped-down version of Virtua Racing, while the SNES-CD should be able to pull off a near-perfect port of Doom. So you can use that for benchmarks, I suppose. As for Trip Hawkins and the 3DO... right now, he's keeping the idea in the back of his head as he watches what NinPhilips and SegaSony do with their add-ons. You'll hear more about what he's up to in 1993, I can assure you of that!
I also have some ideas for Mario games if you're open to it.
Yeah, I'm down! Just shoot me a PM with your ideas and I'll take a look at 'em.
add me to that list too. i am down to hear.
Hey guys I've just came across this video on Youtube about the 3DO, apparently a couple years ago someone actually managed to get a port of the Original Tomb Raider game running on it. The port actually runs surprisingly well too. Seems the 3DO was a bit more capable with 3D then I thought. Pretty cool thing to see.