Chapter 57: The Approaching 16-Bit Era
The launch event for the game console had just concluded, and it was Christmas Eve. Gunpei and the other employees had left the venue to head back to Kyoto, but I remained in Tokyo because there was still work to be done.
Why, you ask? Because there was something I needed to take care of.
Hastily boarding the train, I made my way to the outskirts of Tokyo, to the Rytex factory located in Chiba. On this night, considered the most romantic of the year for all couples, I was on my way to meet an Indian engineer.
"Chandra!"
"Oh, it's Kang Junhyuk!"
Chandra and his friends, in the midst of their dinner, waved and smiled at me when they saw me.
"Everyone's in high spirits, huh?"
"It's all thanks to Kang Junhyuk. He's been sending a lot of money back to Pumala, so now Pumala can get married."
Pumala, with a spoon in her mouth, smiled with satisfaction. Upon hearing the playful banter in their native language, it was clear that Pumala was quite the confident type.
"But, Kang Junhyuk, what brings you here? Wasn't this supposed to be a secret? After all, all the other employees have already left."
"It's not exactly a secret. I just told them I came to check the special chips for the Psychic Battle. But more importantly, did you bring what I asked for?"
"Of course!"
"Good. I'm sorry to interrupt your meal, but can I see it for a moment?"
"It's fine; I've finished eating. Follow me."
A short while later, guided by Chandra, I found myself in a research lab within the Rytex factory. His lab was a far cry from the cramped workspaces in Akihabara, boasting state-of-the-art equipment and a comfortable workspace.
It was there that I was introduced to the CPU that would be used in the next-generation Super Family console.
"Is this the RICO5A22 16-bit CPU chip that will be used in the Super Family?"
"It's a custom version of the WDC65816 CPU from the Apple IIGS, which is already considered a high-performance PC in the United States. Although it's been two years since its release in the U.S., I believe it offers great value for its price."
"I agree with you on that, but isn't the graphics processing speed a bit slow?"
"That's unavoidable. It was never designed for high-speed processing from the beginning. Being a 16-bit CPU, it will provide overall stability and quality, but it does have limitations when it comes to speed."
If you were a gamer who experienced a childhood similar to mine in the 1990s, you might have found it puzzling that there were no games on the Super Family that provided the blistering speed of NEGA Drive's flagship game, "Sonic."
Even though the Super Family was released later and was a more expensive model, there were times when I felt a bit frustrated.
On the other hand, "Sonic," which my friends in the neighborhood had, offered a heart-pounding speed that provided a different kind of enjoyment from Super Mario, leading us to exchange entire game consoles occasionally.
"Now I understand why the Super Family was slower than NEGA Drive."
Nintendo never makes a losing business. Originally, the console business aims to look ahead to the next 5-6 years from the initial release date, even if it means pushing a bit beyond, in order to provide a high-performance model.
Otherwise, you would have to release a new console every 1-2 years to keep up with the changing gaming market.
When considering the console's penetration rate and the development period for games, a single console has to last for at least 5 years. Consequently, the device's performance gradually improves with a substantial investment, and although costs decrease over time, in the beginning, they would sell at a loss.
The pure production cost of one device is 17,000 yen, but they sell for around 14,800 yen, adjusted to consumers' budgets.
The 2,200 yen loss incurred with each sale is offset by the sale of game cartridges. This was the fundamental sales structure in the console industry.
However, Nintendo was different.
They used affordable components of mediocre performance to ensure they could make a profit even when selling the devices. The rest was left up to the quality of the games.
That's why the CPU in front of me was crucial.
"It's the chip for the next-generation Family console. These days, many companies are approaching me about contracts for it. But it's still just a mediocre chip. After all, back in those days, NEGA Drive had a much better one, performance-wise."
At that moment, Chandra said something intriguing.
"But everything can be covered to some extent by the programmer's skills."
"That's true, but you can't exceed the limitations of the hardware."
"The limitations of the hardware... Well, this is perfect timing. Actually, Kang Junhyuk, there's something I've been wanting to show you."
"Something you want to show me? What is it?"
"Come with me, and you'll find out."
With a meaningful smile, Chandra led the way to the employees' lounge this time. Of course, it was expected that the lounge at Rytex would have Nintendo's Family Console as well.
"Kang Junhyuk's Psychic Battle is quite popular among our employees. The artwork might be a bit suggestive, but the story is very intriguing."
"I'm glad they're enjoying it. But what is it that you want to show me?"
"Well, there's one thing I find a bit lacking, so Chandra made some modifications."
"What? You can code?"
Without realizing it, Pumala, who had been following us, responded with a mischievous smile.
"There's nothing Chandra can't do. He's a genius."
With a proud grin, Chandra inserted a blank cartridge without any labels into the Family console. Soon, the familiar Psychic Battle title logo appeared, followed by the character selection screen.
"Hmm, it looks the same for now. Did you change the gameplay?"
Chandra chose the main character, Azusa Ren, while keeping an eye on my reaction. As the first stage unfolded...
"What's this?"
I couldn't help but mutter as soon as I saw the screen.
"The game is significantly faster."
The Psychic Battle Chandra was playing felt about 1.5 times faster than the one I had created. Moreover, the bullet patterns aimed at the protagonist moved faster and smoother than before.
"What's going on? How did you do this?"
Chandra nonchalantly chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
"The coding was well-structured to begin with, but it was too complex, so Chandra made some adjustments. As a result, the CPU's load has significantly decreased. The original Psychic Battle was fine, but I felt the exhilaration of flying was lacking, so I increased the background scroll speed by 1.5 times. How is it? Do you like it?"
Complex coding? Both Hayashi and I, renowned programmers even at Nintendo, had put our hearts into creating the original Psychic Battle. Yet this guy, Chandra, took it to a whole new level. He was more remarkable than I had expected!
As I played the upgraded Psychic Battle, I felt that the 2% dissatisfaction I had originally was completely resolved. I watched Chandra play for a while and then spoke up.
"Chandra."
"Yes? What is it?"
"I think I underestimated you."
"Really? Did I do well? This is a Christmas gift for Junhyuk. Do you like it?"
"Yes, I love it. So, I wanted to ask..."
"Yes...?"
"You might need to do some moonlighting."
"Moonlighting? What's that?"
"It's something like that. First, can you make a higher-performance version of the RICO5A22 CPU I showed you earlier? We need to take it from Rytex for the next-generation Family console."
"Okay. Pumala, did you understand what Junhyuk just said?"
"Pumala. I understood it 100%."
Great. This increased the value of our Indian engineers.
&
"What is... this!? Boss!! How on earth did you create such..."
Hayashi, who was reviewing the coding data I had handed over, marveled at the significantly reduced formula calculations. I completely understood his reaction. When I first received the data, I was shocked too.
"I can't believe I can see and understand such formulas."
Coding, which involves conversing with a computer, is quite a peculiar language.
To put it simply, let's say someone on the street asked me for directions, and I happened to know the way. I would explain it like this:
Do you see the supermarket ahead? Once you pass that store, you'll come to a crosswalk. Cross that crosswalk, and a bit further, you'll find a laundromat.
If you turn right at the laundromat and walk a little more, you'll reach your destination.
But Chandra's explanation would be more like this:
Go straight for two more blocks and then make a right turn.
It's the same explanation, but the second one is much shorter in terms of content. Computers prefer short and precise explanations because they make it easier to handle other commands. Chandra poured that extra capacity into the background scroll, turning Psychic Battle into a complete game.
"If I watch it, I still can't believe it. How did you come up with such formulas?"
It's a subtle language to code when conversing with a computer.
For instance, if someone on the street asked me for directions, I might explain it as follows:
If you go ahead, you'll see a supermarket. When you pass that store and reach the crosswalk, cross it, and then a little further on, you'll find a laundromat.
But Chandra's explanation would be more like this:
Go straight for two more blocks, then turn right.
It's the same explanation, but the second one is much shorter in content, and computers prefer shorter and more precise instructions because they make it easier to handle other commands. Chandra poured that extra capacity into the background scroll, transforming Psychic Battle into a full-fledged game.
"At this rate, it might actually be able to compete with Super Mario 3, don't you think?"
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