From: noel@umbc2.umbc.edu (Noel Tominack, ACS, X3861) Newsgroups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting Subject: My Data Communications Paper Date: 4 AUG 94 12:05:03 GMT Well, some people wanted to see it, so I thought I would post it here. My paper talked about the evolution and implementation of the JAMMA standard. Most of the material is from this newsgroup, hope you all like it. I was told the other part of the paper was riddled with inaccuracies but I hope this one is better. If you all see something that isn't right, please let me know __________________________________________ * Noel J. Tominack (noel@umbc2.umbc.edu) | * University of Maryland Baltimore County | * All opinions are mine mine mine! | * ________________________________________| p.s. I got a B in that class -------------------------BEGIN INCLUDED TEXT------------------------------ The Video Game Industry Learns from the Data Communications Industry by Noel Tominack INTRODUCTION When an innovative technology is successful in one particular field or application, it is the nature of other industries to try and copy this success by trying to apply the technology to meet their own needs. This cross- pollination of ideas brings technologies together that nobody thought were related, much less possible. This paper will focus on what the video game industry has picked up from the data communications industry. Its not too surprising, since both have recently rapidly advanced because of advances in computers. The first part with deal with how an ailing branch of video games was revived by taking a lead from the RS-232 standard; and the second part will cover how Local area network principles were applied to handheld video games to add a whole new aspect to their performance. THE JAMMA STANDARD When the RS-232 standard was first introduced, it was little more than an agreement on what each connector RpinS would do. But over time it had become the de facto standard for serial devices. Modems, printers, and serial cards all adhered to the RS-232 standard. Because of this standardization, its possible to hook up a printer or modem manufactured 15 years ago to your band-new PC and it will work. So what does that mean to the video game industry? For the manufacturers of arcade machines, it means a lot. Now, for the sake of this paper, the arcade machine will be broken down into two basic parts. The first is the RboardS (also referred to as the logic board, or printed circuit board--PCB for short) which houses the ROM chips of the game itself and related microchips. The second is the RcabinetS which is the wood cabinet which houses the monitor, the power supply, the control panel, the sound system, and the coin mechanism. The two together make an entire arcade machine, and this section deals with how the board and cabinet communicate with each other. In the early 1980s, the video arcade business was booming and arcade were springing up all over the countryside. Demand for machines was high and all the manufacturers were concerned about was selling new video arcade machines, not compatibility. According to Steve Ozdemir, president of the Video Arcade Preservation Society "you can go to the KLOV1 and find any manufacturer who produced games in 1982 and also in 1986, and I can assure you that those two games are NOT compatible in any way!" Mr. Ozdemir goes on to add "In fact, if you pick randomly any two games from one manufacturer, you'll probably have two incompatible games that will never be backward or forward compatible--the hardware changes too quickly!"(1) In the rush to put new products out on the market, arcade machine manufacturers decided not to worry about compatibility between different boards and cabinets. The arcade boom was quite strong and the demand was still great for whole machines. There is also another reason arcade manufacturers kept making incompatible machines "This also has a lot to do with the secretiveness of the time--many boards werenUt even marked, companies were afraid of the competition reverse engineering" says Chris McBride, another Video Arcade Preservation Society member(2) One of the most interesting cases of incompatibility has to do with 2 Atari games, Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe. They use identical wiring harnesses and cabinets. However, when one board is put into the other's cabinet, play is nearly impossible. "The left and right rotation buttons are reversed, pressing start will add credits to the machine, and putting coins in will start your game."(3). Obviously there was a need for some standardization, at least within the individual companies. Now there was some compatibility at the time within a single manufacturers' line. At Williams Electronics, swapping the ROM chips and control panel was enough to convert Stargate/Robotron/Joust into one another. Both Bally-Midway and Nintendo used the same harness on their Pac- Man and Donkey Kong series games respectively(4). That way the arcade operator only needed one cabinet and could purchase conversion "kits" for far less than a full game. It was a win-win situation; manufacturers could save on building and shipping costs since they didn't need to make as many cabinets, and operators could save the shipping costs of a 300-pound machine, as well as space in their arcades(2). But it would take outside events to accelerate this trend, and that is exactly what happened in 1983. Just as quickly as the boom in the arcade business came, it went. The arcades that sprang up closed and the ones that managed to remain open had far less income to spend on whole games. During this time there were still no industry-wide standards for boards and cabinets, so arcade operators would "hack" old cabinets to get new boards to work in them. Several manufacturers also went out of business or merged with other companies, reducing the number of number of manufacturers. By late 1984, there was a small boomlet in the arcade industry, as the personal computer market expanded, it drove down the price of memory and microprocessors. Now video games could have better graphics than ever. But still the problem remained, how to expand the industry with little expense on all sides as possible. That is when someone came up with the idea to standardize the connections between the boards and the cabinets. This is what brought on the JAMMA standard. The JAMMA (short for Japanese Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association) wiring standard uses a set of pre- defined pinouts for power inputs, control inputs, and audio/video outputs. The idea being that once a cabinet is wired with a JAMMA connector, all you have to do is plug in a new board to convert a game. Its not always that easy with some of the more complex games or the ones that have special controls, but the idea is sound (5). The idea is sound because it was proven with RS-232 decades before JAMMA. If all the manufacturers adhere to the same standard, it makes it easier for manufacturers to make compatible products. Any JAMMA board can be put into any JAMMA cabinet (at least for testing purposes). Since the wiring harness was standardized, third parties could manufacturer wiring and cabinets, thus lowing the cost of producing a game. Also, an arcade operator could now easily convert a game and bring the new one into service quickly, a big plus in a busy arcade where game turnover is high. Unlike the complete incompatibility problems of the early 1980s, any arcade board manufactured from 1987 on will work in any JAMMA cabinet. The JAMMA standard used a 56-pin edge connector on the board (see Appendix 1) with inputs and outputs common to most video games. These include power inputs (5 volts for the game and 12 volts for sound); inputs for 2 joysticks and 2 buttons for each; analog RBG video output with negative composite sync; single-speaker sound output; and inputs for coin, service, test, and tilt (the former to accept game credits and the latter to maintain the board). While JAMMA is a standard, it does have some limitations "The different game manufacturers couldn't decide which way to turn a monitor for vertical [screen orientation] games. Consequently, some games come out upside down" says arcade machine guru Richard Schieve (5). Also, since the wiring is only for one speaker, games with stereo sound need another output. Recent trends in arcade machines are having more than two buttons (particularly for the genre of fighting" games) and the use of 4-player games. While these games maintain the original JAMMA harness, they employ secondary harnesses to handle the extra inputs(6). Another way arcade manufacturers buck the JAMMA standard is a 'back to the future' solution--ROM chip replacements for conversions within a manufacturers. All of Konami's 4-player games and the sequels to popular "fighting" games can be converted with ROM upgrades. Unusual applications of the JAMMA standard are SNK's Neo Geo System, the "Super Gun", and the adapting of older games. While the Neo Geo System uses a JAMMA harness--the system uses replaceable ROM cartridges to change games, and the system may house from 1 to 4 separate games2. The "Super Gun" is a consumer electronic device that allows a person to play JAMMA-compatible games at home using their TV and a wide variety of controllers. Finally, hobbyists and arcade operators are breathing new life into old games by adapting them to fit into JAMMA harnesses(5). The JAMMA standard allowed an industry on the verge of collapse to bounce back and made life simpler for anyone involved with arcade games. With the advances in game technology, there is talk of creating a JAMMA II standard to overcome the limitations that JAMMA now has. While this is a good example of how the video game industry has learned from the data communications industry, lets look at a more direct technology transfer. [part about handheld videogames using LAN technology deleted becase the Game Boy segment has inaccuracies and besides, theis is a newsgroup for arcade machines anyway] CONCLUSION The video game industry was founded on the advances of microprocessors and computer technology; and as this technology grew to include data communications; that too worked its way into the video game industry with very visible and successful results. Up until 1985, arcade machines were often complete incompatible with other games, even from the same manufacturer. This created a lot of problems compounded by a sudden bust in the arcade industry in the mid-1980s. Economic need and end-user demands required a set of standards to make life easier for the arcade operators. Because of the JAMMA standard, all arcade games use the same wiring harnesses and can work in any JAMMA cabinet, reducing costs for manufacturers and operators, not to mention simplifying the whole process of game conversions. But as the arcade machines require more and more inputs and outputs, the JAMMA standard may be superseded by a new industry-wide standard for future machines. References 1. Ozdemir, Steven--Video Arcade Preservation Society President, Email 2. McBride, Chris--Video Arcade Preservation Society President, Email 26 feb 94 3. Jefferys, Doug RAdapter to Plus Asteriods Deluxe Board into Asteriods Harness (and vice versa)S, Copyright 1993-- available via gopher from wiretap.spies.com 4. McBride, Chris--Video Arcade Preservation Society President, Email 28 feb 94 5. Schieve, Richard RJAMMA Cabinet Revisited and What IUm Up toS Usenet 19 Jan 94 6. Deitch, Johnathan RControl Panel Wiring 101S Usenet 28 Apr 1994 Footnotes: 1 The KLOV refers to the "Killer List of Videogames" which lists and describes every arcade machine manufactured to date 2 SNK also makes a home version of the Neo Geo system which utilizes a stadard television and uses the same cartridges as it's arcade counterpart