PlayChoice-10
| PlayChoice-10 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release | March 12, 1986 |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players |
| Arcade system | CPU: Main: Z80 @ 4 MHz Game: See NES Technical Specs |
PlayChoice-10 is an arcade machine which can consist of as many as 10 different games previously available only on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) home console. The games for this system are in the modular form of circuit boards which are plugged into one of the ten open slots on the PlayChoice-10's motherboard.
Description and history
Having found success in the home console market with the NES, Nintendo developed arcade hardware to run its most popular NES games inside an arcade cabinet. Dubbed the PlayChoice-10, the machine was compatible with the NES, but with some key differences. An extra CPU controlled the gameplay timer, game select, and displayed hints for the current game on a separate monitor (on single-monitor systems, a button would switch between gameplay and the hint screen). Most normal NES cartridges could not be used; rather, the PlayChoice used special expansion cards containing NES games along with an extra 8KB ROM to display hints. Because the PlayChoice-10 outputs RGB video using a slightly different palette, games did not look exactly the same as they did on the NES. It is in fact possible to replace the NES PPU with the PlayChoice-10 PPU, allowing it to output RGB natively.
Each machine had a different mix of games in it. Instead of a player getting to play one game until it was finished, the player got a fixed time limit to play as many PlayChoice games as they wanted to. Nintendo created several variations of the hardware, including a standalone PlayChoice unit which only had a single available game. By the late 1980s, other companies developed similar systems. Sega's Mega-Tech and Mega Play hardware was capable of running certain Sega Master System and/or Sega Mega Drive/Genesis games. SNK's Neo Geo was another cartridge-based system that was made available for both arcades and home consoles.
List of available games
The following is a list of all 54 games that were made available on various PlayChoice-10 machines.
- 1942 (1986 Capcom)
- Balloon Fight (1985 Nintendo)
- Baseball (1985 Nintendo)
- Baseball Stars (1989 SNK)
- Captain Skyhawk (1990 Milton Bradley)
- Castlevania (1987 Konami)
- Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (1990 Capcom)
- Contra (1988 Konami)
- Double Dragon (1988 Technos)
- Double Dribble (1987 Konami)
- Dr. Mario (1990 Nintendo), or its prototype version Virus in some machines
- Duck Hunt (1985 Nintendo)
- Excitebike (1985 Nintendo)
- Fester's Quest (1989 Sunsoft)
- Gauntlet (1985 Atari)
- Golf (1985 Nintendo)
- Goonies, The (1986 Konami)
- Gradius (1986 Konami)
- Hogan's Alley (1985 Nintendo)
- Kung Fu (1985 Irem)
- Mario Bros. (1984 Nintendo)
- Mario's Open Golf (1991 Nintendo)
- Mega Man 3 (1990 Capcom)
- Metroid (1986 Nintendo)
- Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (1987 Nintendo)
- Ninja Gaiden (1989 Tecmo)
- Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (1990 Tecmo)
- Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (1991 Tecmo)
- Pin*Bot (1990 Rare)
- Power Blade (1991 Taito)
- Pro Wrestling (1987 Nintendo)
- Rad Racer (1987 Square)
- Rad Racer II (1990 Square)
- RBI Baseball (1987 Atari)
- R.C. Pro-Am (1988 Rare)
- Rockin' Kats (1991 Atlus)
- Rush'n Attack (1987 Konami)
- Rygar (1987 Tecmo)
- Shatterhand (1991 Jaleco)
- Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship (1990 Rare)
- Super C (1990 Konami)
- Super Mario Bros. (1985 Nintendo)
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988 Nintendo)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990 Nintendo)
- Tecmo Bowl (1989 Tecmo Inc.)
- Tecmo World Cup Soccer (1990 Tecmo)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989 Konami)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (1990 Konami)
- Tennis (1985 Nintendo)
- Track & Field (1987 Konami)
- Trojan (1987 Capcom)
- Volleyball (1987 Nintendo)
- Wild Gunman (1985 Nintendo)
- Yo! Noid (1990 Capcom)