Namco Galaxian
Encyclopedia
- This article is a generic description of Namco's "Galaxian" hardware. For the specific arcade game, see GalaxianGalaxianis an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...
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The Namco 8-bit Galaxian arcade system board was first used by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
in 1979.
Namco Galaxian specifications
- Main CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
: Zilog Z80Zilog Z80The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes... - Sound chipSound chipA sound chip is an integrated circuit designed to produce sound . It might be doing this through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics...
s: Discrete - Video resolution: 256x224
- Notes: King and Balloon uses an extra Z80 microprocessorMicroprocessorA microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
to drive a DACDigital-to-analog converterIn electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
that handles speech synthesisSpeech synthesisSpeech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
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List of Namco Galaxian arcade games
- GalaxianGalaxianis an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...
(1979) - King and Balloon (1980) - the first game to feature synthesized voices
- Zig Zag (1982) - a bootleg of Namco's Dig DugDig Dugis an arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan in 1982 for Namco Galaga hardware. It was later published outside of Japan by Atari. A popular game based on a simple concept, it was also released as a video game on many consoles.-Objective:...
on Galaxian hardware. - Check ManCheck ManCheck Man is an arcade game released by Zilec-Zenitone in 1982. While being a fast paced action game, there are puzzle elements to the gameplay. The game uses the Namco Galaxian arcade board.-Gameplay:...
(1982) - A bootlegged Pac-ManPac-Manis an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
was also made with Namco Galaxian hardware named Ghostmuncher Galaxian.It contained Pac-Man and Galaxian on 1 board. It was changed using a DIP SwitchDIP switchDIP switches are manual electric switches that are packaged in a group in a standard dual in-line package...
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