Doom in Japan
From DoomWiki.org
Doom is known in Japan as ドゥーム (katakana literally transliterated as Duumu or Doumu, and understood as『DOOM』). Official ports of Doom were released in Japan under license from id Software by publisher Imagineer Co., Ltd. and distributor SoftBank. This included versions of the PC Doom, Doom II, and Doom95, as well as multiple console versions in their Japanese releases.
Contents
PC-98
Ports of Doom to the NEC PC-98 computer platform were re-programmed by Infinity Co., Ltd.. Though based on Intel microprocessors much like standard IBM-compatible PCs, the NEC PC-98 series featured a custom bus and different video hardware that made it binary incompatible with most PC software. Versions of the Doom games developed for the PC-98 were distributed on 5.25" and 3.5" floppy disk as well as on CD-ROM.
Minimum system requirements
- PC-9801/Fellow, PC-9821/Mate/Multi, or Epson PC-386/486 clone system
- i386SX processor or later
- MS-DOS 3.3 or later
- Supported sound devices: Sound Blaster 16, PC-9801-86 (OPNA), or PC speaker
- Supported music devices: Sound Blaster 16 (OPL3 or MIDI daughterboard), PC-9801-26K (OPN), PC-9801-86 (OPNA), Roland MPU-PC98 (MIDI), or MIDI over RS-232
- Most VGA-or-higher equivalent PC-98 graphics adapters are supported
PC-98 release gallery
DOS/V
Equivalent releases of all games were made for the standard IBM PC architecture, with minor tweaks for the DOS/V version of IBM PC DOS with full Japanese language support. Unlike the PC-98, ordinary PC software could execute under DOS/V on standard hardware without modification.
3D Alien Busters
At least one release by Imagineer in their DOS/V Series 6 was uniquely entitled DOOM 3D Alien Busters (ドゥーム), or 3D Alien Busters DOOM, depending on the context.
DOS/V release gallery
Windows 95
A double-disc release of Doom II along with Doom95 was also coordinated by Imagineer, containing versions for both the PC-98 and standard PC on each disc. This release touts compatibility with the Imagineer PCPad controller, and like some American releases, it includes an offer for free time on the DWANGO network, which had recently expanded its franchise territory into Japan.
Doom 3
The very first world premiere public unveiling of Doom 3 was at Apple's Macworld Conference & Expo in Tokyo, Japan during the unveiling of Nvidia's GeForce 3 GPU. Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced then id Software CTO John Carmack on stage, who showed off a few new screenshots of the in-development id Tech 4 game engine, debuting some from Doom 3[1] [2], which was intended to release for Apple Macintosh in addition to Windows PC. According to Carmack[3], this presentation was to the trepidation of some Apple reps who believed the images were inappropriate for the computer conference as "Steve doesn't like blood.", but when deferred to, Jobs gave Doom's presentation the green light to proceed as Carmack saw fit. Doom 3 was ultimately published in Japan by CyberFront[4].
Console games
The following console versions of Doom series games were given Japanese releases, some with specific localizations:
Port | Developer | Distributor | Release date | Differences |
---|---|---|---|---|
Doom for Super 32X | id Software | SEGA Enterprises | 3 December 1994 | |
Doom for Super Famicom | Sculptured Software | Imagineer | 1 March 1996 | Localized text. All episodes can be selected in any skill level. |
Doom for Sony PlayStation | Williams Entertainment | SoftBank | 19 April 1996 | |
Doom for Sega Saturn | Probe Software, Ltd. | SoftBank | 11 July 1997 | Supports multiplayer. Reordered music tracks |
Doom 64 for Nintendo 64 | Midway Games | GameBank | 1 August 1997 | Default brightness is higher. Localized text. Green blood. |
Final Doom for Sony PlayStation | Williams Entertainment | SoftBank | 2 October 1997 | Missing retouched super shotgun graphics. |
Local community
There is a number of Japanese members in the Doom community, which make up a thriving local community. Several popular names include Tatsurd-cacocaco and Nanka Kurashiki. In 2016, they released the Japanese Community Project megawad, which was named as a winner of one of the 23rd Annual Cacowards.
External links
References
- ↑ "Doom 3 Movies." Doomworld (archived 🗺). Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ↑ "Doom 3 Screenshots." Doomworld (archived 🗺). Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ↑ John Carmack (14 May 2018). "Steve Jobs." Facebook status. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ↑ Wikipedia. "Doom 3."