Doom in Japan

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Revision as of 01:01, 3 February 2022 by Quasar (talk | contribs) (DOS/V: Please pay closer attention: DOS/V is for the standard IBM PC architecture, not PC-98. This section is about DOS/V releases. Not PC-98.)


3D Alien Busters version of Doom

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.

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
  • PC-98 standard GDC (Graphic Display Controller) and EGC (Enhanced Graphic Charger) required
  • 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

PC-98 release gallery

DOS/V

Floppy disks 1 and 6 for 3D Alien Busters.

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

Windows 95 dual-CD release

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 world premiere showing of imagery from Doom 3 was at Apple's 2001 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 at that stage in its development was intended to have a version released for Apple Macintosh in addition to the main Windows PC build. According to Carmack[3], elements of his planned presentation were met with disapproval from Apple event organizers who believed the graphic imagery was inappropriate for the computer conference, with them saying "Steve doesn't like blood," but they would ultimately defer to Jobs, who gave Doom's presentation the green light to proceed as Carmack saw fit, with Jobs saying, “I trust you John, do whatever you think is great." Doom 3 was ultimately published in Japan for PC 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

  1. "Doom 3 Movies." Doomworld (archived 🗺). Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  2. "Doom 3 Screenshots." Doomworld (archived 🗺). Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. John Carmack (14 May 2018). "Steve Jobs." Facebook status. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  4. Wikipedia. "Doom 3."


Games in the Doom series
Classic Doom
Doom 3 Doom 3Doom 3: BFG EditionDoom 3: VR Edition

Expansions: Doom 3: Resurrection of EvilThe Lost Mission

Official ports: Doom 3 (2019 version)

Related: id Tech 4

Doom (2016) Doom (2016)Doom VFRDoom Eternal

Related: Development of Doom (2016)id Tech 6id Tech 7

Mobile games Doom RPGDoom II RPGDoom ResurrectionMighty Doom
Canceled games Doom AbsolutionDoom 4 1.0
Tabletop Doom: The BoardgameDoom: The Board GameAssault on Armaros Station
Related: Commercial gamesExpanded universeList of booksList of commercial compilations