– Former Taito R&D manager Yukiharu Sambe
It’s rare to hear new details about consoles that never made it out, but now we have more information about just such a device. 1990s arcade powerhouse Taito (Puzzle Bobble, Bust-A-Move) laid plans in 1992 to release a satellite-TV powered console in conjunction with Japanese satellite channel WOWOW.
The project never came to fruition, but former Taito R&D manager Yukiharu Sambe has shared more details about the project and the scrapped console (pictured) in a new interview with Unseen64, a site devoted to games and consoles that never launched.
The console was going to be based on Taito’s own arcade hardware and deliver arcade-perfect versions of games like Darius; the plan was scrapped when it became clear that downloading games via satellite wasn’t technologically feasible.
Nintendo launched its own satellite-based add-on for the Super Famicom, the Satellaview, in 1995. That device never made it outside of Japan. As far as Taito goes, Square Enix finalized its acquisition of the company in 2006.
A little while ago, we got some new information about a handheld console that Konami had planned to launch; the Suikoden RPG series was originally under development for that device before the company decided to switch gears and back the original PlayStation.