User:Namcokid47/Namco System 22

-To-do list-
 * 1) Place the rest of the sections in.
 * 2) Add in more sources for the rest of the page.
 * 3) Verify if System-16 is a reliable source, could be helpful for sourcing the history of the system.
 * 4) Fix some stuff - notably the contradictory wording in the "Supported Games" section.

The Namco System 22 (システム22) is a 3D graphic-supported arcade board manufactured by Namco. It was first utilized in 1992 and publicly released beginning in 1993. It is the successor to the Namco System 21 arcade board, first used in 1988, with additional programming done by American company Evans & Sutherland. The hardware had numerous advancements over the original System 21 board, such as texture mapping, transparency effects and Gouraud shading effects. A variant of the board was released in 1995, known as the Super System 22 (スーパーシステム22), which increased the number of drawn polygons on-screen.

Namco first used the board for their 1992 prototype racing title Sim Drive, only given a limited release in Japan. The 1993 game Ridge Racer was the first to be given a public release, credited as one of the greatest racing video games ever created. The final game to use the Namco System 22 hardware was the 1996 racing game Aqua Jet, before being retired after six years of operation. The board received widespread acclaim for its technical abilities and supported titles. Several competing systems would also be released, such as the Sega Model 2. It would soon be succeeded by a similar board, the Namco System 23, in 1996.

History
The Namco System 22 board was first produced in 1992, with assisted development by American hardware manufacturer Evans & Sutherland. It is an upgrade to Namco’s earlier arcade hardware, the Namco System 21, which was the company’s first arcade system to utilize 3D polygonal graphics, earning it the nickname of “Polygonizer”. The first game to use the board was the 1992 driving game Sim Drive, a driving simulator video game that was only given a limited release in Japan.

The first “official” release to use the system was the 1993 game Ridge Racer, heralded as one of the best games in the racing video game genre and being a pioneer for several future titles. Later games to use the board include the battle royale combat games Cyber Commando and Tokyo Wars, the first two games in the Alpine Racer series, and the fantasy racing title Prop Cycle. In 1995, Namco would release a modified version of the board, dubbed the “Super System 22”, which increased many of the hardware’s capabilities, such as the amount of polygons on-screen. The final System 22 game was the racing game Aqua Jet, released in December 1996, leading to the board’s retirement after six years of operation.

Supported games
The Namco System 22 supported a total of eighteen games. The first of these was the 1992 driving game Sim Drive, which was only released in limited numbers across Japan. The 1993 game Ridge Racer was the first System 22 game to receive a world-wide release. Notable releases for the board include the Ridge Racer and Alpine Surfer series, Time Crisis, Tokyo Wars and Aqua Jet. The last game to use the board was the 1996 game Prop Cycle, a racing game that used a man-powered bicycle controller that the player peddled to move the character in the game.

† = Released for the Namco Super System 22 hardware