Namco's research managing director Shegeichi Nakamura met withSony Computer EntertainmentheadKen Kutaragiin 1993 to discuss the preliminary PlayStation specifications, with Namco subsequently developing the System 11 arcade board based on PlayStation hardware andTekkenas their answer toSega's popularVirtua Fighter.Tekkenwas initially planned for theNamco System 22,after Namco heard Sega was developingVirtua Fighter 2for their newSega Model 2board, before the development ofTekkenwas later moved to the System 11 after the meeting with Kutaragi.[2]Tekkenwas the first game to use the System 11, and was initially released forarcadesin September 1994,[3]several months before the PlayStation's Japanese release in December 1994.
Although the System 11 was technically inferior to the Sega Model 2 arcade board, its lower price made it an attractive prospect for smaller arcades.[4][5]According to the June 1995 issue ofEdge:
Namco took a significant risk in basing itsTekkencoin-op on raw PlayStation hardware, considering that it would be competing directly with Sega's Model 2-poweredVirtua Fighter 2... For once, a home system can boast an identical conversion of a cutting-edge coin-op... Namco's research section managing director, Shegeichi Nakamura... explains: "When Sony came along we decided to go for a low-cost system—in short, we've left the big arcade stores to Sega andVF2andTekkenhas been sold to smaller arcade centres "... Namco has a further four titles planned for System 11, all of which are likely to make the jump to the PlayStation.[4]
^ab"The 1996 AOU Coin-Op Show: 3D Arcade Gaming Enters the Next Level!".Maximum: The Video Game Magazine(5).Emap International Limited:116–7. April 1996.
