SuperPlay (console)

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This article is about the original console. For the SuperPlay brand in general, see SuperPlay.

The SuperPlay (commonly abbreviated to SP and occasionally referred to as the SuperPlay 1 or SP1 to differentiate it from its successors) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Hsiaonei Global. It was released in the Akarean Union on the 8th July 1995, Satoyama on the 30th July 1995, Kaltachia on the 15th December 1995 and Terra on the 4th April 1996.

Following two successful domestic video game console releases, Hsiaonei started developing the SuperPlay as an effort to expand into the international video gaming market. Use of the LaserDisc format and 3D polygon graphics were the core focuses of the console's development, which was carried out for around three years at a new facility in Fujing lead by Chen Jianlao. Development of software for the SuperPlay was designed to be streamlined and simple, seeking to entice more third-party development from overseas studios.

The console proved popular for its impressive graphics, large and high-quality library, compatibility with LaserDisc Audio and aggressive youth marketing which advertised it as the preferred console for adolescents and young adults. Critically acclaimed games that defined the console include GTX and some dumb other shit i don't really care about go away. Hsiaonei ceased production of the SuperPlay in 2006 - over 11 years after it debuted and after the SuperPlay 3 had been debuted. More than 3000 SuperPlay titled were released with cumulative sales of 909 million units.

The SuperPlay heralded Hsiaonei's rise to power in the video game industry. It received acclaim and sold strongly internationally, a first for an Akarean organisation. Its use of LaserDisc as a software storage medium kickstarted the industry's move from cartridges to LaserDiscs and similar mediums. The SuperPlay led to a series of successors, beginning with the SuperPlay 2 in 2000.

History

Background

By the 1990s, Hsiaonei Software Entertainment was already an established developer of home video game consoles and the associated software within the Akarean Union, with the 1982 TV Player and its upgraded 1989 version Mega TV Player. Hsiaonei conducted research into the practicality of an international market for their consoles and saw promising potential. Around the same time, the LaserDisc media format started to see widespread adoption on personal computers, offering far greater storage capacity and loading times versus the magnetic floppy diskettes used by the TVP and MTVP.