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Sunplus SPG

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The SPG series is a series of system-on-a-chip (SoC) platforms made by the Taiwanese company Sunplus. They are the most commonly used SoCs in plug-and-play game consoles released outside of Japan that are not Famiclones. Unlike Famiclones, the Sunplus SPG systems use their own proprietary CPU architecture and unique hardware for graphics and sound. The SPG series was advertised primarily as a general-purpose solution for video game hardware, although Sunplus would also encourage usage of the hardware outside of video games, such as educational devices. While the SPG series was not primarily targeted towards companies affiliated with bootlegs, it would commonly see usage by them, either for in-house work or for contract work commissioned by other companies.

Many technical details about SPG systems are currently unknown as Sunplus releases very little public information, and barely even acknowledges the existence of the SPG series on its website. It is known that the SPG1xx series and all SPG2xx models before the SPG290 use the 16-bit µ’nSP instruction set, and the SPG29x series uses the 32-bit S+Core architecture.[1] At least the SPG29x series supports eCos.[2] The SPG series would later be followed up with the GPL162xx line of system-on-a-chip platforms.

SPG systems[]

  • SPG110
  • SPG200
  • SPG220[3] - A 16-bit system that consists of a 27 MHz µ’nSP CPU and proprietary PPU (picture processing unit) and SPU (sound processing unit) components.[4] The PPU features two background layers, displays up to 256 sprites at once, and is capable of blending effects. The SPU can process up to 24 sound channels (PCM/ADPCM) at once with support for ADSR. The SPG220 also accepts various I/O interfaces, which include but are not limited to light pens, TFT and STN LCD screens, and CMOS image sensors. The system natively outputs video at 320x240 pixels and supports interlaced and non-interlaced composite output in NTSC and PAL.
  • SPG240
  • SPG243
  • SPG250 - A higher resolution 16-bit system.[citation needed]
  • SPG260
  • SPG270[5]
  • SPG280
  • SPG288 - Identical to the SPG220, but has less built-in RAM and a reduced feature set, with the system now having a maximum sprite limit of 64 and only 6 available sound channels compared to the SPG220's maximum sprite limit of 256 and 24 sound channels.[6] Further details on this system are unknown.
  • SPG289
  • SPG290 - Unlike previous SPG systems, the SPG290 is a 32-bit system with a built in CD servo and support for various memory and I/O interfaces, such as mask ROM, flash memory (NAND/NOR), SD card, and CD-ROM. It also has support for MP3 and MPEG4 codecs and CSTN and TFT LCD displays.[7] The SPG290 has a sound processing unit with 24 channels and hardware wavetable synthesis, and uses the S+Core instruction set.
  • SPG291 - Changes between this system and the SPG290 are unknown.
  • SPG293 - A later revision of the SPG290 that adds high-resolution 16-bit RGB color modes for sprites (previously only supported on the SPG290 in its bitmap modes) and features for sprite rotation and scaling. The SPG293 also has backwards compatibility with the older SPG290 video modes.[8]

Notable uses[]

Bootleg/bootleg-adjacent uses[]

  • SPG110 - Used by Conny for their plug and play game Pingpong Xiaojiang, which heavily plagiarizes the 2000 Japanese plug and play game Takkyuu Yarouze! Excite Ping-Pong
  • SPG240 - Used by Nice Code Software for some 16-bit games.[9]
  • SPG243 - Used by JungleTac for the Sport Vii[1] and some generic multi-game systems, notably including the Zone 60 and its derivatives (Zone 100, Wireless 60, Lexibook TV Game Console JG7410 and JG7415). Also used by Nice Code for some 16-bit games.[10]
  • SPG250 - Used by Nice Code for some 16-bit games[11]
  • SPG260 - Used by JungleTac in some multi-game systems, such as the VG Pocket Caplet handhelds. Also used by Nice Code for some 16-bit games.[9]
  • SPG288 - Used in the VTG Interactive Game Console, which has three known games developed for it. These games would later be ported to generic 16-bit Wii clones manufactured by Subor, which additionally include games confirmed to have been developed by Waixing. Also used by Nice Code for some 16-bit games.[10]
  • SPG289 - Used by Shenzhen Niutai Technology Development for 18-in-1 and 198-in-1 cartridges or built-in games supplied with Qi Sheng Long consoles, especially Wii clones such as the WiWi and Wiii3.[12][13] Also used by Nice Code for some 16-bit games.[9]
  • SPG293 - Used by Nice Code for some 32-bit games[14], JungleTac for the Zone 3D, Shenzhen Niutai Technology Development for 32-bit 48 in 1 systems by Qi Sheng Long (and possibly other companies)[12] and Subor for its iSports Pro Wii clones (notably distributed in Europe and the US by Lexibook in their TV Game Console line) and other 32-bit systems manufactured by them that were positioned as educational computers and game consoles.

Non-bootleg uses[]

  • SPG110 - Used by JAKKS Pacific for much of their earlier plug and play output (circa 2004).[15]
  • SPG200 - Used in the V.Smile. Also used by JAKKS Pacific for some plug and play systems.[15]
  • SPG240 - Used by JAKKS Pacific for a number of their plug and play systems[15] and the Telestory, a dedicated system with interchangeable cartridges designed to teach reading skills to young children.[5]
  • SPG243 - Used for the 2012 game Boku wa Plarail Utenshi - Shinkansen de Ikou! (ぼくはプラレール運転士 新幹線で行こう!), which was developed by JungleTac and released by Takara Tomy in Japan only.[16]
  • SPG288 - Used for the MGA Entertainment plug and play game Bratz Math in the Mall.[15]
  • SPG290 - Used in the Mattel HyperScan, a CD-based budget game system.
  • SPG291 - Used in the BratzLife plug and play system, which was developed by V-Tac for MGA Entertainment, and the 2007 Japan-only Takara Tomy plug and play game Plarail Untenshi - Shinkansen de Ikou! (プラレール運転士 新幹線で行こう!).[17]
  • SPG293 - Used by JAKKS Pacific for two plug and play games: Big Buck Hunter Pro and Big Buck Safari.

Trivia[]

  • Modern-day emulation of the 16-bit Sunplus SPG series of chipsets was largely spearheaded by the Sport Vii, with the very first hobbyist emulator for any of the systems, Unununium, starting development in late 2008 following the Vii's VC-1 cartridge being dumped by the late Ben "bushing" Byer and the hardware the Vii used being identified from strings in the cartridge's ROM.[1] Unununium specifically emulated the Sunplus SPG2xx series of chipsets, and development of the emulator by its original author would stop in early 2010.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://hackmii.com/2010/04/sunplus-the-biggest-chip-company-youve-never-heard-of/
  2. ↑ Hyperscan forum (dead link)
  3. ↑ http://www.northpalace.com/resume.php
  4. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20081030045353/http://w3.sunplusmm.com/products/game/g220.asp
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasialovelace
  6. ↑ https://archive.org/details/SunplusSG288Documentation
  7. ↑ SPG290 press release from Sunplus
  8. ↑ https://cohost.org/kbity/post/811704-spg293-adventures-p
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Nice Code's website (archived)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Nice Code's website (dead link)
  11. ↑ Nice Code's website (dead link)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chinese copyright registry (dead link)
  13. ↑ http://bootleg.games/BGC_Forum/index.php?topic=118.msg1852#msg1852
  14. ↑ Nice Code's website (dead link)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 https://pnp-info.angelfire.com/#cpus_table
  16. ↑ Multiple areas in the ROM of the game contain certain text graphics ("Please wait......", "OK", and "ERROR") that are identical to ones used in the test menu for the Sport Vii; the latter is detailed on The Cutting Room Floor.
  17. ↑ https://x.com/MameHaze/status/1928599365943185512?s=19

External links[]

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