As the moon's almost new, we think we should refresh our poll too. First let's look at the outcome of the previous poll! Little over three weeks ago we raised a poll in which we asked for which MSX platforms you'd wish to see new games being made. After 100 votes, here're the results.
- turbo R (35%)
- MSX2 (24%)
- any MSX (20%)
- MSX2+ (11%)
- MSX1 (10%)
If we split the 'any MSX' part evenly among the four MSX categories, we'd get:
- turbo R (40%)
- MSX2 (29%)
- MSX2+ (16%)
- MSX1 (15%)
And it's clear as a whistle. The turbo R is by far the most popular MSX platform in need of games. What these games should be was an interesting discussion, a few weeks ago. Technically, the V9958 in this machine is a bit of a limiting factor. A new exclusive turbo R game (e.g., one that crawls on older MSX'es, if it runs at all) could put the focus to raw calculations. A pinball game was mentioned, especially when decent physics are applied to multiple balls. Another idea would be to create any regular game and then use the V9990 and OPL4 chips to their fullest extent. Because, while these chips work with older MSX generations as well, controlling more sprites, more tiles and more channels at the same time will certainly tax the CPU.
The MSX2 remains a favourite too, which is hardly surprising. For decades, the MSX2 has been a great all purpose gaming machine, running the greatest RPG's, platform games, shooters and puzzle games. The MSX2+ lacks behind, surprisingly. Could it be that the V9958 is less interesting for games than we think? Or do people just skip it to tick the turbo R option?
The MSX1 was the least popular choice in this poll. Interestingly, the yearly MSXdev contest remains a popular event for both audience and developers. What this poll doesn't show is whether the voters have been gamers or developers, and as such it could be that MSX1 is popular among developers while MSX2 and up are popular among gamers.
Enough with it, it's time to start a new poll - a simple one this time. Konami has created a great many games for MSX1, MSX2 and MSX2+. Among them are platform games, but which one is the best?
Relevant link: Poll results