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History
Starting in 1981, Epoch dominated the video-game console market in Japan with the Epoch Cassette Vision. Although very limited compared to its North American rival, the Cassette Vision had virtually no competition in Japan until 1983. At that time, the Japanese’s Console War started and 7 consoles battled for domination. With the release of the Nintendo Famicom, most companies were forced to drop the support on their consoles as the Famicom quickly dominated the Market. But although Epoch had nothing to compete against the Nintendo, they decided to fight fire with fire. To give themselves the time to finish their upcoming 8-bit console, Epoch released a trim-down version of the Cassette Vision called Cassette Vision Jr. on July 19, 1983, at a price of ¥5,000, a third of the price of the Nintendo console. Meanwhile, they worked tirelessly to create their new console : the Super Cassette Vision.
Release
On July 17, 1984, Epoch finally released the Super Cassette Vision. The problem was that Nintendo had already claimed most of the market, leaving Sega and the other fighting for the scraps. Epoch had a lot to do to try to convince customers to adopt its platform. They tried to create a community called the SCV (Super Cassette Vision) Friendship Association, which you could enroll for free by returning the postcard included with the console. This would allow you to receive information on upcoming games and events. From a game perspective, they relied heavily on popular anime licences and even tried to import western games under their brand “From U.S.A”.
In 1984, Epoch reached a deal with ITMC a French electronics company to bring the Super Cassette Vision in Europe. Renamed the Yeno Super Cassette Vision, the console was distributed in Europe, especially in France. Only about half of the titles were sold by ITMC.
In 1985, they tried to attract female gamer with the release of the Super Lady Cassette Vision, a very limited edition of the Super Cassette Vision which was entirely pink and came in an assorted case with the game Milky Princess.
Demise
By 1986, it was clear to Epoch that they couldn’t compete with Nintendo. Having tried every trick in the book, they decided to stop manufacturing the Super Cassette Vision. In the end, the console a bit worse than its predecessor the Cassette Vision, but the Cassette Vision is not considered a failure as it was the most popular console of its time, granted, in a very small market. The while the Famicom managed to grow the Japanese customer base exponentially, the Super Cassette Vision failed to make a dent in Nintendo’s domination.
Games
30 games were released for the consoles, with at least 2 games with alternate cover. The alternate cover for Super Baseball is a later version endorsed by Hara Tatsunori, a player from the giants which was a very famous baseball player of the time.
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| #1 – Astro Wars – Invaders from Space 1984 ¥2,980 |
#2 – Astro Wars II – Battle in Galaxy 1984 ¥2,980 |
#3 – Super Golf 1984 ¥3,800 |
#4 – Super Mahjong 1984 ¥3,800 |
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| #5 – Super Base Ball 1984 ¥3,800 |
#5 – Super Base Ball (Alternate Cover) 1984 ¥3,800 |
#6 – Punch Boy 1984 ¥3,800 |
#7 – Elevator Fight 1984 ¥3,800 |
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| #8 – Lupin III 1984 ¥3,800 |
#9 – Nebula 1984 ¥3,800 |
#9 – Nebula (Alternate Cover) 1984 ¥3,800 |
#10 – Wheelie Racer 1985 ¥3,800 |
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| #11 – Boulder Dash 1985 ¥4,500 |
#12 – Miner 2049er 1984 ¥4,500 |
#13 – Super Soccer 1985 ¥3,800 |
#14 – Comic Circus 1985 ¥3,800 |
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| #15 – Milky Princess 1985 ¥4,500 |
#16 – Pop and Chips 1985 ¥3,800 |
#17 – Nekketsu Kung-Fu Road 1985 ¥4,800 |
#18 – Star Speeder 1985 ¥4,800 |
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| #19 – TonTon Ball 1985 ¥3,800 |
#20 – Sansupyuta 1985 ¥4,500 |
#21 – Shougi Nyuumon 1985 ¥4,800 |
#22 – Doraemon December 1985 ¥4,800 |
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| #23 – BASIC Nyuumon 1985 ¥5,500 |
#24 – Dragon Slayer 1986 ¥4,800 |
#25 – Rantou Pro-Wrestling 1986 ¥4,800 |
#26 – WaiWai Monster Land 1986 ¥4,800 |
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| #27 – Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō 1986 ¥4,800 |
#28 – Mappy 1986 ¥4,800 |
#29 – Sky Kid 1986 ¥5,200 |
#30 – Pole Position II 1986 ¥5,200 |
Unreleased Games
- Black Hole
- Super Derby
- Super Rugby