Sega Soft Desk 5
| Soft Desk 5 | |
|---|---|
| Katakana | ソフトデスク5 |
| Rōmaji | SOFUTO DESUKU 5 |
| AKA | Sega Soft Desk 5 |
| Type | Upright |
The Soft Desk 5 (ソフトデスク5) was apparently a five-game version of the Sega/Coreland Soft Desk multi-game system.
Its existence is supported by Japanese contemporary-user recollections and later specialist preservation research, but no factory flyer, manual or positively identified surviving cabinet image for the original non-Mark III model has yet been located.
The machine appears to have been the earlier Sega SG-1000-generation counterpart to the documented Soft Desk 5 Mark III.
Because primary documentation for this version has not yet been found, specifications such as its dimensions, monitor, power consumption and exact cabinet design remain unknown.
Evidence
The strongest currently known evidence for the original Soft Desk 5 comes from a Japanese recollection describing a machine explicitly remembered as:
SOFT DESK 5
The writer recalled a five-game cabinet installed in a supermarket and identified a software selection including:
- Rock'n Bolt
- Champion Kendou
- Ninja Princess
- Wonder Boy
- H.E.R.O.
This recollection distinguishes the five-game machine from the later Mark III version.
Specialist Sega preservation discussion at SMS Power subsequently summarised the system as:
The Sega Soft Desk 5 version was the SG-1000 one.
This is consistent with the documented existence of the later:
which Sega documentation explicitly identifies as a Mark III-based five-game system.
Software generation
The original Soft Desk 5 appears to have used Sega software from the:
SG-1000 generation
This is supported by the titles recalled for the machine and by specialist preservation discussion distinguishing it from the later Mark III version.
The exact internal hardware architecture has not yet been confirmed from factory technical documentation.
It should therefore not be stated that the machine simply contained a stock domestic SG-1000 console.
Five-game format
The model name strongly suggests a:
five-game
configuration.
This interpretation is reinforced by the surviving documentation for the later Soft Desk 5 Mark III, which provides five selectable games using the same basic Soft Desk concept.
The original Soft Desk 5 therefore appears to have been a smaller-capacity counterpart to the:
which provided ten selectable games.
Relationship to Soft Desk 10
The documented Soft Desk 10 belongs to the same earlier Sega software generation and provides ten selectable titles.
The currently supported Soft Desk family therefore appears to have included:
| Model | Games | Software generation | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sega Soft Desk 10 | 10 | Earlier Sega / SG-1000 generation | Factory documentation |
| Soft Desk 5 | 5 | SG-1000 generation | Secondary historical evidence |
| Sega Soft Desk 10 Mark III | 10 | Sega Mark III | Period promotional material |
| Sega Soft Desk 5 Mark III | 5 | Sega Mark III | Sega factory manual |
This makes the existence of both five-game and ten-game variants across the two hardware generations a plausible product-family structure.
However, the original Soft Desk 5 remains the least well documented of the four.
Relationship to Soft Desk 5 Mark III
The later:
is directly documented by an original Sega instruction manual.
That machine is explicitly identified as:
SEGA MARK III SOFT DESK 5
and uses the same five-game concept with Sega Mark III-generation software.
The naming strongly suggests that the Mark III machine succeeded an earlier Soft Desk 5 rather than introducing the "5" designation for the first time.
This interpretation is also supported by surviving secondary evidence explicitly distinguishing an SG-1000-era Soft Desk 5 from the Mark III model.
Cabinet design
The physical appearance of the original Soft Desk 5 is presently unknown.
No photograph or factory illustration has yet been positively identified as the non-Mark III five-game model.
It should therefore not be assumed to have used exactly the same cabinet shell as the later Soft Desk 5 Mark III.
The Mark III cabinet may be useful for understanding the later development of the five-game format, but its appearance should not be used as evidence for the original machine without further documentation.
Manufacturer
The closely related Soft Desk 10 is documented as a Coreland/Sega product.
The original Soft Desk 5 is likely to belong to the same product family, but factory material identifying its exact manufacturer or distributor has not yet been located.
For that reason, the manufacturer should remain unqualified in the infobox until primary evidence is found.
Date
The exact release year of the Soft Desk 5 is currently unknown.
It necessarily predates or belongs to the period before the documented Mark III-based Soft Desk 5, but a specific year should not be assigned without dated contemporary material.
Documented games
Games recalled in association with the original Soft Desk 5 include:
- Rock'n Bolt
- Champion Kendou
- Ninja Princess
- Wonder Boy
- H.E.R.O.
These should be treated as a documented recollection of one installation rather than a complete factory software list.
Current evidence status
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Model name | Supported by secondary historical evidence |
| Five-game capacity | Strongly supported |
| SG-1000-generation software | Supported by specialist preservation research and recalled game list |
| Factory flyer | Not yet located |
| Factory manual | Not yet located |
| Cabinet photograph | Not yet positively identified |
| Dimensions | Unknown |
| Monitor | Unknown |
| Power consumption | Unknown |
| Exact release year | Unknown |
External Links
- Mixi - Japanese recollection mentioning the Soft Desk 5 and its game selection
- SMS Power - Soft Desk preservation and discussion
- SMS Power - additional Soft Desk 5 / Mark III preservation discussion