Taito Type X¶
Taito's PC-based arcade platform (2004). Not a custom PCB: x86 under Windows Embedded, with JVS I/O and USB-dongle protection. The Type X2 is the most common (BlazBlue, Street Fighter IV, KOF XIII…) and the target of many doujin/indie games.
Concept¶
"Type X" is not fixed hardware but a modular platform: Taito provides a PC base + an environment (Windows Embedded, JVS, security) and each game runs on it, often with its own hardware config.
Variants¶
| Variant | Year | Key hardware |
|---|---|---|
| Type X / X+ | 2004 | Celeron 2.5 GHz (→ P4), Radeon 9600 (AGP), i865G, WinXP Embedded |
| Type X2 | 2007 | LGA775 (up to Core 2 Duo E6400), PCIe GPU (Radeon X1600 / GeForce), Q965+ICH8, DDR2, WinXP Embedded |
| Type X Zero | 2011 | Atom 230, GeForce 9400M, compact, Win Embedded Standard 7 |
| Type X3 | 2012 | Core i5-2400 (i3/i7 optional), Radeon HD 6770 (→ GTX), Q67, WES7 64-bit / WinXP Emb |
| Type X4 | 2016 | Core i5-4590, GeForce GTX 960 (→ 1080 per game), Win Embedded 8 / WES7 |
Type X2 (the most common)¶
| Block | Detail |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel LGA 775 — Celeron D / Pentium 4 / Core 2 Duo E6400 |
| GPU | PCI Express ×16 — ATI Radeon X1600 Pro or GeForce |
| Chipset | Intel Q965 + ICH8 |
| RAM | DDR2 667/800 (512 MB → 4 GB) |
| OS | Windows XP Embedded |
| Video | VGA, 720p / 1080p |
| I/O | JVS, USB 2.0, SATA |
I/O — JVS¶
Controls via JVS (serial I/O) + an I/O board. It's the same standard as the NAOMI; it can be driven/emulated via JVS adapters. See also the NAOMI.
Security¶
Two models coexist depending on the era:
- USB dongle (hardware key): each game needs its dongle. This is the main preservation/porting barrier on Type X / X2.
- NESiCAxLive (from Type X3 on, ~2011): Taito's networked digital distribution service. The game is downloaded to the cabinet and licensed online (no physical cartridge/ROM); the cabinet talks to Taito's server. Several third-party publishers shipped on it (Arc System Works, French Bread…). The reliance on the server is the sensitive point for preserving those titles.
Storage & OS¶
Windows Embedded (XP / WES7 / Win8 per variant), game on HDD / CF / SSD. Being a PC, a Type X game is a Windows application — hence the active scene around launching, I/O, and doujin/indie games mostly targeting the Type X2.
Type X³ under NESiCAxLive 2 — what the conversion manual says ✅¶
A 改造説明書, not an operator's manual
The NESiCAxLive2 CVT conversion manual (Taito, ref. G2003380A on the cover) does not describe how to run a cabinet: it describes how to convert one. It is a procedure document, and it gives things no operator's manual does.
ⓘ The kit fits in a W320 × D230 × H86 mm carton weighing 0.8 kg, and holds exactly three items, one of each:
| Item | Part number |
|---|---|
| Hard disk assembly (ハードディスクASSY) | M9009197 |
| Dedicated dongle (専用ドングル) | M9009199 |
| The conversion manual itself | G2003380 |
ⓘ A small internal curiosity: the cover prints G2003380A, while the accessory list in the same document writes G2003380, without the suffix. Both are in the document; it matters if you order a replacement copy.
⚠️ Not every VEWLIX is compatible
The NESiCAxLive2 client's data sheet says so outright: 対応筐体: VEWLIXシリーズ, with a footnote — ⚠️ "非対応の「VEWLIXシリーズ」もあります", there are VEWLIX models that are not supported.
⚠️ And the manual makes you check before dismantling anything: "本製品を取り付ける前に、使用 する「VEWLIXシリーズ」がNESiCAxLiveに対応しているか確認してください。NESiCAxLive非対応の場合、 本製品を取り付けることができません。" Making a VEWLIX compatible needs a separate kit, to be ordered from Taito.
| Item | NESiCAxLive2 |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (bracket not included) | 360 (W) × 315 (D) × 160 (H) mm |
| Mass | about 8.5 kg |
| Supply | AC 100 V (50/60 Hz) |
| Maximum current | 1.15 A |
| Environment | 5 to 35 °C, humidity 10 to 70 %, no condensation |
| Interface | Taito's own high-speed I/O — ⓘ supplied with the cabinet-specific kit, not with the client |
| Resolutions | 1920 × 1080 (recommended), 1280 × 720, 1280 × 768 |
⚠️ The four DIPs: two are settings, two are not to be touched
| DIP | Setting |
|---|---|
| 1 | ⚠️ leave ON — "ONのまま変更しないでください" |
| 2 | OFF = low resolution (1280 × 720 or 1280 × 768) · ON = high resolution (1920 × 1080) |
| 3 | OFF = NESiCAxLive2 mode · ON = Ultra Street Fighter IV dedicated mode |
| 4 | ⚠️ leave OFF — "OFFのまま変更しないでください" |
⚠️ Touching any switch other than 2 or 3 does not merely give a wrong picture: "指示のない 位置に設定を変更すると、モニター故障 や動作異常の原因となります" — the manual announces monitor failure, not just a bad display.
⚠️ And the change is made with the power off: "DIPスイッチの切り替えは、電源がOFFの状態で 行ってください". For high resolution, first confirm the monitor supports it.
The conversion itself: who, how long, in what order
ⓘ Staffing and time, as numbers: "作業人員：1名" — one store maintenance person or technician — and "作業時間：1名で行い 約20分 です". ⚠️ One tool is listed: a No. 2 Phillips screwdriver.
Two paths, depending on the starting cabinet:
| From a Type X³ dedicated to… | Steps |
|---|---|
| Ultra Street Fighter IV | 1. switch off · 2. remove the USF4 dongle and the hard disk · 3. fit the NESiCAxLive2 disk and dongle · 4. reconnect · 5. test by actually playing |
| LEFT 4 DEAD | 1. switch off · 2. fit the NESiCAxLive2 disk and dongle · 3. reconnect · 4. test by actually playing |
⚠️ The second path has no removal step — the manual says so: on a board already at the revised standard from LEFT 4 DEAD, "この作業は必要ありません".
ⓘ Before any dismantling: switch the VEWLIX off, unplug it from the wall, then remove every cable from the client. The USF4 dongle comes free by removing two screws from its bracket (M3 × 6 binding screws).
✅ The last step of both paths is the same, and it is explicit: "実際にゲームをプレイして 正常にゲームが行えるか確認します" — actually play, not merely reach the attract screen.
The connectors, and the one you do not use
⚠️ Two video outputs, only one is used: the right-hand one is marked "※使用しません" — not used.
| Connector | Use |
|---|---|
| USB | the NESiCA reader |
| LAN (left) | the high-speed I/O interface |
| LAN (right) | ⚠️ only in USF4 dedicated mode (VS MATCH) — to the sub-cabinet's high-speed I/O |
| LAN (network) | the network cable |
| Audio output (right) · power | — |
⚠️ VS MATCH mode is not improvised: "ウルトラストリートファイターIV専用モードを使用するには、 NESiCAxLive SERVER SET が必要です".
And the network limits, as printed: up to 7 clients on the NESiCAxLive2's own ports; ⚠️ beyond that you must add a gigabit switch — "1回線契約で最大12台接続可能". ⚠️ But you do not cascade further: "増設したギガスイッチングハブにさらにギガスイッチングハブを接続する ことはできません". Straight cable, Cat 5 or higher.
Notable games¶
- Type X / X+: Battle Gear 4, Half-Life 2 Survivor (networked cabinet)…
- Type X2: Street Fighter IV (2008), the BlazBlue series (2008-2015), KOF XIII (2010), Melty Blood: Actress Again (French Bread/Type-Moon), Trouble Witches AC, eXceed 3rd, Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014), + many indie/doujin games.
- Type X3 / NESiCAxLive: Gunslinger Stratos, Lord of Vermilion, Guilty Gear Xrd (networked versions)…
- Type X4: 2016+ titles depending on the embedded GPU.
Faults & maintenance¶
Standard PC hardware → classic PC maintenance: ATX PSU, ventilation/thermal paste, HDD→SSD, RAM, motherboard CMOS battery. The dongle and JVS I/O are the specific points.
Modernisation & mods¶
The common ground for every JAMMA board
Video, power, control panel and upscalers depend on the cabinet rather than the board: everything is centralised in Modernising a cabinet. To run the board outside a cabinet (at home, on a display): supergun.
- Battery 🟢: a save battery is fitted (settings/counters/RTC). A leaking battery corrodes traces — check and replace it before it leaks → save batteries.
- Hard disk ⚠️: a perishable medium — image the drive before it fails, then consider an SSD/CF replacement → PCB preservation hub.
- Scan rate 📺: PC-based hardware — VGA output (31 kHz and above). ⚠️ A 15 kHz chassis is incompatible: you need a VGA/tri-sync monitor or a computer display. (Derived from the platform's PC nature documented above — not measured from MAME.)
- FPGA / emulation: see the Emulation & FPGA section below.
Repair (technician)¶
- x86 PC (LGA775, PCIe GPU): diagnose like a PC — ATX PSU, RAM, GPU (caps/fan), overheating, BIOS CMOS battery.
- Per-game USB dongle: without the right dongle it won't launch — not a hardware fault.
- HDD / CF / SSD (Windows Embedded): storage wear → imaging/cloning (if security allows).
- Capacitors: recap PSU / motherboard.
→ Methods: PCB fault-finding · Recap · Traces & vias
Procedure — a dead board, step by step ✅¶
What this adds
The general method lives in PCB diagnosis. This is its application to this platform: the same order, but with the values actually expected here, so you do not have to go back and forth.
This platform is a PC
Most of what kills one of these is not on a board: the disk, the dongle, the BIOS settings or the OS. Go through those first — the procedure below still applies to the rails and the boot, but stripping a machine that simply will not boot off its disk wastes a day.
Tools: multimeter, oscilloscope (or frequency counter), current-limited bench supply, desoldering braid. → Tooling
If the board is still in a cabinet
A CRT holds its charge with the machine unplugged. → CRT safety
1. Inspection, power off. Corrosion, cut tracks, oxidised EPROM legs, leaking SMD capacitors, dubious earlier repairs.
2. The connector, before anything else. A large share of "dead boards" are a contact problem, not a fault. Clean the contacts with isopropyl alcohol and reseat — not with an abrasive eraser on a gold edge, which takes the plating off and brings the problem back worse. It costs two minutes and settles the question.
3. Power, measured on the board. Aim for +5.0 V measured as close as possible to where power reaches the board — not at the PSU output: the drop is in the loom, and that is exactly what makes a board boot on the bench and not in the cabinet. Where you probe depends on this board's connector — JAMMA edge, JVS loom or a proprietary harness — plenty of makers kept one long after JAMMA arrived — see Identification above. → Wiring Check −5 V and +12 V too if the sound stage uses them. Suspected short: bring it up current-limited and find the hot spot.
4. /RESET. It must release after power-up. Held low = the CPU never starts. A 1–2 Hz loop is not the reset circuit, it is the watchdog: the CPU is crashing at boot, so look at the bus, not at the reset.
5. Clocks. There is no measurement table for this platform — MAME's sources yield nothing usable for it. Any frequency quoted under Architecture on this page serves as a marker; otherwise compare against a working board rather than against a number: an invented value condemns healthy parts. → PCB diagnosis
6. Bus. Activity on the main CPU's address lines tells you whether it is running or frozen. Frozen with good clocks and good reset → work RAM, bus buffers, ROMs.
7. It boots but the picture or the sound is wrong — that is another job: see Common faults on this page, then signal tracing.
Emulation & FPGA¶
- No FPGA / MiSTer: the Type X is an x86 PC — there's nothing to "rebuild" in logic. Preservation goes through the game's disk image + its dongle (or its emulation), run on the original PC or an equivalent one.
- Some titles also run on PC via community solutions; MAME doesn't cover these PC games.
Photos / assets¶
(To add: Type X2 case, motherboard, USB dongle, JVS I/O.)
Archived original documents ✅¶
Manufacturer document archived locally, found on Internet Archive on 13 August 2026. ⚠️ The item declares no licence — kept for preservation, like the rest of the collection, and its provenance is named.
- PDF — taito-type-x3-nesica-x-live-2-conversion-jp.pdf — TAITO Type X³ — NESiCAxLive2 CVT 改造説明書, 51 pp., 株式会社タイトー, reference G2003380A. ⚠️ 改造説明書 means conversion manual, not operation manual: it covers converting an existing cabinet to Type X³ running NESiCAxLive 2. The cover shows the PC chassis and its CVT marking. Via Internet Archive
Sources & attribution¶
- Wikipedia — Taito Type X (variants, hardware, OS, JVS, security, games) — CC-BY-SA — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taito_Type_X
Review & corrections
How this space is used
Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.
Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.