A map and date are depicted in the TOWNFALL trailer

[The Adversary]

Early on in the trailer, a couple images of a map are shown, which I hadn't noticed before. I can't sleep, so I looked around a map of Scotland (where No Code is from) and couldn't match anything. Checked out Maine, as well, and also haven't found anything close enough, so it's probably nothing, but I thought it was interesting.

Equally interesting is one of the first images on the CRTV.



It reads

LOCAL BROADCAST SERIES

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

10.04.19??

In the US, dates are listed month/day/year, though in every other (re: smart) country it's day/month/year. I've always placed SILENT HILL in April 1983. Scotland, however, goes by day/month/year, so probably 4 October, 19??.

To me, it really looks like 1988, though it's really impossible to tell.

[leftshoe18]

I also think it looks like 1998 though with the bloom blowing out the numbers it is hard to tell. I think this definitely points to the game being a period piece of sorts instead of placing it in/around the release year like the last few games have done.

[alone in the town]

I love these challenges, so here's my take.

First, I couldn't find a TV that looked exactly like this, but I did find one that is quite visually similar: the Sony Watchman FDL-310


The user manual was printed in 1989, according to the user manual I found on Sony's website, and Wikipedia gives a 1990 release. Older models of Watchman (and most other handheld tvs) tend to have bulker units with relatively smaller screen space. Even more importantly, this is the also the first color model of Watchman (or of any portable TV, most likely), which is indicated with the little RGB markings, and the trailer TV is also a color model given it has that marking as well, so whoever made it, made it no earlier than this model was made. Given all this, and the visible signs of wear on the unit shown in the trailer, I lean far more strongly towards 1998 than 1988.

[The Adversary]

My problem with it being 1998 is the obvious for me: Was anyone actually using this technology in '98? 'cuz I was in high school and don't remember a single person who even had one. Not even my father, was a huge tech nerd, always getting the latest in electronics and computers.

Secondly, all the other tech on the desk is pretty outdated: what looks like a fax machine, a desktop phone, 3.5" discs, and what I think is a disposable camera that uses 110 film (which was certainly not a common choice in '98).

I suppose all of these could have still been in use in 1998, it just seems, in regards to the comments in the trailer itself—especially that Alessa is mentioned—more likely that it would be closer to when SILENT HILL first occurs, as opposed to possibly 15 years later.

[alone in the town]

Maybe a lil more likely they'd be using that particular piece of tech in 1998, since my long and hard minutes of research lead me to believe that it didn't exist quite yet in '88. I never really thought of handheld TVs as ever being very popular or widespread. It's the kind of idea that was was possible with the tech, but not very practical to actually use except occasionally (I know people took them to sporting events so they could watch the broadcast).

In the context of these screenshots, we appear to be seeing some sort of EAS-like transmission. If we are to assume a major emergency is taking place, it would be a great reason to use a handheld TV if you had access to it, even if the tech is old and niche.

[The Adversary]

That all might be true. And you know I try to go by as much in-game to real-world information. Sometimes anachronisms happen, though.

Not that I want to use that as an excuse. We know the model of CRTV in the trailer is fictional, so maybe it’s the first color model available in this universe.

Or I could be completely wrong. We also have some idea that places in Silent Hill tend to use somewhat outdated technology, like typewriters in SILENT HILL 2.

I’m honestly a bit more interested in the map(s). It’s clearly a coastline with a lake, and the trailer segues feature waves crashing. I can’t find a matching inlet like that, but Maine has so many islands and all it’d be awfully hard to find after a couple tequila shots.

Also—do lakes need lighthouses? I guess it would depend on boat traffic, and Toluca Lake is pretty large.

[Jonipoon]

Has CRTV's ever been popular among the public, though? I think they're more associated with the police force, and I the teaser trailer makes it clear that this CRTV in particular belongs to someone making an investigation.

I'm leaning more and more towards 1998, but we'll see. I remember still using floppy disks back then.

[The Adversary]

Floppy discs in ‘98? Fuck, I was using corrupted Zip drives then.

[leftshoe18]

I was definitely using floppy disks in 1998 and actually all the way up until 2003 to pass out copies of small games I made to my friends.

[Droo]

I was definitely using floppy disks in 1998 and actually all the way up until 2003 to pass out copies of small games I made to my friends.

My old novelization of SH1 I worked on when I first joined the forum in 2003 was saved to floppy disk.

[alone in the town]

Mine of SH2 was also saved on a floppy, and a large amount of it was written on an ancient Windows 95 Thinkpad with a monochrome display (hence the need for the floppy).