#NEC PC-80

[mingos-commodoreblog]

RECOIL 6.4.4 - A viewer of pictures in native formats of 20th century computers: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari Portfolio, Atari ST/TT/Falcon, BBC Micro, Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 16/116/Plus4, Commodore 128, Electronika BK, FM Towns, HP 48, Macintosh 128K, MSX, NEC PC-80, NEC PC-88, NEC PC-98, Oric, Psion Series 3, SAM Coupé, Sharp X68000, Tandy 1000, Timex 2048, TRS-80, TRS-80 Color Computer, Vector-06C, ZX81 and ZX Spectrum.

[awwfulsounds]

Nippon Electric Company PC-8801 print ad Japan 1981 (x)

[kply-industries]

[acquired-stardust]

Cosmic Psycho PC98 1991

[bigbigpixels]

Dragon Knight III ドラゴンナイトIII (1991)

NEC PC-98

The original Dragon Knight III was released in Japan in 1991 for the NEC PC-9801 computer. Ports for the X68000 and PC Engine CD followed in 1992 and 1994, respectively. In addition to the regular version of the game, the PC port (Knights of Xentar in 1985) also has an "adult" version with more features.

[basic-retro-programming]

Amazing Retro Computers

The 12 vintage computers of the opinion poll ...

Amstrad CPC6128, 1985 ...

Schneider Euro PC, 1988 ...

Apple II, 1977 ...

Atari ST, 1985 ...

Commodore 64 / C64, 1982 ...

Commodore Amiga 500, 1987 ...

IBM PS/1, 1990 ...

NEC PC-9801, 1982 ...

Sharp MZ 80K, 1979 ...

Radio Shack Tandy TRS-80 Model 2000, 1981

Toshiba HX-10, 1984 ...

Sony Hit Bit 75P (MSX-1), 1984 ...

Source: Pinterest

Post #267: Amazing Retro Computers: The 12 computers of the opinion poll: Which home computer was or would have been your favourite between the 1970s and 1980s?, 2023.

[osgoodcomix]

Bonk's Adventure

[watchmorecinema]

The story of Microsoft's meteoric rise and IBM's fall has been on my mind lately. Not really related to any film, but I do think we're overdue for an updated Pirates of Silicon Valley biopic. I really think that the 80's and 90's had some wild stories in computing.

If you ask the average person what operating system your computer could have they'd say that if it's a PC it has Windows, and if it's a Mac it has macOS. All home computers are Macs or PCs, but how did it get this way?

In the 70's everyone was making home computers. Tandy was a leather supply goods company established in 1919, but they made computers. Montgomery Ward was a retail chain that decided to make their own store brand computers. Commodore, Atari, NEC, Philips, Bally and a million other assorted companies were selling computers. They generally couldn't talk to each other (if you had software for your Tandy it wouldn't work on your Commodore) and there was no clear market winner. The big three though were Tandy (yeah the leather company made some great computers in 78), Commodore and Apple.

IBM was the biggest computer company of all, in fact just the biggest company period. In 1980 they had a market cap of 128 billion dollars (adjusted for inflation). None of these other companies came close, but IBM's success was built off of mainframes. 70% of all computers sold worldwide were IBM computers, but 0% of it was from the home market.

IBM wanted to get into this growing and lucrative business, and came up with a unique plan. A cheap computer made with commodity parts (i.e. not cutting edge) that had open architecture. The plan was that you could buy an IBM Personal Computer (TM) and then upgrade it as you please. They even published documentation to make it easy to build add ons.

The hope was that people would be attracted to the low prices, the options for upgrades would work for power users, and a secondary market of add ons would be created. If some 3rd party company creates the best graphics card of all time, well you'd still need to buy an IBM PC to install it on.

IBM was not in the home software business, so they went to Microsoft. Microsoft produced MS-DOS (based on 86-DOS, which they licensed) but did not enforce exclusivity. That meant that Microsoft could sell MS-DOS for any of their competitors too. This was fine because of how fractured the market was. Remember, there were a lot of competitors, no one system dominated and none of the competitors could share software. Porting MS-DOS to every computer would have taken years, and by that point it would be outdated anyways.

IBM saw two paths forward. If the IBM PC did well they would make a ton of money. Third party devs like Microsoft would also make a lot of money, but not as much as IBM. If it failed, well then no one was making money. Either way the balance of power wouldn't change. IBM would still be at the top.

IBM however did not enjoy massive profits. It turns out that having cheap components and an open architecture where you could replace anything would... let you replace anything. A company like Compaq could just buy their own RAM, motherboards, cases, hard drives, etc. and make their own knockoff. It was easy, it was popular, and it was completely legal! Some people could order parts and build their own computer from scratch. If you've ever wondered why you can build your own computer but not your own tv or toaster, this is why. IBM had accidentally created a de facto standard that they had no control over.

In 1981 IBM's PC was worth 2.5% of the marketshare. By 1995 IBM PC compatibles were 95% of the marketshare, selling over 45 million units and IBM had to share the profits with every competitor. Apple is the only survivor of this time because the Macintosh was such an incredible piece of technology, but that's a different story for a different time.

And Microsoft? Well building an OS is much harder than putting together a few hardware components, so everyone just bought MS-DOS. With no exclusivity agreement this was also legal. That huge marketshare was now the basis for Microsoft's dominance.

IBM created a computer standard and gave the blueprints to every competitor and created a monopoly for Microsoft to boot. And that's why every computer you buy either is made by Apple with Apple software, or made by anyone else with Microsoft software. IBM is back where they started, having left the home computer business in 2005.

It's easily the biggest blunder in computer history. Other blunders have killed companies but none were quite as impactful as this one.

This story, and many others I know of, I first read in "In Search of Stupidity", a book authored by a former programmer and product manager that was able to see a lot of this first hand. I make no money advertising this book, I just had a great time reading it.

[archoneddzs15]

PC Engine - The Legend of Xanadu

Title: The Legend of Xanadu / 風の伝説ザナドゥ

Developer/Publisher: Nihon Falcom / NEC Home Electronics

Release date: 18 February 1994

Catalogue No.: HECD4006

Genre: RPG

Format: Super CD-ROM2

A spin-off of the Xanadu games and, by extension, the Dragon Slayer universe. It is worth noting that Xanadu was the game that made Nihon Falcom a force to be reckoned with in the Japanese PC gaming industry back in the 80s. In Legend of Xanadu, the player controls a young adventurer named Areios. Monsters attack his homeland, and he is forced to flee. After traveling by ship and arriving at the town Bolda, Areios finds out that strange things have been happening in the North Cave near the town. His first mission will be to venture to the North Cave and investigate the matter. Of course, soon Areios finds himself involved in a battle against sinister forces, and commences the longest and most dangerous adventure of his life! Controlling Areios, the player explores the top-down world, visiting towns and fighting monsters in vast outdoor areas and dungeons. Like in the Ys series, it is sufficient to "bump" into a monster to inflict damage. Areios gains hit points and becomes stronger by sustaining damage from enemies and resting. His weapons and armor can gain experience and level up. In many areas, companions will join Areios and help him in combat, controlled by the computer AI.

[lonelyrollingstar]

Do you have a favorite vintage computer?

Honestly it’s hard to pick just one! If I was hard pressed to pick just one I’d say either the C64 or the Amiga but I’m also very partial to Japanese computers, especially the NEC PC-80/88/98 series and the X68000. The PCjr also has a completely unearned place in my heart for being one of the most stable and reliable machines in the museum

[eclecticreviewpeace]

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[mingos-commodoreblog]

RECOIL 6.4.0 - Retro Computer Image Library decodes Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari Portfolio, Atari ST/TT/Falcon, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Commodore 16/116/Plus4, Commodore 128, Electronika BK, FM Towns, HP 48, Macintosh 128K, MSX, NEC PC-80/88/98, Oric, SAM Coupe, Sharp X68000, Tandy 1000, Timex 2048, TRS-80, TRS-80 Color Computer, ZX81 and ZX Spectrum picture formats. The project contains a simple viewer, plug-ins for general-purpose image viewers and editors, and an everything-to-png converter.

[yotchan-blog]

2025/5/8 21:00:22現在のニュース

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[classic-games]

Out Run (PC Engine)

Developer: Sega   Publisher: NEC Avenue    Release: 12/21/90    Genre: Racing Sega’s ports of their arcade hits on the PC Engine are a curious bunch. One would assume they would keep those games exclusive to bolster the lineup of their own home platforms. But a significant number of their biggest hits of the 80s would hit the platform in varying degrees of quality. Shinobi was one of the best…

[acquired-stardust]

Game Spotlight #17: Telenet Music Box (1989)

Acquired Stardust is back with another spotlight! Need something to read to get your mind of recent world events? Been hunting for some new music to listen to? Do you just like learning about cool obscure stuff? Join Ash for a look at one of the most obscure things as of yet featured on the blog in 1989's Telenet Music Box for the PC88!

When thinking about the history of video games, many people of a certain age conjure to mind a beginning marked by the boom that Nintendo's NES (known in Japan as the Famicom) brought to the world. Fewer people will be overly familiar with Atari's platforms or their competitors, and fewer still will likely have heard about the infamous crash of the American video game industry in 1983 beyond being able to regurgitate myths of Howard Scott Warshaw's adaptation of E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1983) bearing supposed direct responsibility.

This pop history approach becoming so normalized to people is frustrating but understandable because it's all around us. Being inundated with countless YouTubers and streamers professing a love for retro games has inadvertently created a narrative that video game history is a straight line through mainstream smash hit consoles and this couldn't be further from the truth - there is a whole world before and around the NES that has gone largely unexplored, particularly in the west, and odds are if you've spent much time on Tumblr you're probably passingly familiar with the subject of this spotlight.

Japan has finally begun to more widely adopt PC gaming (in part due to the phenomenon that is vtubing), with an absolute explosion in market share in the past decade. What you might not know is that Japan actually has a pretty rich history of PC gaming that really blossomed in the 80s and 90s with several hardware manufacturers such as NEC and ASCII offering options that would give the world some early looks at teams and individuals that would come to define the medium going forward.

One such game changer (no pun intended) is Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear debuting in 1987 with its definitive version on MSX PCs and getting an incredible sequel that puts the NES-exclusive Snake's Revenge to shame, and another Kojima title would go on to define the NEC PC98 in popular consciousness with classic sexy adventure Policenauts easily being the most memorable title which would subsequently be ported and updated several times for home consoles such as the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation.

You may be familiar with the PC98 as screenshots from its many games are popular around Tumblr, most often featuring gloriously mid-late 90s anime girls rendered in stunning pixel art that feels like it exists somewhere out of time as things isolated from their origin as video game screenshots. Having been on Tumblr for over a decade (and the internet at large for even longer), it's my observation that the rediscovery of and appreciation for this retro anime aesthetic (and its later PC98 permutation) was really born here on Tumblr before spreading to other platforms to the point that you've probably seen at least one shot cross your dashboard before. But for this spotlight we're going even further back to the predecessor of the PC98, the PC88.

NEC's PC88 was released in the early 80s and most models featured a whopping 62 KB of RAM (in comparison to the NES's 2 KB) and many later models featured Yamaha sound chips which resulted in games often being visually and aurally significantly more impressive than you would see in home consoles at the time, in some cases lightyears ahead of the NES particularly in regards to music which is a pretty great thing for the sake of this spotlight. The games themselves were also quite varied in content from everything to the kawaii and comedic to erotic and even plenty of horror, with many standout games more accurately reflecting wider Japanese pop culture of the era than what you'd see on the comparatively sterile NES.

This wild west, edgy punk rock software library that goes part and parcel with Japan's nascent PC gaming scene is one of the coolest elements of going back to explore it. You never really know what you're in for, and you might be surprised (or even disgusted) with some of the unique experiences the platform has to offer. Many of these games (and those on the successor PC98) are completely untranslated and Japanese comprehension helps their enjoyment greatly and while often simple enough to enjoy without it that aspect has certainly contributed to their enigma in the west.

There are a lot of factors that have made PC88 and PC98 fandom and emulation not as glamorous as that of home consoles and some of that is due to limitations of the hardware in how it handles scrolling screens, with a noticeable chug as games scroll. Another factor is the compounding nature of its flaws and obscurity meaning emulators themselves are in Japanese and a bit tricky to figure out how to handle, old PCs infamously lacking a lot of user friendly features we take for granted today.

One such surprise is Telenet Music Box, a collection of then-prominent publisher Telenet Japan's biggest games' music. It's barely even a game and more a piece of software fit for a museum, with minimal activity limited to browsing game albums (a total of 13), choosing songs to listen to and creating custom playlists. Each of the 13 game albums is showcased with beautiful splash art and accompanied by a tracker for the keyboard as well as titles for each song and a timer for the length of songs.

Included in the mix is an impressive slate of Telenet Japan's games that showcase the depth and variety of the PC88's library such as Mugen Senshi Valis and even an early alternate manifestation of Shin Megami Tensei as a top-down dungeon crawler reminiscent of Gauntlet. Each of Telenet Music Box's 13 albums have their standout tracks, with some from Luxor and Final Zone being among our favorites.

Telenet Music Box is not a wholly unique concept and several other similar games were released for the platform (as well as the PC98), but it is an exceptionally clever one who's usefulness is perhaps all the more apparent now almost 40 years removed from its release, serving as a fantastic introductory course to a little understood part of video game history. It's a fantastic time capsule and with plenty to offer listeners of its roughly 3 hour runtime well beyond its value as virtual archaeology worth excavating.

Perhaps its most valuable asset is its ability to highlight the true nature of history. History is not a static thing with a start and an end but rather a living breathing thing that touches our everyday lives. Rare is it that anything begins or ends from nothing, with things instead in a constant state of evolution even when rising from the ashes of something else. One particular example of this is in Wolf Team's Final Zone (which features hilarious commentary in its opening scene that I'm not sure how made it past management - do look it up if you can) and Mugen Senshi Valis, the latter of which having been extremely popular in its time, spawning tons of ports and several sequels, with the team behind it eventually morphing into Namco's Tales Studio, responsible for some of the most beloved JRPGs of all time such as Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia.

While PC88 emulation can be frustrating to work out or find files for, an unforeseen strength of Telenet Music Box's concept of 'game as an album' is how much easier its discoverability is in recent years compared to the more traditional video games it shares a platform with, being far more easy to interface with and experience than the games it itself chronicles, and it can be found on YouTube in its entirety for your listening pleasure alongside plenty of other PC88 soundtracks. I invite you to dip your toes into this little-known scene and hope you come out of it with appreciation for the wide world of games outside what may be familiar to you, and maybe even some new favorite tracks.

A gem hidden among the stones, Telenet Music Box is undoubtedly stardust.

- Ash

[tknblog]

Oh my! I am soooooo in love with this at first look!! Japanese #PC case maker #SilverStone is rolling out a new 80’s-inspired desktop case design that was supposed to be an April Fool’s joke earlier this year. Apparently enough people demanded the NEC PC-9800 clone be made real they actually followed through!! It will be going on sale in Japan next year for $130 (US), but nowhere else… for now. #tech arstechnica.com/gadgets/2…