History of the MSX-Part 1

The MSX computer blurred the line between console and home computer. One can think of it as the Japanese equivalent of the Commodore 64, a mass-market home computer that certainly had quite the reputation of a games platform. This article will focus more on that side of things and take a look at some of the more memorable games that defined the MSX.

The MSX is largely seen as the brainchild of Kazuhiko Nishi. Nishi co-founded ASCII magazine in the late 1970s. Devoted to computing, the magazine soon branched out to software publishing. In the early 1980s, ASCII partnered with Microsoft with Nishi becoming the head of Microsoft's Japanese sales office in the form of ASCII Microsoft. Nishi soon sought to unify computer makers around the same hardware specifications. Like VHS in the home entertainment business, the MSX was meant to be a single hardware specification that could be produced by multiple hardware manufacturers. Supplied with a modified version of MS Basic, the MSX was met with massive enthusiasm among Japanese giants such as Panasonic, Sanyo, and Casio. By late 1983, the first units were on sale, mostly in Japan.

The MSX used a Zilog Z-80 8-bit processor. In terms of specifications, the MSX was initially very similar to both the Colecovision and the Sega SG-1000. MSX1 games are rather primitive in terms of graphics and sound.

Japanese game giant Konami was by far the most ardent supporter of the MSX. Perhaps the most famous MSX games were released by Konami. Some early MSX1 titles included Penguin Adventure (pictured), King's Valley, Gradius, Twin Bee, and countless others. Konami would remain a die-hard supporter of the MSX standard until the early 1990s into the MSX 2 era. Today, Konami MSX games can fetch hundreds of dollars each on online auction sites. Another big supporter of the system was Hudson Soft. Classic Hudson Soft titles such as Bomberman (pictured) and Binary Land soon found a home on the system.

Unlike most Japanese home computers of the time, the MSX was able to find a home outside of its native country. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the MSX was became a somewhat popular home computer in Brazil, Europe, and in the USSR. Despite its modest success abroad, by 1985 it was painfully clear the MSX was technically outdated. Seeking an upgrade for the standard, the MSX2 standard would appear in 1985.

.......to be continued in part 2.......