We're Getting A "Classic Edition" Of The PC-88, Japan's Iconic '80s Computer

"It's unknown if it will get a Western release."

I think we already know the answer to that.

It's significant they they picked this particular model of 88 to base it on since it was the first machine worth having (it is to the OG model what MSX2 is to MSX1). It added vastly improved graphics capabilities, and of course the OPN FM chip. This was the machine that Yuzo Koshiro wrote his PC88 and Mega Drive soundtracks on for that reason.

I expect they will add in the SoundBoard II/OPL emulation for games that support that but I don't know if they will bother with supporting the VA graphics modes. Even if they include it very few titles supported it.

Oh I expect no UK release as usual, I was hoping for the Sharp X68000 mini to get a UK release. Obviously not.

@Axelay71
Come on, it'd sell.a few hundred units, at best.

it suprises me how hard it is to get your hands on a PC-88 despite how popular they apparently were in the day. usually i write off these mini consoles because ultimately you're paying a premium for a fancy case and a handful of preinstalled games on a cheapo single board computer, but in this case i may very well be enough of a sucker to pay said premium price for said fancy case. i guess it all depends on whether the price is right and what fraction of the games I can play without needing to read

@_NetNomad I'd imagine they'd be similar to IBM, who NEC was so clearly trying to imitate. FAR too expensive for the typical home user, like probably almost any '80s IBM or Apple computer. But from what I hear, Japan had far less space so more than likely once the machines had served their business purpose, I'd guess they were more likely scrapped than IBMs were in America.

Though I do wonder about the TeraDrive. Seems that was an actual IBM machine sold in Japan. I wonder how compatible that was? I know NEC's computers were similar, but I don't think they were compatible, were they? I know you could install Windows on NEC machines, but would the software still work regardless if it was written for a NEC or IBM machine?

@mjparker77 that's one of the hundred in my collection then. I very much doubt the Atari 400 mini has set record sales, but it happened.

@_NetNomad PC-88's are very easy to come by, you just have to go to Yahoo Auctions. Japanese computers don't find themselves onto eBay much or have shocking mark ups even for common things like 88 or 98. The market for overseas buyers isn't big enough for those machines to find their way there outside of the odd X68k.

I've bought 3 88's from YAJ and now have an 88MA. (one died, one was replaced by the MA).

I know the NEC PC-88 line were the most popular of the Japanese PCs, but after the X68000 mini version last year, I was expecting to see someone do an FM Towns unit first. Fujitsu's platform was more purpose built for games and had a lot of arcade ports like the X68000. But this does make sense since the NEC machines were more widely available and there were more games overall. I'd still like to see an FM Towns version happen.

@KingMike None of the japanese systems have compatible DOS, they are all modified to work with the memory mappings etc of their platform. 99% of software isn't compatible and needed porting of some kind.

When you get to Windows 3.x onwards, most software is sold just as Windows, rather than PC98 windows etc. The OS takes care of all the platform differences, you just get different drivers to handle things like different video modes, keyboard inputs, sound etc.

I played my western PC copy of Civilization 2 on my 486 FM Towns for example.

@sdelfin I think part of the problem with the FMT is that as a multimedia platform with a high level of edutainment software, it's not an easy sell compared to the other platforms. It had good arcade ports as well as ports from 98/X68k sure, but one argument is that it doesn't offer enough unique software.

That said, I don't think we can rule it out and it may just be a matter of time.

@KingMike The 88 was by design or accident intended to be the home computer. It was cheap and did games. It wasn't as mass market as the MSX, but it was also more capable.

The 98 however was aimed at businesses and yes that was priced out of range of the average family. Even in the bubble era.

The 88 sold more units n the 80s than the PC98. which really only gained traction at the tail end of the 80s vs the 88.

@LowDefAl I did consider that it may come down to unique titles or maybe licensing as well. I know the FM Towns wasn't a big seller, but the X68000 wasn't either. They're similar in that they were far more capable game machines than the NEC PCs which is why I think a "classic edition" is interesting, at least from an outsider's perspective. There are plenty of games from which to choose, but as you say not many are unique with a bunch of arcade ports and even some ports from the other computers(such as Mad Stalker from the X68000). Still, I'm surprised with some of these other mini systems, so a mini FM Towns doesn't seem crazy.

@LowDefAl i search "PC-88" and "PC-88コンピュータ" on buyee every so often and see a lot of software (and kurzweil digital pianos) but rarely ever any hardware- are there better search terms to use? should i be going directly to YAJ instead of through buyee? am i just stupid (very distinct possibility LOL)?

@_NetNomad I personally would go direct to yaj but that’s how look for all items anyway. Personally I use zen market so i paste the link there if I want a translation or converted price. Note you’ll need tp use a vpn if in Europe as Yahoo are too cheap to implement EU requirements (although given their partnership with buyee that is probably their workaround).

I’m not saying there are hundreds available like with 98, but there should be a reasonable constant number of them. Especially if Beep have some to sell through their yugen parent company.

It also depends on if you are willing to take a “junk” model or if you need a guaranteed working model. I strongly recommend you buy one with the keyboard included as there are multiple keyboard types and they use different incompatible standards and some of those keyboards will cost much more on their own

@LowDefAl thank you!

Micomsoft wait is that real! How has m$ not nuked them yet?

@Axelay71

It's way better known than this for sure.

@mjparker77

It looks interesting.