PC-FX

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


PC-FX

Manufacturer	NEC
Type	Video game console
Generation	Fifth generation
First available	December 23, 1994
CPU	NEC V810
Media	CD-ROM
Predecessor	PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16

The PC-FX is NEC's 32-bit successor to its PC Engine (US:TurboGrafx-16) released in Japan on 23 December 1994. The PC-FX only used CDs as opposed to the PCE's (TG16) use of HuCards (it did have a CD peripheral, though). What's unusual about the PC-FX is its computer-like design. It stands upright like a tower computer while most other consoles of that time lay flat. The controller resembled the Sega Mega Drive's in shape, only with more buttons. Another interesting feature was its three expansion ports, as expansion ports are relatively underused in consoles and therefore their inclusion increased the price without offering a great deal to the end user.

1 History
2 Software
3 Technical specifications
4 External links

[edit] History

The PC-FX was designed based on a new 32-bit development kit by NEC called "Iron Man". Iron Man was designed in 1992, while the PC Engine was still quite popular in Japan. It was around the time of the first running demonstration units in mid 1992 that NEC started discussing an imminent release of an Iron Man based system with its many third party developers. Many PC Engine developers seemed upset and disinterested since the PC Engine market was still growing, and as a result NEC halted work on the Iron Man and continued making modifications to the PC Engine. By 1993 the 32-bit 3DO platform was released with lots of the developer interest and Sega and Sony let it be known that the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation would be ready for the Japanese marketplace in late 1994, and Bandai was also readying the release of their 32-bit Playdia system. Now in a rush to keep the large development base that made the PC Engine so successful, NEC had to make a decision. Rather than spending the time to develop a new, more powerful platform capable of standing up to their competitors, they marched out the now dated 32-bit Iron Man architecture to be used in the PC-FX. The result was that NEC wound up with a severely underpowered system that failed to impress either developers or consumers, and ultimately led to its untimely demise.

As the PC-FX struggled, NEC became far more liberal than most companies with regard to the titles that it allowed to be released for the platform in an attempt to get whatever development support they could. As a result, the PC-FX has gained quite a reputation for its abundance of hentai and dating simulation titles.

[edit] Software

There were 62 games released for the system. The launch titles were Graduation 2: Neo Generation FX, Battle Heat and Team Innocent on December 23, 1994 and the final game released was First Kiss Monogatari on April 24, 1998. The system and all titles were only released in Japan.

See List of PC-FX games

v • d • e Selected home game consoles
First generation
Magnavox Odyssey • Pong • Coleco Telstar
Early second generation
Channel F • Atari 2600 • Odyssey² • Intellivision
Later second generation
Atari 5200 • ColecoVision • Vectrex • SG-1000
Third generation (compare)
NES • Master System • Atari 7800
Fourth generation (compare)
TurboGrafx-16 • Mega Drive/Genesis • Neo Geo • SNES
Fifth generation (compare)
3DO • Jaguar • Saturn • PlayStation • N64
Sixth generation (compare)
Dreamcast • PlayStation 2 • GameCube • Xbox
Seventh generation (compare)
Xbox 360 • PlayStation 3 • Wii

[edit] Technical specifications

CPU: 32-Bit NEC V810 RISC running at 21.5MHz, 15.5MIPS, 5-Way Superscalar
Memory: 2MB main RAM; 1MB shared RAM(for background generators, CD-ROM DMA, motion decoder, and ADPCM); 256KB dedicated VRAM(for HuC6270 chips); 1 MB OS ROM; 256KB CD Buffer; 32KB back-up RAM.
Video: Resolutions: 256x240p, 320x240p, 256x480i, 320x480i; 6 background layers; 2 sprite layers; 1 motion decoder layer generated from RLE-encoded or JPEG-like data
Sound: 16-Bit Stereo CD-DA
2 ADPCM channels at up to ~31.5KHz with left/right panning
6 5-bit sample channels with left/right panning
Expansion: Main RAM Expansion Slot x 1, Backup RAM Card Slot x 1, CPU Expansion Slot x 1