Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.misc > #1489

Re: The story of MSX computers in 1984

Show all headers | View raw

On Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:37:54 -0700, Oregonian Haruspex wrote:

> On 2014-03-11 15:36:51 +0000, RS Wood said:
> 
>> From the 'If it's got an X in the name it's cool' department:
>> 
>> http://www.dvorak.org/blog/whatever-happened-to-msx-computers/
>> 
>> Not too many people will recall the short-lived era of the 
“MSX”
>> initiative which was slated to pretty much take over the non-existent
>> middle world where consumer electronics met personal computers. It was
>> always believed, back then, that this is where the sweet spot of
>> profits would emerge. What emerged was instead laughable MSX. It was
>> one of Microsoft’s greatest flops.
>> 
>> ... [major snippage] ...
>> 
>> In February of 1990 one of the last hold outs for MSX, Sony
>> Corporation, gave up on supporting MSX and moved into production of AX
>> computers (another dead-end) and mini-notebook machines. Only Panasonic
>> continued to make an MSX-II Turbo machine. Sanyo also stayed in the
>> consortium to no avail
>> 
>> The story of MSX – if it is ever remembered — might eventually 
be a
>> Harvard Business School case study. The entire episode proves that
>> popularizing a new standard is not a trivial pursuit."
> 
> While MSX machines were very rare stateside, they were probably the most
> popular platform in Japan for about a decade.  The problem that MSX
> faced here in the USA was that Microsoft was pushing DOS for everything,
> and even finding an advertisement for MSX in the USA is difficult.
> 
> Back then there were several competing computer platforms in Japan which
> were almost never seen stateside - MSX, Sharp's X1 and later X68000, the
> Fujitsu Fm series, and the NEC PC-8801s.  They are sought by collectors
> these days, not only for the rarity of the hardware but also because
> these platforms had many many games.
> 
> I have to say, as usual, that Dvorak missed the point.  MSX failed in
> the USA and Canada, but it made a lot of companies a lot of money in
> Japan and Brazil.
> 
> He can't be blamed entirely for his journalistic error, though.  Most
> people are not aware of the variety of Japanese home computers because
> they never had a chance to see them.

In Europe, MSX had some limited success for a very short period due to 
the Philips VG-8000 series:

http://www.msx.org/wiki/Category:Philips

In 1984, a Z80A computer was too little too late. Commodore 64 was still 
going strong in the 8-bit segment. Some IBM-PC clones, notably the Sanyo 
MBC-550 and some "White PCs" (machines without a brand), were already 
affordable to home users. A year later in 1985, the Atari ST and the 
Commodore Amiga brought M68000 power in reach for home users and killed 
the MSX market.

Back to comp.misc | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

The story of MSX computers in 1984 RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-11 15:36 +0000
  Re: The story of MSX computers in 1984 Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-11 13:37 -0700
    Re: The story of MSX computers in 1984 Koen Lefever <koen.lefever@gmail.com> - 2014-03-11 22:56 +0000
      Re: The story of MSX computers in 1984 Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-11 16:56 -0700
        Re: The story of MSX computers in 1984 Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2014-03-12 02:33 +0000
          Re: The story of MSX computers in 1984 Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-11 23:05 -0700

csiph-web