#Bosconian arcade game series#
While the ports may appear to be identical to those used on its competitors, which utilised the single-button Atari 2600 joystick protocol, the MSX series used its own standard, which was wired up somewhat differently and was generally intended for Japanese machines such as the NEC PC-98 and Sharp X68000 series, supporting up to two (2) separate buttons, similar to but not compatible with the Sega Master System/Mark 3, whose controllers could be used on computers like the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga for 2-button games. The MSX family, like many home computers of the domestic microcomputer revolution (circa 1976 to 1992), used a 9-pin D-subminiature (DE9) connector for connecting external controllers such as mice, joysticks, light pens, light guns, etc. The most prolific supporters of the MSX family were Sony, Panasonic (known in Japan as Matsushita), Konami, Hudson Soft and Yamaha, as Microsoft themselves abandoned the concept shortly after its inception. The MSX family, while virtually unknown in North America and the United Kingdom, was most successful in Japan, although it did make a name for itself in the Benelux region of Europe (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) as well as countries with budding bedroom programming communities like Italy and Spain, in addition to parts of South America and even the Soviet Union, where it was apparently marketed as an educational computer with untapped programming potential. It showed promise and was succeeded by the MSX2 standard in 1985, which became the de facto standard even after successors were introduced such as the MSX2+ in 1988 and MSX Turbo R in 1990. The original MSX standard (later renamed MSX1) was introduced in 1983. The MSX itself is not a single computer, but rather a standard to which computers are held, adhering to certain core specifications while adding some unique features varying from manufacturer to manufacturer.
#Bosconian arcade game software#
The goal was to make a unified computer architecture, a single standard for all computer platforms in a similar way that home video formats such as U-Matic and VHS had paved the way forward in the home cinema/entertainment field – the meaning of the MSX’s acronym is debatable – then-ASCII Corporation director Kazuhiko Nishi stated it stands for “Machines with Software eXchangeability”, while others think it means “Microsoft Extended”. The MSX is a family of home computers conceptualised by Microsoft and the ASCII Corporation in the early 1980s.
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