PC-9801
Encyclopedia
The NEC PC-9801, part of the PC-98 series, is a Japan
ese 16-bit
microcomputer
manufactured by NEC.
CPU
. It ran at a clock speed of 5 MHz, with two µPD7220 display controllers (one for text, the other for video graphics), and shipped with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB. Its 8-color display had a maximum resolution of 640×400 pixels. Its successor, the PC-9801E, which appeared in 1983, employed an 8086
-2 CPU, which could selectively run at a speed of either 5 or 8 MHz. The NEC PC-9801VM used NEC V30
CPU.
When the PC-98 was launched in 1982, it was initially priced at 298,000 yen (about 1,200 USD in 1982 dollars).
In the 1980s and early 1990s, NEC dominated the Japan domestic PC market with more than 60% of the PCs sold as PC-9801 or PC8801. In 1990, IBM
Japan introduced the DOS/V
operating system
which enabled displaying Japanese text on standard IBM PC/AT
VGA
adapters. After that, the decline of the PC-98 began. The PC-9801's last successor was the Celeron
-based PC-9821Ra43 (with a clockspeed of 433 MHz), which appeared in 2000.
While NEC did not market these specific machines in the West, it did sell the NEC APC III
, which has similar hardware as early PC-98 models.
, I/O port
addressing, memory management, and graphics output are also different. However, localized MS-DOS
or Windows
will still run on PC-9801s.
to go up against Microsoft
's Windows 95
when it took Japan's PC market by storm. NEC's decision to work with Microsoft to offer a PC-98 compatible version of Windows 95 could be seen as the first step towards the PC-98's downfall, as consumers were no longer required to have an NEC-built system to run software designed for Windows.
The PC9801 had thousands of game titles designed for it, many of which made creative use of the system's limitations (it was originally designed as a business machine) to great commercial success. Despite having hardware specifications far inferior to the Fujitsu
FM Towns
and Sharp X68000
personal computers, the massive install base and steady flow of game titles (in particular "dōjin
" style dating sim
s and RPGs
, as well as early games of the Touhou Project
franchise) kept it as the favored platform for PC game developers in Japan until the rise of the DOS/V clones.
NEC kept much of its hardware and platform proprietary or under license, so while it had a virtual monopoly in the Japanese market, later IBM PC clones with DOS/V and Windows from companies such as Hitachi
and Panasonic
that did not require such license fees (like Epson's 98 clones) flooded the market and displaced NEC. The proprietary technology that was NEC's strength turned into its weakness as its competitors could use off-the-shelf technology to build cheaper IBM PC clones at a time when NEC was charging much steeper prices for its PC-98s.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
microcomputer
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
manufactured by NEC.
History
It first appeared in 1982, and employed an 8086Intel 8086
The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and mid-1978, when it was released. The 8086 gave rise to the x86 architecture of Intel's future processors...
CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
. It ran at a clock speed of 5 MHz, with two µPD7220 display controllers (one for text, the other for video graphics), and shipped with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB. Its 8-color display had a maximum resolution of 640×400 pixels. Its successor, the PC-9801E, which appeared in 1983, employed an 8086
Intel 8086
The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and mid-1978, when it was released. The 8086 gave rise to the x86 architecture of Intel's future processors...
-2 CPU, which could selectively run at a speed of either 5 or 8 MHz. The NEC PC-9801VM used NEC V30
NEC V20
The NEC V20 was a processor made by NEC that was a reverse-engineered, pin-compatible version of the Intel 8088 with an instruction set compatible with the Intel 80186...
CPU.
When the PC-98 was launched in 1982, it was initially priced at 298,000 yen (about 1,200 USD in 1982 dollars).
In the 1980s and early 1990s, NEC dominated the Japan domestic PC market with more than 60% of the PCs sold as PC-9801 or PC8801. In 1990, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Japan introduced the DOS/V
DOS/V
DOS/V was a Japanese computing initiative starting in 1990 to allow personal computers to handle double-byte Japanese text via software alone. It was developed by IBM for its PS/55 machines . Kanji fonts and other locale information were stored on the hard disk rather than on special chips as in...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
which enabled displaying Japanese text on standard IBM PC/AT
IBM Personal Computer/AT
The IBM Personal Computer AT, more commonly known as the IBM AT and also sometimes called the PC AT or PC/AT, was IBM's second-generation PC, designed around the 6 MHz Intel 80286 microprocessor and released in 1984 as machine type 5170...
VGA
Video Graphics Array
Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...
adapters. After that, the decline of the PC-98 began. The PC-9801's last successor was the Celeron
Celeron
Celeron is a brand name given by Intel Corp. to a number of different x86 computer microprocessor models targeted at budget personal computers....
-based PC-9821Ra43 (with a clockspeed of 433 MHz), which appeared in 2000.
While NEC did not market these specific machines in the West, it did sell the NEC APC III
APC III
The APC III was released by NEC in 1983. The APC III was based upon the Intel 8086 processor, with superior specifications to the IBM PC....
, which has similar hardware as early PC-98 models.
Hardware
The PC-98 is different from the IBM PC in many ways; for instance, it uses its own 16 bit C-Bus instead of the ISA bus; BIOSBIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
, I/O port
Memory-mapped I/O
Memory-mapped I/O and port I/O are two complementary methods of performing input/output between the CPU and peripheral devices in a computer...
addressing, memory management, and graphics output are also different. However, localized MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
or Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
will still run on PC-9801s.
Clones
Seiko Epson manufactured PC-9801 clones, as well as compatible peripherals.Software
Software for the PC-98 generally ran from program and data disks (Disk 0 & 1) or (A & B), and NEC did not have a strong GUIGraphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
to go up against Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
when it took Japan's PC market by storm. NEC's decision to work with Microsoft to offer a PC-98 compatible version of Windows 95 could be seen as the first step towards the PC-98's downfall, as consumers were no longer required to have an NEC-built system to run software designed for Windows.
The PC9801 had thousands of game titles designed for it, many of which made creative use of the system's limitations (it was originally designed as a business machine) to great commercial success. Despite having hardware specifications far inferior to the Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...
and Sharp X68000
Sharp X68000
The Sharp X68000, often referred to as the X68k, is a home computer released only in Japan by the Sharp Corporation. The first model was released in 1987, with a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM and no hard drive; the last model was released in 1993 with a 25 MHz Motorola 68030...
personal computers, the massive install base and steady flow of game titles (in particular "dōjin
Dojin
, often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement...
" style dating sim
Dating sim
Dating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic...
s and RPGs
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, as well as early games of the Touhou Project
Touhou Project
The , also known as Toho Project or Project Shrine Maiden, is a Japanese dōjin game series focused on bullet hell shooters made by the one-man developer Team Shanghai Alice, whose sole member, known as ZUN, is responsible for all the graphics, music, and programming for the most part...
franchise) kept it as the favored platform for PC game developers in Japan until the rise of the DOS/V clones.
NEC kept much of its hardware and platform proprietary or under license, so while it had a virtual monopoly in the Japanese market, later IBM PC clones with DOS/V and Windows from companies such as Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
and Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
that did not require such license fees (like Epson's 98 clones) flooded the market and displaced NEC. The proprietary technology that was NEC's strength turned into its weakness as its competitors could use off-the-shelf technology to build cheaper IBM PC clones at a time when NEC was charging much steeper prices for its PC-98s.