R&D
THIS MONTH’S COMPUTER may be unfamiliar, but NEC’s PC-9800 series, usually shortened to PC-98, was arguably Japan’s most important computer and played an integral part in developing both Japanese language computing and video games. Despite the potential gaming fun offered by this system, there are technical hurdles to be overcome. So after a brief history of the PC-98, let us show you how to emulate the machine as easily as possible.
1DEVELOPMENT AND LAUNCH
The PC-98 was a strategically brilliant move by NEC, beating Western competition by exploiting their inept support for Kanji: the complex characters inherited from Chinese, used in any formal writing. NEC recognized the limitations of Western rivals and designed its machine from the ground up to provide solid Kanji rendering and input.
>> NEC based its new computer around Intel’s 8086 processor, but don’t be fooled—even though these machines are powered by x86 CPUs (and can run modified versions of DOS and Windows), these are not “IBM-Compatible” PCs. This is a proprietary platform with a different BIOS, I/O ports, graphical system, expansion slots, and even different floppy drives.
>> NEC wanted its computer to run Microsoft BASIC and be code-compatible with the N88-BASIC of its previous PC-88 line.
However, NEC was unable to reach a deal with Microsoft, and simply reverse-engineered N88-BASIC, re-writing it to work on x86 processors.
>> The first model, the PC-9801, launched in October 1982, for ¥298,000 (worth around $1,200 then). Its 8086 CPU ran at 5MHz and came with a base 128KB of RAM, expandable to 640KB.
>> While IBM PCs were still lumbered with four-color CGA, NEC’s µPD7220 twin video chips ran at a much higher 640x400 resolution, with eight colors. However, like IBM PCs, the sound was basic, with only a simple beeper.
>> For storage, customers were offered 8-inch 1.232MB external floppy drives, though 320KB 5.25-inch models followed.
2SOFTWARE
The PC-98 was designed to be a work machine and doesn’t feature the kind of sprite or blitter processing that action games demanded. The most popular applications were word processors, and the platform also received ports of serious business operating systems, such as CP/M-86, OS/2, and Unix variant PC-UX. Nevertheless, despite its all-business intent, its market share ensured the PC-9800 had a thriving game scene.
>> Its high-resolution graphics spawned countless interactive graphical novels, dating simulations, and huge amounts of Hentai (cartoon pornography). These games usually featured a point-and-click adventure-style interface, with high-resolution images and occasional animations.
>> The machine’s extra clock speed and memory also made it a great pla
