PC-FX
The PC-FX console
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| Manufacturer | NEC Home Electronics |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fifth generation era |
| Release date |
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| Retail availability | 1994–1998 |
| Discontinued |
|
| Units sold | 400.000 |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| CPU | NEC V810 |
| Predecessor |
PC Engine SuperGrafx TurboDuo |
The PC-FX (ピーシー エフエックス Pī Shī Efu Ekkusu?) is a 32-bit home video game console made by NEC Home Electronics. It was released in Japan on December 23, 1994, just weeks after Sony's PlayStation and a month after the Sega Saturn. It is the successor to the PC Engine, known as TurboGrafx-16 in North America.
Unlike its predecessor, the PC-FX was only released in Japan. The console is shaped just like a tower PC and was meant to be similarly upgradeable. However the PC-FX was using an outdated graphics chip that rendered the system underpowered in comparison to its competitors, which caused it to be a commercial failure. A lack of developer support also meant inadequate games and as a result it was unable to compete effectively with its fifth generation peers. The PC-FX was NEC's last home video game console, and was discontinued in February 1998.
NEC launched the PC-FX's predecessor, the PC Engine in 1987, which although warmly accepted in Japan, was unable to match the technical specifications put forward by Nintendo and Sega with their consoles, the Super Famicom and the Sega Mega Drive. Plans were therefore drawn up by NEC for a successor in order to reclaim lost ground.
The PC-FX was based on a 32-bit system architecture named "Iron Man", developed in-house by NEC. NEC demonstrated Iron Man at a number of trade shows and events during 1992, and by the middle of the year were discussing an imminent release of an Iron Man-based video game system with many third party developers. At the time, the earlier PC Engine was still quite popular in Japan, and opinions on the Iron Man technology were mixed. Many were uninterested in switching to more powerful hardware while the PC Engine market was still growing, and as a result NEC halted work on the Iron Man project, instead opting for more modifications to the PC Engine technology.
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