Microsoft MSX architecture
This month’s computer is a little different. Rather than being a single system, MSX was actually a Microsoft specification for eight-bit microcomputers. Countless brands produced their own MSX machines, which dominated Eastern markets. The MSX era is a fascinating period of computing history often neglected in the West, which showcases an unusual stage of gaming evolution.
Japan in the early 1980s was flooded with home computers. Despite most machines sharing Microsoft BASIC, these computers were usually incompatible with each other. In June 1983, Microsoft announced the MSX specification: an attempt to standardise eight-bit microcomputers into a unified architecture. Rather than being an invention of Bill Gates, the MSX standard was actually the brainchild of Kazuhiko Nishi, the
