PC-FX 24929 220584830 2008-06-20T15:53:24Z 122.107.218.189 {{Unreferenced|date=December 2007}} {{ infobox CVG system | title = PC-FX | logo = | image = [[Image:PC-FX.jpg|200px|The PC-FX console]] | manufacturer = [[NEC]] | type = [[Video game console]] | generation = [[History of video game consoles (fifth generation)|Fifth generation era]] | lifespan = {{vgrelease|JP=[[December 23]], [[1994]]}} | CPU = NEC V810 | media = [[CD-ROM]] | predecessor = [[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16]] }} The '''PC-FX''' is a [[video game console]] released in [[Japan]] on [[December 23]] [[1994]] by [[NEC|NEC Corporation]]. It is the [[32-bit]] successor to NEC's PC Engine (US name:[[TurboGrafx-16]]). The PC-FX uses [[CD-ROM]]s as its storage medium, following on from the expansion released for its predecessor, which originally used [[HuCard]]s. The [[game controller]] resembles that of the [[Sega Mega Drive|Sega Genesis]] in shape, only with more buttons and it virtually identical to a DUO-RX controller except for the fact that the rapid fire switches have been changed into mode A/B switches. The PC-FX's computer-like design was unusual for consoles at the time. It stands upright like a tower computer while other contemporary consoles lay flat. Another interesting feature is its three expansion ports, as expansion ports are relatively underused in consoles and therefore their inclusion increased the price without offering a great deal to the end user. However it was one of the first consoles to feature an optional mouse which made strategy games like [[Farland Story]] FX and [[Power Dolls]] FX more accessible to play on TV. Unlike nearly any other console in history, the PC-FX was also available as an internal PC card in [[PC-98]] and [[DOS]] flavors. This PC card came with 2 CDs of software to help you program games for the PC-FX. However, compatibility issues prevented games developed with this software from actually running on the console. == History == The PC-FX was designed based on a new 32-bit development kit by NEC called "Iron Man". Iron Man was designed in 1992, while the PC Engine was still quite popular in Japan. It was around the time of the first running demonstration units in mid 1992 that NEC started discussing an imminent release of an Iron Man based system with its many third party developers. Many PC Engine developers seemed upset and uninterested since the PC Engine market was still growing, and as a result NEC halted work on the Iron Man and continued making modifications to the PC Engine. By 1993 the 32-bit [[3DO Interactive Multiplayer|3DO]] platform was released with much developer interest and [[Sega]] and [[Sony]] let it be known that the [[Sega Saturn]] and [[Sony PlayStation]] would be ready for the Japanese marketplace in late 1994, and [[Bandai]] was also readying the release of their 32-bit [[Playdia]] system. Now in a rush to keep the large development base that made the PC Engine so successful, NEC had to make a decision. Rather than spending the time to develop a new, more powerful platform capable of standing up to their competitors, they decided to utilize the now dated 32-bit Iron Man architecture in the PC-FX. The result was that NEC wound up with a severely underpowered system that impressed neither developers nor consumers, failed to release the 3D expansion, and ultimately led to its demise. The shining quality of the PC-FX however was the ability to decompress 30 JPEG pictures per second while playing digitally recorded audio. This resulted in the PC-FX having superior [[FMV]] quality over all other fifth generation consoles. In fact, at times while watching the intros to games or the movies during them, it is easy to find yourself forgetting just how underpowered the PC-FX is. It wasn't until 1998 that FMV on the [[PlayStation]] really pulled ahead of the PC-FX, and even then, the PC-FX probably still has superior motion quality. As the PC-FX struggled, NEC became far more liberal than most companies with regard to the titles that it allowed to be released for the platform in an attempt to get whatever development support they could. As a result, the PC-FX has gained quite a reputation for its abundance of [[hentai]] and [[dating simulation]] titles. It also though has some standard [[Action game|action]] games and a good number of [[RPG]]s and [[strategy]] games as well, but most games require a fair amount of Japanese knowledge to play or patience. However most games feature digital speech, for nearly all the dialog or all of it, which may make it easier for those with limited Japanese knowledge to enjoy the heaping doses of plot and humor contained in nearly every game. == Software == {{seealso|List of PC-FX games}} There were 62 games released for the system. The launch titles were ''[[Graduation 2: Neo Generation FX]]'', ''[[Battle Heat]]'' and ''[[Team Innocent]]'' on [[December 23]] [[1994]] and the final game released was ''[[First Kiss Story]]'' on [[April 24]] [[1998]]. The system and all titles were only released in Japan. A number of demo discs were also released with publications which allowed the user to play the disc in a CD equipped PC-Engine or the PC-FX. There was no copy protection on any of the PC-FX games because at the time the system was released, the several thousand dollars a CD-R burner cost and the ten to twenty dollars per blank CD made piracy prohibitive for most owners. The game graphics are usually like high quality [[SNES]] games or average quality [[Playstation]] 2D games. The still pictures in the [[dating simulation]] and [[visual novel]] games are often better quality than later made [[Playstation]] ports. The full motion fighting games might be the most responsive all [[FMV]] or [[LD]] like games that have ever been made. Nearly every game has hand animated [[FMV]] sequences and word for word speech to the text. The one 2D shooter and the one 2D action-fighter game have very large sprites which take up over half the screen, some graphical blurring effects and use [[FMV]] in the background at times! So while the PC-FX often gets branded as an underpowered system, the system does have games which take advantage of its qualities. The PC-FX also had a few action and shooting games. Each game disc has a feature that when the PC-FX internal memory no longer has enough space to save one game or to create a save file at boot, a picture is displayed with a verbal and text error message telling you about this problem. Most of the companies made very custom message screens and it can be fun to fill up the memory and try out each game. == Technical specifications == ; CPU: 32-Bit NEC V810 RISC running at 21.5 MHz, 15.5 MIPS ; CD-ROM Drive: 2X CD-ROM, 300KB / Sec ; Memory: 2 MB main RAM : 1 MB shared RAM (for background generators, CD-ROM DMA, motion decoder, and ADPCM) : 256 KB dedicated VRAM (for HuC6270 chips) : 1 MB OS ROM : 256 KB CD Buffer : 32 KB back-up RAM ; Video : Maximum On-screen colors: 16,777,000 : Resolutions: 256x240p, 320x240p, 256x480i, 320x480i : 6 background layers : 2 sprite layers : 1 motion decoder layer generated from RLE-encoded or JPEG-like data : Video out: [[Composite]] and [[S-Video]] ; Sound: 16-Bit Stereo [[CD-DA]]<br />2 [[ADPCM]] channels at up to ~31.5 kHz with left/right panning<br/>6 5-bit sample channels with left/right panning : Audio out: × 2 [[RCA]] ; Expansion Ports: SCSI IO Expansion Slot x 1(Rear), Backup RAM - FX-BMP Card Slot x 1 (Front), 3D VPU Expansion Slot x 1 (Bottom) ;Input Devices : FX-PAD - 6 Button Controller , FX-MOU - 2 Button Mouse ;Accessories : FX-BMP - 128KB+ Backup RAM Card with x 2 AAA batteries, FX-SCSI - Adaptor allows a PC to use the PC-FX as a 2X SCSI CD-ROM == References == {{Reflist}} == See also == *[[List of PC-FX emulators]] == External links == * [http://www.pcenginefx.com/ Pcenginefx PC-FX World] - informational resource for the PC-FX {{dedicated video game consoles}} [[Category:Fifth-generation video game consoles]] [[Category:NEC consoles]] [[Category:1994 introductions]] [[de:PC-FX]] [[es:PC-FX]] [[fr:PC-FX]] [[ko:PC-FX]] [[it:PC-FX]] [[nl:PC-FX]] [[ja:PC-FX]] [[ru:PC-FX]]