MSX



The MSX standard was developed in the early 1980s by ASCII with a little hand from Microsoft, with the goal of allowing different companies to make mutually compatible computers. Hence the acronym, "Machines with Software eXchangeability". That was still a bit of a crazy idea back then, but it worked: although it remained pretty much unknown in the USA, it had a huge following in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Soviet Union, and parts of Europe and the Middle-East. Not only it was a fine all-purpose home computer, what it's really good for is games. Metal Gear, Bomberman, Puyo Puyo - they all started here!