PCW



"One great idea after another."

By all means, one should not expect to see Amstrad's PCW listed here. It was not conceived or marketed as a game machine, or even as a general purpose personal computer. Instead, it was a dedicated word processor, just an office appliance. It was designed precisely as a game machine should not be: outdated processor, monochrome display with high resolution but very jerky scrolling, and roughly the same audio capabilities of a pocket calculator.

Still, it was an excellent word processor at an unusually low price, which made it a commercial success. And with that success, some game developers decided to make a bunch of games for it anyway.