NecPc-9801.jpg

Neo Kobe - NEC PC-9801 (2017-11-17)

Topics: Japanese computers, PC-9801

=== Overview ===
By 1982, NEC was already a veteran of the personal computer business, having released three different computer series (the PC-8001, the PC-6001, and the PC-8801) to cater to different types of consumers. This strategy had been spearheaded by the Electronic Devices Business Group within the company, and they were enjoying the fruits of their success.

But there were no such happy times in another NEC division called the Information Processing Business Group. Even though this group had been successfully selling mainframes and minicomputers to large corporations for nearly a decade, all of that was about to change. On the 12th of August, 1981, IBM released the first IBM Personal Computer, the 5150.

NEC knew exactly what the 5150 represented. They recognized that the future of business computing would be personal: an entire computer for each worker. They also recognized that unless they delivered a personal computing solution of their own, Japanese businesses would turn to Big Blue.

So the Information Processing Business Group got to work, and in just over a year they unveiled their answer: the PC-9801, a 16-bit computer powered by NEC's in-house version of the Intel 8086 processor. Besides having special hardware to handle the complexities of Japanese text, the PC-9801 boasted several improvements over the IBM 5150, such as a true 16-bit data bus, and graphics output at a resolution of 640x400 with 8 fixed colors, significantly better than the IBM PC's CGA standard. The Big Blue threat was averted, and within a few short years, the PC-9801 became the standard business computer in Japan.

Whereas NEC's earlier computers were aimed at electronics tinkerers, young students, and even families, the PC-9801 was all business. It was boring. But it got the job done, and that meant the PC-9801 worked its way into not only every white-collar office in Japan, but also onto factory floors and into science labs. Even NEC's own PC-100, a fascinating and forward-thinking machine designed by the Electronic Devices Business Group, was cast aside in the wake of the PC-9801's success.

For the PC-9801, games were only an afterthought. But businessmen tend to take their work home with them, and over time, the PC-9801 gradually became a fixture in many households. The PC-9801 received a steady drip of games right from the beginning, but most of these early titles were straight ports from 8-bit computers.

The PC-9801 took its first big step forward as a game platform with the release of the PC-9801VF/VM models in late 1985. The CPU was upgraded to NEC's V30 chip running at 10MHz. A new graphics board allowed for 640x400 with 16 colors out of a palette of 4096, once again edging out IBM's then-current EGA standard, which only offered 640x350 with 16 colors from a palette of 64. Additionally, an optional sound board provided FM synthesis with Yamaha's YM2203 (OPN) chip, as well as joystick ports.

In this way, NEC kept the platform relevant by releasing as many as a dozen new models every year, ranging from desktops and laptops to hi-res CAD machines and factory control computers.

But even with these improvements, the PC-9801 didn't shake its original shirt-and-tie identity and come into its own as an entertainment machine until after the release of the last PC-8801 model at the end of 1989. One of the biggest upgrades occurred at the end of 1992, when NEC released the first of a new multimedia-focused series called the PC-9821. This new lineup featured a built-in CD-ROM drive, an upgraded FM synthesis chip, and a new graphics subsystem capable of 640x480 with 256 colors, although most games continued to stick with the already-established 640x400 with 16 colors.

When compared against its contemporary 16-bit rivals from Sharp and Fujitsu, the NEC PC-9801 was no match for the audiovisual capabilities of the X68000 and the FM Towns, but what it did have was a giant userbase and a relentless march of incrementally better models. The PC-9801 game library exploded in the early 1990s, and even after Windows 95 ultimately united the computing world, the PC-9800 series remained a major force in the Japanese computer market until the end of the millenium.

=== Running software ===
The PC-9801 included NEC's version of BASIC on floppy disks and an internal ROM chip, but the primary operating systems were localized versions of Microsoft MS-DOS and Windows. All of the basic DOS commands are the same, and anyone who is familiar with a 1990s-era IBM PC-compatible computer will quickly feel at home on the PC-9801.

However, there is one key difference to keep in mind: drive letters are assigned according to the boot device. If you boot from a floppy disk, the floppy drives become drives A: and B:, while the hard disk drive becomes C:. Conversely, if you boot from the hard disk, the hard disk becomes A:, while the floppy drives become B: and C:.

Most games can be fully controlled with a two-button mouse or joystick.
On the keyboard, movement is almost always numpad 4,6,2,8 or the cursor keys. The buttons are usually some combination of Enter, Spacebar, Shift, Esc, Tab, and ZXCV.

Addeddate: 2017-11-18 03:06:22

Identifier: NeoKobe-NecPc-98012017-11-17

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Reviews

Reviewer: xxxxxvd - - April 8, 2024
Subject: Missing games

霧のカトレア-アイランド・システム
キング・オブ・マジック- コスモス
Bzone- 日本ソフテック
アマゾネス-スタークラフト
BRAINS 電子脳攻撃指令- ntsp
霞2 樹海の妖精-broccoli
霞樹海の魔導士-broccoli

Is missing

Reviewer: alpha21064 - - March 31, 2024
Subject: Yankee Doodle Virus in Duellist Gaiden Alpha+

FYI, to anyone downloading this, the regular dump of Queen of Duellist Gaiden Alpha+ is infected with the Yankee Doodle virus. The ALT version in the zip file is clean. If you use this floppy on a real PC-98, YOU WILL CORRUPT FILES ON THE HARD DISK!

Reviewer: Keiyuu - - March 16, 2024
Subject: DAT file?

Is there any DAT file for maintenance with ROM managers? What's the official source for this set? It's hard to find any info online.

Reviewer: Vier369 - - October 19, 2023
Subject: A question actually...

I'm really sorry, but ah, how do I actually find the game here I'm looking for? I'm kinda new to emulating so I'm not sure what's going on here! I was just looking for a game called Marine Rouge, and a guide thingy just directed me here!

Reviewer: BlinxTheWinx - - September 16, 2023
Subject: Softlocks on Brandish 3: Spirit of Balcan

It's a Falcom game. The .hdi FD version of Brandish 3 softlocks on Villament 3F and the FDs version softlocks on Coast 2.

Reviewer: kandi_gloss - - June 9, 2023
Subject: Namco

@CX2600

The Namco ports were all made by devs other than Namco so you would find them under whoever developed them for the platform. I know that adds a bit more complication to finding them but that's how it is.

Reviewer: CX2600 - - October 10, 2022
Subject: Namco?

Am I missing it somewhere, there should be at least 50 games for the PC-98 by Namco but I don't see it anywhere.

Reviewer: xXGigaChadXx - - August 18, 2021
Subject: Dat

Is there a .dat file for this set?

Can't find a website for Neo Kobe sets.

Reviewer: Animedude5555 - - June 4, 2021
Subject: Ok so it seems nothing was actually missing.

Update:
It seems nothing was actually missing. Just located in a place I wasn't expecting. I didn't know it had that DoujinHomebrew folder. That definitely changes my rating to a full 5 stars!

Original Post:
BMP (full name is Babylon Media Project) is completely missing from this set. Here's a list of all 6 of their known games, and some info about each one.
https://www.pc98.org/index/co53.html
As of right now, I can't find ANY website on the internet with their games, including (sadly) this huge archive.org PC98 archive here. The site I linked to above has info only. If you use email and contact the guy who runs the site, and ask nicely for a copy of one of the games, he may send you a copy, but the site itself hosts nothing. That's how I got one of the games mentioned on his site.

This post is less of a review, and more of a request, for the owner of this archive.org archive to PLEASE make an effort to acquire as many BMP games as possible, and add them to this archive.

This is a great archive so I'd like to give it 5 stars, but as long as it's missing any companies, I can't give it more than 4 stars. Even if you only had one game from every company known to have made PC98 games, I could give you 5 stars for being inclusive of every company that made games for that computer, but this has tons of games from many companies, while missing ALL games from at least one company, so that lack of representation of any games from at least one company costs you 1 star. When this is fixed, I'll edit my review (if archive.org will let me) and give you the full 5 stars.

Reviewer: NKmkII - - June 4, 2021
Subject: Check the doujin/homebrew folder!!!

Just wanted to say that the BMP games are not missing!
They are all included in this set, in the [Doujin & Homebrew]/BMP folder. BMP was a doujin group, not a commercial software company.

Sucharaka Junior High School is also included, but not in the BMP folder because it's not actually a BMP game. Check the [Doujin & Homebrew]/Sakanaya Souhonten folder.

In this set, the doujin/homebrew stuff is separate from the commercially published stuff. There are hundreds of more games in the doujin folder!!!

Reviewer: argnvs00 - - April 9, 2021
Subject: Magic copy for PC-9801, Baby maker for PC-9801 and Copy tools for PC-9801 uploads please.

Hello.
I love PC-9801 and it games and tools etc.
Magic copy for PC-9801, Baby maker for PC-9801 and Copy tools for PC-9801 uploads please.

Reviewer: Rie Komatsuzaki - - November 22, 2020
Subject: Simply the Best

I was able to find working Cream Lemon (Fairy Dust) game disk images that I couldn't find elsewhere. For those who are looking for the same files, you can't go wrong with this collection. I look forward to exploring the other stuff included here as well. Thank you so much for compiling this collection!

Reviewer: Mace_gamma - - June 10, 2020
Subject: Amazing

Hi, signed up an account just to say - thank you. You guys truly warm my heart. This is a mammoth task and I hope future generations can see what an impact this era had on so many individuals. Cheers!~

Reviewer: markthe21st - - October 28, 2019
Subject: The definitive PC-98 collection

This collection is a paradise for PC-98 fans. It would be impossible to have 100% of the games here, but I would say the amount is pretty close of it. If you're using the Anex86 emulator (it's the only emulator compatible with AGTH, if you don't need that just use Neko Project instead), the HDM (not to be mistaken with HDI, those can be played just fine) images must be converted to FDI, but that can be done easily with software available on the web.

Just a note for those who want to download the collection but don't want to spend a lot of disk space: the total size is close to 80gb (after extracting), however after you download and extract everything you can delete 15gb of manuals (files with the tag "[Extra]") and, if you want, about 45gb of CDs (files with the tag "[CD]"). Just use the "search" function of your file explorer to do it easily (be careful to not delete wrong files though, also be sure to use the brackets). The collection will then have about 20gb (or 65gb to less if you don't delete all the CD games). You can also delete manually multiple revisions and releases of some games, it will require a bit of patience but it would free even more space. Otherwise, 20gb is just fine.

Overall, it deserves a solid 5 stars rating. Thanks!

Reviewer: BuddyBoiE - - May 15, 2019
Subject: Some games seem to need MS-DOS to run

Is there an MS-DOS related file

Reviewer: GudSet - - March 11, 2018
Subject: 7zip Master Race

Yo, just put the torrent's magnet link in the description.
Also, you probably could've shaved a good 5 - 20 GB off the total if it was 7zipped without zips inside of zips.

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:010bdc5cc3bf35e594857b14fb3e3f41d1f52717&dn=NeoKobe-NecPc-98012017-11-17&tr=http%3a%2f%2fbt1.archive.org%3a6969%2fannounce&tr=http%3a%2f%2fbt2.archive.org%3a6969%2fannounce&ws=http%3a%2f%2fia800100.us.archive.org%2f22%2fitems%2f&ws=https%3a%2f%2fia800100.us.archive.org%2f22%2fitems%2f

Reviewer: melonbug - - February 23, 2018
Subject: locked

shit's fucked

Reviewer: AiGeek - - December 9, 2017
Subject: Amazing and great work!!!

Just begin to learn the NEC PC98 and the huge collection really help! Thank you!

Reviewer: hunter1536 - - December 3, 2017
Subject: so impresive you got all this toghether

i cant find Crystal Soft doesent make sence to be in the doujin zip wasent in the mega folder so i guess you havent found it yet but yeah dident mean to take the piss i know you worked hard for this also found this interesting unility of paint program by C-Lab http://www.gamingalexandria.com/pc98/Multipaint/ if its in a utility or programs forlder sorry but i wonder do you plan on putting everything from the index to the game extrass

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