Graphics
256×192
- Resolutions
- 256×192 · 64×48
- Colors on screen
- 15
- Palette
- 15 colors
- Sprites
- 32
Below: Game Boy 4 colors · Above: Amstrad CPC 16 colors
MSX
Also known as MSX1 · MSX2 · MSX2+ · MSX turbo R
- ASCII Corporation and Microsoft (standard); built by many companies including Sony, Panasonic/National, Philips, Yamaha, Toshiba, Sanyo and Mitsubishi
- Home computer
201 MSX games, all playable free in your browser.
MSX is a standardized home computer architecture announced by ASCII Corporation in June 1983. Conceived with Microsoft, it aimed to give competing manufacturers a common platform in the way VHS had unified video recorders: any hardware or software bearing the MSX logo was meant to work with products from other makers. The first MSX machine sold to the public, Mitsubishi's ML-8000, went on sale on October 21, 1983.
- First released · Japan
- 1983
- CPU
- 8-bit
- Games in the library · all playable
- 201
TIMELINE
1983–1993
- JPJapan
- ENDDiscontinued (Japan)
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 12 |
| 1984 | 48 |
| 1985 | 35 |
| 1986 | 43 |
| 1987 | 25 |
| 1988 | 16 |
| 1989 | 7 |
| 1990 | 4 |
| 1991 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2019 | 1 |
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
3.58MHz
- CPU
- Zilog Z80A
- Core
- Zilog Z80
- Word size
- 8-bit
- Texas Instruments TMS9918 family — video display processor (MSX1)
- Intel 8255 PPI — parallel I/O (keyboard)
Below: Spectrum 3.5 MHz · Above: Amstrad CPC 4 MHz
MSX1/MSX2/MSX2+: Z80 at 3.58 MHz; MSX turbo R: R800 at 7.16 MHz plus a Z80-compatible core
Memory
64KB
- Main RAM
- 64 KB
- Video RAM
- 16 KB
- ROM (BIOS + MSX BASIC 1.0)
- 32 KB
Sound
3channels
- Chip
- General Instrument AY-3-8910 (PSG)
Three-channel PSG with noise and a shared envelope; MSX2 and later use the compatible Yamaha YM2149; optional MSX-Audio (Y8950) and MSX-Music (YM2413), 9 FM channels each
Media
Cartridge
Family line
- Before
- Spectravideo SV-328
- This system
- MSX
- After
- MSX2
THE STORY
About the MSX
The first-generation standard combines off-the-shelf parts: a Zilog Z80A at 3.58 MHz, a Texas Instruments TMS9918-family video chip with 16 KB of VRAM (256 × 192 pixels, 15 colors and 32 sprites), a General Instrument AY-3-8910 sound chip and MSX BASIC in ROM. MSX2 (1985) introduced the Yamaha V9938 with up to 128 KB of VRAM and 256-color modes, followed by MSX2+ (1988) and MSX turbo R (1990), both released officially only in Japan.
MSX was most popular in Japan, South Korea, Argentina and Brazil, and also did well in the Netherlands and Spain. Before the Famicom's success it was a key platform for Japanese studios such as Konami and Hudson Soft, and the first two Metal Gear games were originally released for MSX hardware.
- Any MSX cartridge or MSX-branded product was designed to work on any MSX computer.
- MSX1 video: 256 × 192 pixels, 15 colors plus transparent and 32 hardware sprites (4 per line).
- The first two Metal Gear games were originally released for MSX hardware.
- MSX2 (1985) added the Yamaha V9938 with 128 KB of VRAM and bitmap modes up to 512 × 212.
- A Sony MSX2 machine was sent to the Mir space station.
THE LIBRARY
201 MSX games on Back2OldGames
201
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1983–2019
<p class="lib-span">64 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
99 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The MSX library
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MSX ARCHIVETITLE · CREATOR · PUBLISHER
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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