<s>
The	O
,	O
commonly	O
shortened	O
to	O
PC-88	B-Device
,	O
are	O
a	O
brand	O
of	O
Zilog	O
Z80-based	O
8-bit	O
home	O
computers	O
released	O
by	O
Nippon	O
Electric	O
Company	O
(	O
NEC	O
)	O
in	O
1981	O
and	O
primarily	O
sold	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-8800	B-Device
series	I-Device
sold	O
extremely	O
well	O
and	O
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
major	O
Japanese	O
home	O
computers	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
Fujitsu	B-Device
FM-7	I-Device
,	O
Sharp	B-Device
X1	I-Device
and	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
eclipsed	O
by	O
NEC	O
's	O
16-bit	O
PC-9800	B-Operating_System
series	I-Operating_System
,	O
although	O
it	O
still	O
maintained	O
strong	O
sales	O
up	O
until	O
the	O
early	O
90s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
's	O
American	O
subsidiary	O
,	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
(	O
USA	O
)	O
,	O
marketed	O
variations	O
of	O
the	O
PC-8800	B-Device
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
Canada	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nippon	O
Electric	O
's	O
Microcomputer	O
Sales	O
Section	O
of	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Device	O
Sales	O
Division	O
launched	O
the	O
PC-8001	B-Device
in	O
September	O
1979	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
1981	O
it	O
consisted	O
of	O
40%	O
of	O
the	O
Japanese	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
1981	O
,	O
Nippon	O
Electric	O
decided	O
to	O
expand	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
lines	O
into	O
three	O
groups	O
:	O
New	O
Nippon	O
Electric	O
,	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
and	O
Electronic	O
Devices	O
Group	O
,	O
with	O
each	O
specializing	O
in	O
a	O
particular	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microcomputer	O
Sales	O
Section	O
was	O
reformed	O
to	O
the	O
Microcomputer	O
and	O
Application	O
Division	O
in	O
June	O
1980	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
renamed	O
to	O
the	O
Personal	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Division	O
in	O
April	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
Japanese	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
were	O
mostly	O
used	O
by	O
hobbyists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
division	O
introduced	O
the	O
PC-8801	B-Device
in	O
November	O
1981	O
and	O
intended	O
to	O
expand	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
market	O
into	O
the	O
business	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-8801	B-Device
was	O
capable	O
of	O
displaying	O
Kanji	O
characters	O
via	O
an	O
optional	O
Kanji	O
ROM	B-Device
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
companies	O
released	O
Japanese	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
software	O
for	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
,	O
,	O
and	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
office	O
software	O
,	O
companies	O
like	O
Enix	O
and	O
Koei	O
released	O
many	O
popular	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
establishing	O
the	O
PC-8801	B-Device
as	O
a	O
strong	O
gaming	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
November	O
1983	O
,	O
the	O
PC-8801	B-Device
had	O
shipped	O
170,000	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-8801	B-Device
'	O
s	O
direct	O
successor	O
,	O
the	O
PC-8801mkII	O
,	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
JIS	O
level	O
1	O
kanji	O
font	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
a	O
smaller	O
case	O
and	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
models	O
20	O
and	O
30	O
,	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
internal	O
5-inch	O
2D	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
set	O
of	O
PC-8800	B-Device
computers	O
sold	O
more	O
units	O
than	O
the	O
PC-9800	B-Operating_System
series	I-Operating_System
at	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
December	O
1983	O
,	O
NEC	O
had	O
multiple	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
lines	O
coming	O
out	O
from	O
different	O
divisions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
's	O
Information	O
Processing	O
group	O
had	O
the	O
PC-9800	B-Operating_System
series	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
had	O
the	O
PC-6000	B-Device
series	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
avoid	O
competing	O
with	O
itself	O
,	O
NEC	O
decided	O
to	O
consolidate	O
their	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
business	O
into	O
two	O
divisions	O
;	O
the	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
division	O
dealt	O
with	O
the	O
8-bit	O
home	O
computer	O
line	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Information	O
Processing	O
group	O
dealt	O
with	O
the	O
16-bit	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Electronic	O
Device	O
Sales	O
division	O
spun	O
off	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
business	O
into	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
PC-9801VM	O
shipments	O
surpassed	O
it	O
,	O
the	O
PC-8800	B-Device
series	I-Device
was	O
still	O
popular	O
as	O
a	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
game	O
platform	O
until	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
the	O
lifetime	O
of	O
the	O
PC-8800	B-Device
,	O
there	O
were	O
four	O
different	O
graphics	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
entry	O
in	O
the	O
PC-8800	B-Device
series	I-Device
was	O
capable	O
of	O
displaying	O
all	O
four	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
early	O
computers	O
in	O
the	O
PC-8800	B-Device
series	I-Device
use	O
a	O
simple	O
internal	O
speaker	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
capable	O
of	O
generating	O
beeps	O
and	O
clicks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Companies	O
that	O
produced	O
exclusive	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
NEC	B-Device
PC-8801	I-Device
included	O
Enix	O
,	O
Square	O
,	O
Sega	O
,	O
Nihon	O
Falcom	O
,	O
Bandai	O
,	O
HAL	O
Laboratory	O
,	O
ASCII	O
,	O
Pony	O
Canyon	O
,	O
Technology	O
and	O
Entertainment	O
Software	O
,	O
Wolf	O
Team	O
,	O
Dempa	O
,	O
Champion	O
Soft	O
,	O
Starcraft	O
,	O
Micro	O
Cabin	O
,	O
PSK	O
,	O
and	O
Bothtec	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Certain	O
games	O
produced	O
for	O
the	O
PC-8801	B-Device
had	O
a	O
shared	O
release	O
with	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
,	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
produced	O
by	O
Game	O
Arts	O
,	O
ELF	O
Corporation	O
,	O
and	O
Konami	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
popular	O
series	O
first	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
NEC	B-Device
PC-8801	I-Device
,	O
including	O
Snatcher	B-Application
,	O
Thexder	B-Device
,	O
Dragon	O
Slayer	O
,	O
RPG	B-Application
Maker	I-Application
,	O
Sokoban	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Ys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
licensed	O
Hudson	O
Soft	O
to	O
port	O
some	O
of	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
Family	O
Computer	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
,	O
including	O
Excitebike	B-Application
,	O
Balloon	B-Application
Fight	I-Application
,	O
Tennis	B-Device
,	O
Golf	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Ice	B-Application
Climber	I-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
new	O
editions	O
of	O
Mario	B-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
called	O
Mario	B-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
Special	O
and	O
Punch	O
Ball	O
Mario	O
Bros.	O
,	O
a	O
semi-sequel	O
to	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
3	I-Application
titled	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
3	I-Application
:	O
Dai	O
Gyakushū	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
yearModel	O
name	O
Model	O
CPU	O
RAM	O
VRAM	O
N	O
mode	O
V1	O
mode	O
V2	O
mode	O
V3	O
mode	O
Sound	O
Atari	B-Protocol
D-sub	I-Protocol
9-pin	I-Protocol
I/O	O
port	O
FDD	O
CD-ROM	O
Operating	O
system	O
Comment1981PC-8801NEC	O
μPD780C-1	O
4	O
MHz64	O
KB48	O
KByynnInternal	O
beeper	O
like	O
in	O
the	O
IBM	O
PCnnnNEC	O
N-88	O
BASIC4	O
expansion	O
board	O
slot.1983PC-8801mkIImodel	O
10NEC	O
μPD780C-1	O
4	O
MHz64	O
KB48	O
KByynn	O
Beeper	O
and	O
YM2149F	B-Device
(	O
optional	O
,	O
through	O
beeper	O
)	O
nnonenmodel	O
20	O
1×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2Dmodel	O
30	O
2×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2D1985PC-8801mkII	O
SRmodel	O
10NEC	O
μPD780C-1	O
4	O
MHz64	O
KB48	O
KByyynFM	O
(	O
YM2203	O
)	O
MonoynonenThe	O
V2	O
mode	O
that	O
is	O
necessary	O
to	O
play	O
most	O
PC-88	B-Device
games	O
is	O
introduced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
D-sub	O
9pin	O
Atari	O
joystick	O
port.model	O
20	O
1×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2Dmodel	O
30	O
2×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2DPC-8801mkII	O
TRNEC	O
μPD780C-1	O
4	O
MHz64	O
KB48	O
KByyynFM	O
(	O
YM2203	O
)	O
Monoy2×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2DnPC-8801	O
mkII	O
SR	O
with	O
300	O
bit/s	O
modemPC-8801mkII	O
FRmodel	O
10NEC	O
μPD780C-1	O
4	O
MHz64	O
KB48	O
KBnyynFM	O
(	O
YM2203	O
)	O
Monoy	O
nonenCost	O
reduced	O
version	O
of	O
PC-8801mkIISRmodel	O
20	O
1×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2Dmodel	O
30	O
2×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2DPC-8801mkII	O
MRNEC	O
μPD780C-1	O
4	O
MHz192	O
KB48	O
KBnyynFM	O
(	O
YM2203	O
)	O
Monoy2×	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
2HDnFDD	O
2D->2HD1986PC-8801	O
FHmodel	O
10NEC	O
µPD70008	O
8	O
MHz64	O
KB48	O
KBnyynFM	O
(	O
YM2203	O
)	O
Monoynonen88FR	O
CPU	O
upgrade	O
.	O
</s>
