<s>
The	O
,	O
commonly	O
shortened	O
to	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
or	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
lineup	O
of	O
Japanese	O
16-bit	B-Device
and	O
32-bit	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
manufactured	O
by	O
NEC	O
from	O
1982	O
to	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
platform	O
established	O
NEC	O
's	O
dominance	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
market	O
,	O
and	O
,	O
by	O
1999	O
,	O
more	O
than	O
18	O
million	O
units	O
had	O
been	O
sold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
NEC	O
did	O
not	O
market	O
these	O
specific	O
machines	O
in	O
the	O
West	O
,	O
it	O
sold	O
the	O
NEC	B-Operating_System
APC	I-Operating_System
series	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
similar	O
hardware	O
to	O
early	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
was	O
initially	O
released	O
as	O
a	O
business-oriented	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
which	O
had	O
backward	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
successful	O
PC-8800	B-Device
series	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
succeeded	O
in	O
attracting	O
third-party	O
suppliers	O
and	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
dominated	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
60%	O
market	O
share	O
by	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
Japanese	O
computer	O
manufacturers	O
marketed	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
that	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
each	O
proprietary	O
architecture	O
for	O
the	O
domestic	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DOS/V	B-Application
operating	O
system	O
enabled	O
IBM	O
clones	O
to	O
display	O
Japanese	O
text	O
by	O
using	O
a	O
software	O
font	O
only	O
,	O
giving	O
a	O
chance	O
for	O
global	O
PC	O
manufacturers	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
non-IBM	O
compatible	O
x86-based	O
computer	O
and	O
is	O
thus	O
capable	O
of	O
running	O
ported	O
(	O
and	O
localized	O
)	O
versions	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
as	O
Windows	B-Application
spread	O
,	O
software	O
developers	O
no	O
longer	O
had	O
to	O
code	O
their	O
software	O
separately	O
for	O
each	O
specific	O
platform	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
became	O
regarded	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
Windows-based	O
machines	O
like	O
other	O
IBM	O
clones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
adopted	O
non-proprietary	O
parts	O
developed	O
for	O
IBM	O
clones	O
to	O
reduce	O
manufacturing	O
costs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
,	O
the	O
demand	O
for	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
on	O
which	O
legacy	O
applications	O
depend	O
had	O
declined	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
NEC	O
abandoned	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
and	O
released	O
the	O
PC98-NX	O
series	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
System	O
Design	O
Guide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
developed	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
since	O
the	O
1950s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1976	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
had	O
the	O
4th	O
highest	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
sales	O
(	O
10.4	O
%	O
)	O
in	O
Japan	O
after	O
IBM	O
(	O
29.6	O
%	O
)	O
,	O
Fujitsu	O
(	O
20.1	O
%	O
)	O
and	O
Hitachi	O
(	O
15.8	O
%	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
's	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
,	O
which	O
developed	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
and	O
minicomputers	O
,	O
had	O
not	O
developed	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
because	O
they	O
assumed	O
microprocessors	O
were	O
not	O
suitable	O
for	O
computing	O
as	O
they	O
suffered	O
from	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
performance	O
and	O
reliability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Device	O
Sales	O
Division	O
developed	O
the	O
microprocessor	O
evaluation	O
kit	O
TK-80	B-Device
,	O
which	O
became	O
unexpectedly	O
popular	O
among	O
hobbyists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
a	O
developer	O
of	O
the	O
TK-80	B-Device
,	O
observed	O
the	O
rise	O
in	O
popularity	O
of	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
at	O
the	O
1977	O
West	O
Coast	O
Computer	O
Faire	O
in	O
San	O
Francisco	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Goto	O
and	O
his	O
section	O
manager	O
,	O
,	O
decided	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
despite	O
criticism	O
from	O
the	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
division	O
only	O
had	O
a	O
small	O
distribution	O
network	O
of	O
electronic	O
parts	O
stores	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
asked	O
New	O
Nippon	O
Electric	O
to	O
sell	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
through	O
their	O
consumer	O
distribution	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Electronic	O
Device	O
Sales	O
Division	O
launched	O
the	O
PC-8001	B-Device
in	O
1979	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
dominated	O
40%	O
of	O
the	O
Japanese	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
market	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
1981	O
,	O
NEC	O
decided	O
to	O
expand	O
their	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
lines	O
into	O
three	O
groups	O
:	O
New	O
Nippon	O
Electric	O
,	O
the	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
,	O
and	O
the	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>
New	O
Nippon	O
Electric	O
made	O
8-bit	O
home	O
computers	O
(	O
PC-6000	B-Device
series	I-Device
)	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
made	O
16-bit	B-Device
business	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Devices	O
Group	O
made	O
other	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
such	O
as	O
the	O
PC-8000	B-Device
,	O
the	O
PC-8800	B-Device
and	O
the	O
PC-100	B-Device
series	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
team	O
initially	O
planned	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
to	O
be	O
a	O
small	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
business	O
computer	O
line	O
which	O
originated	O
from	O
the	O
1973	O
NEAC	O
System	O
100	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kazuya	O
Watanabe	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
must	O
have	O
Microsoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
considered	O
compatibility	O
of	O
peripheral	O
devices	O
with	O
previous	O
NEC	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
and	O
disclosed	O
specifications	O
of	O
its	O
expansion	O
slot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1981	O
,	O
Hamada	O
requested	O
ASCII	O
's	O
Kazuhiko	O
Nishi	O
to	O
rewrite	O
N88-BASIC	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
processor	O
,	O
and	O
Nishi	O
replied	O
,	O
saying	O
that	O
he	O
wanted	O
to	O
talk	O
with	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Three	O
months	O
later	O
,	O
Nishi	O
rejected	O
Hamada	O
's	O
request	O
because	O
Microsoft	O
was	O
busy	O
with	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
GW-BASIC	B-Language
,	O
and	O
they	O
did	O
not	O
want	O
to	O
produce	O
more	O
variants	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nishi	O
told	O
him	O
,	O
"	O
Microsoft	O
is	O
rewriting	O
a	O
BASIC	O
that	O
has	O
the	O
same	O
function	O
with	O
more	O
structured	O
internal	O
code	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
will	O
be	O
sold	O
as	O
the	O
definitive	O
16-bit	B-Device
version	O
named	O
GW-BASIC	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hamada	O
could	O
not	O
decide	O
which	O
plan	O
they	O
should	O
develop	O
,	O
a	O
small	O
business	O
computer	O
or	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
because	O
the	O
possibilities	O
of	O
Watanabe	O
's	O
plan	O
was	O
uncertain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
they	O
were	O
visiting	O
software	O
companies	O
to	O
collect	O
and	O
research	O
applications	O
for	O
the	O
PC-8001	B-Device
and	O
PC-8801	B-Device
,	O
Hamada	O
and	O
Watanabe	O
discovered	O
that	O
the	O
consumer	O
market	O
wanted	O
a	O
16-bit	B-Device
machine	O
compatible	O
with	O
both	O
PCs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
1982	O
,	O
the	O
small	O
business	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
became	O
the	O
NEC	O
System	O
20	O
model	O
15	O
,	O
which	O
used	O
a	O
proprietary	O
16-bit	B-Device
microprocessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
team	O
finished	O
in	O
March	O
1982	O
,	O
they	O
started	O
development	O
on	O
the	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
(	O
named	O
N-10	O
Project	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
prototype	O
was	O
completed	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
July	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1981	O
,	O
the	O
Terminal	O
Units	O
Division	O
of	O
the	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
also	O
launched	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
series	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
branded	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
personal	O
terminal	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
used	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
processor	O
and	O
a	O
µPD7220	B-Device
display	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
architecture	O
was	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
it	O
mostly	O
ran	O
the	O
proprietary	O
operating	O
system	O
PTOS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
introduced	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
intelligent	O
terminal	O
or	O
a	O
workstation	B-Device
and	O
was	O
distinguished	O
within	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
market	O
,	O
Fujitsu	O
released	O
the	O
in	O
1981	O
,	O
and	O
IBM	O
Japan	O
released	O
the	O
Multistation	B-Device
5550	I-Device
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
model	O
,	O
the	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
,	O
launched	O
in	O
October	O
1982	O
,	O
and	O
employs	O
an	O
8086	B-General_Concept
CPU	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
runs	O
at	O
a	O
clock	O
speed	O
of	O
5MHz	O
,	O
with	O
two	O
µPD7220	B-Device
display	O
controllers	O
(	O
one	O
for	O
text	O
,	O
the	O
other	O
for	O
video	O
graphics	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
shipped	O
with	O
128	O
KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
that	O
can	O
be	O
expanded	O
to	O
640KB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
launched	O
in	O
1982	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
initially	O
priced	O
at	O
298,000	O
yen	O
(	O
about	O
US$	O
1,200	O
in	O
1982	O
dollars	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
use	O
PC-88	B-Device
peripherals	O
such	O
as	O
displays	O
and	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
and	O
it	O
can	O
run	O
software	O
developed	O
for	O
N88-BASIC	O
with	O
a	O
few	O
modifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
new	O
buyers	O
,	O
it	O
required	O
either	O
an	O
expensive	O
1232	O
KB	O
8-inch	B-Device
floppy	I-Device
drive	I-Device
or	O
a	O
smaller	O
capacity	O
320	O
KB	O
5¼-inch	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
system	O
can	O
display	O
JIS	O
X	O
0201	O
characters	O
including	O
numbers	O
,	O
English	O
characters	O
,	O
and	O
half-width	O
kana	O
,	O
so	O
most	O
users	O
added	O
an	O
optional	O
kanji	O
ROM	B-Device
board	O
for	O
using	O
a	O
Japanese	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
successor	O
,	O
the	O
PC-9801F	O
,	O
employs	O
an	O
8086-2	B-General_Concept
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
can	O
selectively	O
run	O
at	O
a	O
speed	O
of	O
either	O
5	O
or	O
8MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
F2	O
model	O
contains	O
two	O
640	O
KB	O
5¼-inch	O
2DD	O
(	O
quad	O
density	O
)	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
a	O
JIS	O
level	O
1	O
kanji	O
(	O
2,965	O
characters	O
)	O
font	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
and	O
was	O
priced	O
at	O
398,000	O
yen	O
(	O
about	O
US$	O
1,700	O
in	O
1983	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ozawa	O
explained	O
the	O
reason	O
why	O
the	O
PC-9801F	O
used	O
a	O
640	O
KB	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
"	O
For	O
Japanese	O
business	B-Application
softwares	I-Application
,	O
320	O
KB	O
is	O
small	O
,	O
640	O
KB	O
is	O
just	O
barely	O
enough	O
,	O
and	O
1	O
MB	O
is	O
preferable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
We	O
want	O
to	O
choose	O
a	O
1	O
MB	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
but	O
its	O
8-inch	O
drive	O
is	O
expensive	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
5-inch	O
drive	O
lacks	O
reliability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
read	O
a	O
320	O
KB	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Electronic	O
Devices	O
Group	O
launched	O
the	O
PC-100	B-Device
in	O
October	O
1983	O
and	O
attempted	O
to	O
present	O
a	O
GUI	B-Application
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Lisa	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-100	B-Device
did	O
not	O
sell	O
well	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
time	O
and	O
high	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
the	O
marketing	O
competed	O
with	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
of	O
the	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
,	O
which	O
did	O
not	O
assure	O
distributors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
1983	O
,	O
Ouchi	O
decided	O
that	O
NEC	O
would	O
consolidate	O
their	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
business	O
into	O
two	O
divisions	O
:	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
8-bit	O
home	O
computer	O
line	O
,	O
and	O
Nippon	O
Electric	O
's	O
Information	O
Processing	O
Group	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
16-bit	B-Device
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Electronic	O
Device	O
Group	O
passed	O
off	O
their	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
business	O
to	O
NEC	O
Home	O
Electronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
an	O
Intel	B-Device
80186	I-Device
CPU	B-General_Concept
at	O
8MHz	O
and	O
a	O
1.2	O
MB	O
5¼-inch	O
2HD	O
(	O
high	O
density	O
)	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
FM-16β	O
failed	O
because	O
it	O
bundled	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
,	O
not	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
marketed	O
by	O
Fujitsu	O
's	O
Electronic	O
Devices	O
department	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
Computers	O
department	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
another	O
incident	O
,	O
Fujitsu	O
bundled	O
a	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
package	O
with	O
the	O
FM-11	B-Device
(	O
predecessor	O
to	O
FM-16β	O
)	O
which	O
discouraged	O
users	O
from	O
purchasing	O
third-party	O
software	O
and	O
forced	O
them	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
for	O
a	O
specific	O
purpose	O
,	O
which	O
caused	O
Fujitsu	O
to	O
fail	O
to	O
expand	O
their	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
introduced	O
the	O
PC-9801M2	O
that	O
has	O
two	O
5¼-inch	O
2HD	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
against	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
FM-16β	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
model	O
cannot	O
read	O
2DD	O
floppy	B-Device
disks	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801VM	O
uses	O
an	O
NEC	B-Device
V30	I-Device
CPU	B-General_Concept
clocked	O
at	O
10MHz	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
July	O
1985	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VM2	O
model	O
shipped	O
with	O
two	O
5¼-inch	O
2HD	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
and	O
supports	O
both	O
2DD	O
and	O
2HD	O
floppy	B-Device
disks	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
permitted	O
software	O
companies	O
to	O
bundle	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
2.11	O
without	O
a	O
license	O
fee	O
between	O
1983	O
and	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASCII	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
allowed	O
it	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
market	O
and	O
compete	O
with	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
occupied	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
Japanese	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
market	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
March	O
1984	O
,	O
700	O
software	O
packages	O
were	O
available	O
for	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1987	O
,	O
NEC	O
announced	O
one	O
million	O
PC-98s	B-Operating_System
were	O
shipped	O
,	O
and	O
about	O
3,000	O
software	O
packages	O
were	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801VM	O
can	O
select	O
a	O
clock	O
frequency	O
between	O
8	O
and	O
10MHz	O
and	O
also	O
offers	O
an	O
optional	O
8086	B-General_Concept
card	O
because	O
the	O
V30	O
has	O
different	O
instruction	O
cycles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
V30	O
has	O
unique	O
instructions	O
which	O
are	O
not	O
implemented	O
in	O
other	O
Intel	B-Operating_System
x86	I-Operating_System
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
applications	O
use	O
them	O
,	O
so	O
the	O
PC-9801VX	O
(	O
1986	O
)	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
run	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80286	I-General_Concept
and	O
V30	O
selectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801RA	O
(	O
1988	O
)	O
has	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80386	I-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
V30	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
NEC	O
did	O
not	O
market	O
these	O
specific	O
machines	O
in	O
the	O
West	O
,	O
it	O
sold	O
the	O
NEC	B-Operating_System
APC	I-Operating_System
III	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
similar	O
hardware	O
as	O
early	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1990	O
,	O
PC-9800/9801	O
units	O
were	O
sold	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Toshiba	O
had	O
developed	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
since	O
the	O
autumn	O
of	O
1983	O
,	O
while	O
their	O
desktops	O
were	O
a	O
failure	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1986	O
,	O
they	O
introduced	O
the	O
which	O
allowed	O
the	O
T3100	B-Device
to	O
handle	O
Japanese	O
text	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
did	O
not	O
expect	O
it	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
first	O
successful	O
laptop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
a	O
typical	O
office	O
layout	O
is	O
an	O
open	O
office	O
that	O
is	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
rows	O
of	O
tight	O
desks	O
,	O
so	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
received	O
a	O
good	O
reception	O
from	O
corporate	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
NEC	O
introduced	O
the	O
PC-98LT	O
laptop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
model	O
had	O
poor	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
and	O
could	O
not	O
gain	O
a	O
significant	O
profit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
understood	O
,	O
despite	O
difficulties	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
needed	O
a	O
new	O
custom	O
chipset	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
motherboard	O
smaller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
1987	O
,	O
Epson	O
announced	O
the	O
first	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
clone	O
desktop	O
computer	O
and	O
named	O
it	O
the	O
PC-286	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
investigated	O
and	O
sued	O
Epson	O
on	O
the	O
claim	O
that	O
its	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
infringed	O
their	O
copyright	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Epson	O
canceled	O
their	O
PC-286	O
model	O
1-4	O
and	O
released	O
the	O
PC-286	O
model	O
0	O
whose	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
was	O
made	O
by	O
another	O
team	O
under	O
a	O
clean	O
room	O
design	O
;	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
built-in	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreter	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
countered	O
that	O
the	O
PC-286	O
model	O
0	O
lacked	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-286	O
model	O
0	O
employs	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80286	I-General_Concept
processor	O
operating	O
at	O
10MHz	O
-	O
25%	O
faster	O
than	O
NEC	O
's	O
PC-9801VX	O
using	O
the	O
same	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
at	O
8MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
added	O
a	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
signature	O
check	O
to	O
their	O
operating	O
systems	O
to	O
prevent	O
non-NEC	O
machines	O
from	O
booting	O
the	O
OSes	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
commonly	O
called	O
an	O
"	O
EPSON	O
check	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1987	O
,	O
Epson	O
introduced	O
the	O
PC-286V	O
and	O
the	O
PC-286U	O
and	O
also	O
released	O
the	O
BASIC	O
Support	O
ROM	B-Device
to	O
add	O
a	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreter	I-Language
to	O
their	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1988	O
,	O
Epson	O
made	O
annual	O
sales	O
of	O
200,000	O
units	O
and	O
successfully	O
established	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
clones	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1987	O
,	O
Epson	O
released	O
the	O
PC-286L	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
compatible	O
laptop	B-Device
before	O
NEC	O
started	O
development	O
of	O
their	O
own	O
laptop	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
1988	O
,	O
NEC	O
released	O
the	O
PC-9801LV	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
100%	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
compatible	O
laptop	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
1989	O
,	O
Toshiba	O
released	O
the	O
J-3100SS	O
branded	O
as	O
the	O
DynaBook	O
,	O
a	O
true	O
laptop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
which	O
was	O
light	O
and	O
battery	O
operated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
and	O
other	O
PC	O
manufacturers	O
developed	O
the	O
AX	B-General_Concept
specification	O
in	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allowed	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
clones	O
to	O
handle	O
Japanese	O
text	O
by	O
using	O
special	O
video	O
chips	O
,	O
the	O
Japanese	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
software	O
written	O
for	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
AX	B-General_Concept
could	O
not	O
break	O
into	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
higher	O
cost	O
and	O
less	O
compatible	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sharp	B-Device
X68000	I-Device
and	O
Fujitsu	B-Device
FM	I-Device
Towns	I-Device
intended	O
to	O
offer	O
a	O
multimedia	O
platform	O
for	O
home	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
have	O
rich	O
graphics	O
and	O
sound	O
capabilities	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
the	O
basic	O
configuration	O
of	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
enjoyed	O
modest	O
success	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
enough	O
to	O
threaten	O
the	O
domination	O
of	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nikkei	O
Personal	B-Device
Computing	I-Device
magazine	O
stated	O
in	O
January	O
1992	O
that	O
"	O
users	O
choose	O
a	O
PC	O
with	O
considering	O
compatibility	O
and	O
expandability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9800	B-Operating_System
compatibles	O
is	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC/AT	I-Operating_System
compatibles	O
also	O
gains	O
their	O
strong	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
We	O
conclude	O
these	O
opinions	O
are	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
slump	O
in	O
other	O
PC	O
sales	O
including	O
Fujitsu	O
FMR	O
,	O
Sharp	B-Device
X68000	I-Device
,	O
AX	B-General_Concept
machines	O
,	O
Canon	O
Navi	O
and	O
rapidly	O
declining	O
8-bit	O
machines	O
like	O
MSX.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
home	O
users	O
chose	O
8-bit	O
machines	O
rather	O
than	O
16-bit	B-Device
machines	O
because	O
16-bit	B-Device
systems	O
were	O
expensive	O
and	O
designed	O
exclusively	O
for	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
the	O
Japanese	O
home	O
computer	O
market	O
was	O
dominated	O
by	O
the	O
NEC	B-Device
PC-88	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Fujitsu	B-Device
FM-7	I-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
Sharp	B-Device
X1	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
era	O
,	O
simulation	O
games	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
genre	O
for	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
took	O
advantage	O
of	O
higher	O
clock	O
speed	O
and	O
larger	O
memory	O
reserves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Daisenryaku	B-Application
series	O
and	O
the	O
Romance	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Three	I-Application
Kingdoms	I-Application
series	O
were	O
particularly	O
popular	O
and	O
they	O
established	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
PC	O
game	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Towards	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
game	O
platform	O
slowly	O
shifted	O
from	O
PC-88	B-Device
to	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
,	O
as	O
the	O
X68000	B-Device
and	O
the	O
FM	B-Device
Towns	I-Device
also	O
had	O
a	O
niche	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
many	O
computer	O
role-playing	O
games	O
were	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
or	O
imported	O
from	O
other	O
platforms	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Brandish	B-Application
,	O
Dungeon	B-Device
Master	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Alone	B-Application
in	I-Application
the	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
higher	O
display	O
resolution	O
and	O
higher	O
storage	O
capacity	O
allowed	O
better	O
graphics	O
,	O
but	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
'	O
s	O
lack	O
of	O
hardware	O
sprites	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
games	O
made	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
were	O
slow-paced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
this	O
limitation	O
,	O
adult	O
dating	O
sims	O
and	O
visual	O
novels	O
appeared	O
as	O
a	O
revival	O
of	O
1980	O
's	O
adventure	O
games	O
and	O
gained	O
popularity	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Dōkyūsei	B-Application
and	O
YU-NO	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
declined	O
,	O
many	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
game	O
developers	O
shifted	O
the	O
game	O
platform	O
to	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
consoles	I-Device
,	O
except	O
for	O
eroge	B-Application
distributed	O
by	O
computer	O
stores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
NEC	O
dominated	O
the	O
Japanese	O
domestic	O
PC	O
market	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
60%	O
of	O
the	O
PCs	B-Device
sold	O
as	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
or	O
PC-8801	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1990	O
,	O
IBM	O
Japan	O
introduced	O
the	O
DOS/V	B-Application
operating	O
system	O
which	O
enabled	O
displaying	O
Japanese	O
text	O
on	O
standard	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC/AT	I-Operating_System
VGA	B-Protocol
adapters	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
manufacturers	O
joined	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
Open	I-Device
Architecture	I-Device
Developer	I-Device
Group	I-Device
(	O
OADG	B-Device
)	O
organized	O
by	O
IBM	O
Japan	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1992	O
,	O
Compaq	O
released	O
a	O
DOS/V	B-Application
computer	O
priced	O
at	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
lowest	O
priced	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
at	O
,	O
causing	O
a	O
price	O
war	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
Toshiba	O
introduced	O
DOS/V	B-Application
computers	O
,	O
Epson	O
founded	O
Epson	O
Direct	O
Corporation	O
to	O
sell	O
DOS/V	B-Application
computers	O
,	O
and	O
Fujitsu	O
started	O
selling	O
DOS/V	B-Application
computers	O
branded	O
as	O
FMV	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
1992	O
,	O
NEC	O
introduced	O
a	O
mid-range	O
Windows	B-Application
PC	I-Application
,	O
the	O
PC-9821	B-Operating_System
which	O
contained	O
an	O
Intel	O
386SX	O
processor	O
,	O
a	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
drive	O
,	O
16-bit	B-Device
PCM	O
audio	O
playback	O
,	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
5.0A	O
,	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
3.0A	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1993	O
,	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
desktops	O
were	O
expanded	O
into	O
three	O
lines	O
:	O
a	O
high-performance	O
Windows-based	O
line	O
named	O
"	O
98MATE	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
low-priced	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
line	O
named	O
"	O
98FELLOW	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
all-in-one	B-Device
desktop	O
line	O
named	O
"	O
98MULTi	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC-98s	B-Operating_System
were	O
still	O
popular	O
among	O
Japanese	O
users	O
because	O
they	O
had	O
many	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
1993	O
to	O
1995	O
,	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
adopted	O
72-pin	O
SIMMs	B-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
3.5-inch	O
1.44	O
MB	O
floppy	B-Device
format	I-Device
,	O
IDE	B-Protocol
storage	O
drives	O
,	O
a	O
640×480	O
DOS	O
screen	O
mode	O
,	O
2D	O
GUI	B-Application
acceleration	O
GPUs	B-Architecture
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Sound	O
System	O
,	O
PCI	B-Protocol
slots	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
PCMCIA	B-Device
card	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
other	O
Japanese	O
domestic	O
platforms	O
which	O
had	O
disappeared	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
overturned	O
the	O
dominance	O
of	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
,	O
NEC	O
sent	O
an	O
average	O
of	O
20	O
engineers	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
office	O
in	O
Seattle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
though	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
uses	O
some	O
IBM	O
clone	O
components	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
requires	O
the	O
special	O
driver	O
or	O
HAL	B-Operating_System
to	O
support	O
its	O
IRQ	B-General_Concept
,	O
I/O	O
and	O
C-Bus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nikkei	O
Personal	B-Device
Computing	I-Device
magazine	O
wrote	O
,	O
"	O
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
features	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
applications	O
,	O
but	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
difference	O
between	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
and	O
PC/AT	B-Operating_System
clones	O
for	O
using	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
status	O
of	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
series	O
is	O
not	O
based	O
on	O
its	O
hardware	O
feature	O
or	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
softwares	O
and	O
peripherals	O
,	O
but	O
its	O
strength	O
in	O
promotion	O
,	O
parts	O
procurement	O
and	O
faith	O
in	O
the	O
NEC	O
brand.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
NEC	O
introduced	O
the	O
PC98-NX	O
series	O
as	O
a	O
main	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
line	O
that	O
conformed	O
to	O
the	O
PC	O
System	O
Design	O
Guide	O
and	O
were	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
'	O
s	O
last	O
successor	O
was	O
the	O
Celeron-based	O
PC-9821Ra43	O
(	O
with	O
a	O
clock	O
frequency	O
of	O
433MHz	O
,	O
using	O
a	O
440FX	O
chipset-based	O
motherboard	O
design	O
from	O
1998	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
appeared	O
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
would	O
be	O
discontinued	O
in	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
18.3	O
million	O
of	O
PC-98s	B-Operating_System
shipped	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
shipments	O
in	O
March	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
to	O
support	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
is	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
is	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
in	O
many	O
ways	O
;	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
it	O
uses	O
its	O
own	O
16-bit	B-Device
C-bus	O
(	O
Cバス	O
)	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
ISA	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
;	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
I/O	B-Architecture
port	I-Architecture
addressing	O
,	O
memory	O
management	O
and	O
graphics	O
output	O
are	O
also	O
different	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
localized	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
Unix	O
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
or	O
Windows	B-Application
will	O
still	O
run	O
on	O
PC-9801s	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
desktop	O
models	O
use	O
a	O
100-pin	O
expansion	O
slot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-H98	O
and	O
PC-9821A	O
series	O
computers	O
use	O
a	O
proprietary	O
32-bit	O
local	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
slot	O
along	O
with	O
16-bit	B-Device
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
16-bit	B-Device
expansion	O
bus	O
was	O
also	O
called	O
C-bus	O
(	O
Compatible	O
Bus	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9821Xf	O
introduced	O
in	O
1994	O
shipped	O
with	O
C-bus	O
slots	O
and	O
PCI	B-Protocol
slots	I-Protocol
on	O
the	O
motherboard	O
,	O
replacing	O
the	O
proprietary	O
local	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
slot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
models	O
can	O
increase	O
system	O
memory	O
by	O
installing	O
expansion	O
boards	O
,	O
daughterboards	O
,	O
or	O
proprietary	O
SIMMs	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
EMS	B-Device
memory	I-Device
boards	O
for	O
C-bus	O
are	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9821Af	O
introduced	O
in	O
1993	O
shipped	O
with	O
standard	O
72-pin	O
SIMMs	B-General_Concept
,	O
broke	O
the	O
14.6	O
MB	O
barrier	O
,	O
and	O
supported	O
memory	O
up	O
to	O
79.6	O
MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
desktop	O
models	O
shipped	O
with	O
standard	O
SIMM	B-General_Concept
or	O
DIMM	B-General_Concept
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98XA	O
(	O
1985	O
)	O
and	O
its	O
successors	O
,	O
called	O
high-resolution	O
machine	O
or	O
simply	O
hi-reso	O
machine	O
,	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
768	O
KB	O
base	B-Device
memory	I-Device
,	O
but	O
their	O
I/O	B-Architecture
ports	I-Architecture
and	O
memory	O
addressing	O
are	O
quite	O
different	O
from	O
normal	O
PC-98s	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
models	O
supported	O
1232	O
KB	O
8-inch	B-Device
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
and/or	O
640	O
KB	O
-inch	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
used	O
different	O
IRQ	B-General_Concept
lines	O
and	O
I/O	B-Architecture
ports	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
High	O
density	O
-inch	O
and	O
-inch	O
floppy	B-Device
disks	I-Device
use	O
the	O
same	O
logical	O
format	O
and	O
data	O
rate	O
as	O
1232	O
KB	O
8-inch	B-Device
floppy	I-Device
disks	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
became	O
a	O
non-standard	O
format	O
while	O
formats	O
brought	O
by	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC/AT	I-Operating_System
and	O
PS/2	B-Device
became	O
the	O
industry	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
supports	O
up	O
to	O
four	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
booted	O
from	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
assigns	O
letters	O
to	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
before	O
considering	O
hard	O
drives	O
;	O
it	O
does	O
the	O
opposite	O
if	O
it	O
is	O
booted	O
from	O
a	O
hard	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
OS	O
was	O
installed	O
on	O
the	O
hard	O
drive	O
,	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
would	O
assign	O
the	O
hard	O
drive	O
as	O
drive	O
"	O
A	O
:	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
as	O
drive	O
"	O
B	O
:	O
"	O
;	O
this	O
would	O
cause	O
incompatibility	O
among	O
Windows	B-Application
PC	I-Application
applications	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
resolved	O
with	O
the	O
SETUP	O
command	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
by	O
turning	O
on	O
the	O
"	O
/AT	O
"	O
switch	O
to	O
assign	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
system	O
drive	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
"	O
C	B-Language
:	O
"	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
uses	O
several	O
different	O
interfaces	O
of	O
hard	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
models	O
used	O
Shugart	O
Associates	O
System	O
Interface	O
(	O
SASI	O
)	O
or	O
ST506	B-Device
,	O
and	O
later	O
models	O
used	O
SCSI	O
or	O
IDE	B-Protocol
drives	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
standard	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
has	O
two	O
µPD7220	B-Device
display	O
controllers	O
(	O
a	O
master	O
and	O
a	O
slave	O
)	O
with	O
12	O
KB	O
and	O
256	O
KB	O
of	O
video	O
RAMs	B-Architecture
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
font	O
ROM	B-Device
contains	O
over	O
7,000	O
glyphs	O
including	O
the	O
single-byte	O
character	O
set	O
JIS	O
X	O
0201	O
and	O
the	O
double-byte	O
character	O
set	O
JIS	O
X	O
0208	O
,	O
although	O
early	O
models	O
provided	O
the	O
double-byte	O
character	O
set	O
as	O
an	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
other	O
display	O
controller	O
is	O
set	O
to	O
slave	O
mode	O
and	O
connected	O
to	O
256	O
KB	O
of	O
planar	B-Device
video	O
memory	O
,	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
display	O
640	O
×	O
400	O
pixel	O
graphics	O
with	O
16	O
colors	O
out	O
of	O
a	O
palette	O
of	O
4096	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
is	O
divided	O
into	O
pages	O
(	O
2	O
pages	O
×	O
4	O
planes	O
×	O
32	O
KB	O
in	O
640	O
×	O
400	O
with	O
16	O
colors	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
programmer	O
can	O
control	O
which	O
page	O
is	O
written	O
to	O
and	O
which	O
page	O
is	O
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
high-resolution	O
machines	O
(	O
PC-98XA	O
,	O
XL	O
and	O
PC-H98	O
)	O
offered	O
an	O
1120	O
×	O
750	O
display	O
mode	O
and	O
aimed	O
for	O
tasks	O
such	O
as	O
CAD	B-Application
and	O
word	O
processing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801U	O
(	O
optional	O
)	O
and	O
VM	O
introduced	O
a	O
custom	O
chipset	O
GRCG	O
(	O
GRaphic	O
CharGer	O
)	O
to	O
access	O
several	O
planar	B-Device
memory	I-Device
in	O
parallel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801VX	O
introduced	O
a	O
blitter	B-General_Concept
chip	I-General_Concept
called	O
the	O
EGC	O
(	O
Enhanced	O
Graphic	O
Charger	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
NEC	O
introduced	O
a	O
2D	O
Windows	B-Application
accelerator	O
card	O
for	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
,	O
called	O
the	O
Window	O
Accelerator	O
Board	O
,	O
which	O
employed	O
a	O
S3	O
86C928	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	O
cards	O
for	O
C-bus	O
,	O
local	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
and	O
PCI	B-Protocol
are	O
also	O
available	O
from	O
other	O
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DirectX	B-Application
7.0a	I-Application
is	O
the	O
last	O
official	O
supported	O
version	O
for	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
PC-9801s	B-Operating_System
(	O
the	O
E	O
,	O
F	O
and	O
M	O
models	O
)	O
only	O
have	O
an	O
internal	O
buzzer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC-9801U2	O
and	O
later	O
models	O
can	O
change	O
the	O
sound	O
frequency	O
by	O
controlling	O
the	O
programmable	B-Device
interval	I-Device
timer	I-Device
,	O
like	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-8801mkIISR	O
home	O
computer	O
,	O
introduced	O
in	O
1985	O
,	O
has	O
a	O
Yamaha	O
YM2203	O
FM	O
synthesis	O
,	O
an	O
Atari	B-Protocol
joystick	I-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
and	O
BASIC	O
sound	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
optional	O
PC-9801-26	O
sound	O
card	O
is	O
based	O
around	O
these	O
features	O
,	O
although	O
in	O
some	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
models	O
it	O
is	O
integrated	O
with	O
the	O
motherboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
PC-9801-26K	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
80286	B-General_Concept
CPU	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
became	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
sound	O
card	O
for	O
playing	O
in-game	O
music	O
on	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801-26K	O
was	O
succeeded	O
by	O
the	O
PC-9801-73	O
(	O
1991	O
)	O
and	O
PC-9801-86	O
(	O
1993	O
)	O
sound	O
card	O
,	O
which	O
employs	O
the	O
YM2608	O
FM	O
synthesis	O
and	O
adds	O
support	O
for	O
CD-quality	O
PCM	O
playback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
lack	O
of	O
DMA	B-General_Concept
support	O
and	O
poor	O
sound	O
drivers	O
,	O
it	O
often	O
has	O
issues	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
created	O
popping	O
and	O
clicking	O
sounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Late	O
PC-9821	B-Operating_System
models	O
use	O
the	O
Crystal	O
Semiconductor	O
's	O
Windows	B-Application
Sound	O
System	O
audio	O
codec	O
to	O
resolve	O
this	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
newer	O
sound	O
chip	O
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
older	O
conventional	O
sound	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-9801-118	O
(	O
1995	O
)	O
sound	O
card	O
has	O
both	O
the	O
YMF297	O
(	O
hybrid	O
of	O
YM2608	O
and	O
YMF262	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
WSS	O
audio	O
,	O
but	O
its	O
PCM	O
playback	O
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
86	O
sound	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Roland	O
released	O
a	O
music	O
production	O
starter	O
kit	O
for	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
combines	O
the	O
MT-32	O
synthesizer	O
module	O
,	O
a	O
MIDI	O
interface	O
card	O
and	O
a	O
MIDI	O
editing	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	O
Labs	O
developed	O
a	O
C-bus	O
variant	O
of	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
16	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
model	O
has	O
the	O
same	O
keyboard	O
layout	O
as	O
the	O
PC-8801	B-Device
'	O
s	O
except	O
it	O
adds	O
conversion	B-Device
key	I-Device
XFER	O
and	O
5	O
function	O
keys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
models	O
have	O
some	O
minor	O
changes	O
:	O
NFER	O
,	O
15	O
function	O
keys	O
,	O
LED	O
status	O
indicators	O
,	O
and	O
replacing	O
CAPS	B-Device
and	O
alternate	O
action	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bus	B-Device
mouse	I-Device
and	O
interface	O
card	O
kit	O
was	O
introduced	O
for	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
PS/2	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
became	O
popular	O
among	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
clones	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
the	O
bus	B-Device
mouse	I-Device
was	O
used	O
until	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seiko	O
Epson	O
manufactured	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
clones	O
between	O
1987	O
and	O
1995	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
compatible	O
peripherals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Manufacturers	O
of	O
DOS/V	B-Application
computers	O
began	O
to	O
get	O
sales	O
channels	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
became	O
competitors	O
for	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
and	O
its	O
Epson	O
clones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nikkei	O
Personal	B-Device
Computing	I-Device
magazine	O
reported	O
in	O
1992	O
that	O
"	O
NEC	O
has	O
various	O
opinions	O
inside	O
the	O
company	O
about	O
the	O
future	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
doubtful	O
whether	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
will	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
domestic	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
decline	O
of	O
the	O
98	O
compatible	O
machine	O
business	O
may	O
lead	O
to	O
the	O
decline	O
of	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
itself	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
a	O
32-bit	O
local	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
for	O
graphic	O
processing	O
and	O
an	O
Intel	B-Device
486SX	I-Device
CPU	B-General_Concept
running	O
at	O
20	O
MHz	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
faster	O
than	O
NEC	O
's	O
flagship	O
PC-9801FA	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
a	O
486SX	B-Device
running	O
at	O
16	O
MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1993	O
,	O
NEC	O
released	O
the	O
98MATE	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
Epson	O
's	O
clones	O
and	O
DOS/V	B-Application
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
1992	O
to	O
1994	O
,	O
Epson	O
sold	O
about	O
200,000	O
units	O
of	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
clones	O
every	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Nikkei	O
Personal	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
magazine	O
expected	O
that	O
Epson	O
would	O
continue	O
manufacturing	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
clones	O
for	O
a	O
while	O
because	O
NEC	O
had	O
kept	O
a	O
50%	O
share	O
of	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AST	O
Research	O
Japan	O
released	O
the	O
DualStation	O
386	B-General_Concept
SX/16	O
in	O
1990	O
which	O
was	O
both	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
and	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
compatible	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
failed	O
because	O
of	O
poor	O
marketing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sharp	O
,	O
Sanyo	O
and	O
Seikosha	O
each	O
worked	O
on	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
clones	O
,	O
but	O
all	O
gave	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
was	O
primarily	O
used	O
for	O
businesses	O
and	O
industry	O
in	O
Japan	O
from	O
1980s	O
to	O
mid-1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
September	O
1992	O
,	O
out	O
of	O
16,000	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
software	O
applications	O
,	O
60%	O
of	O
them	O
were	O
corporate	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
applications	O
(	O
including	O
CAD	B-Application
)	O
,	O
10%	O
of	O
them	O
were	O
operating	O
systems	O
and	O
development	O
tools	O
,	O
10%	O
of	O
them	O
were	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
applications	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
rest	O
being	O
a	O
mix	O
of	O
graphic	O
design	O
,	O
networking	O
,	O
word	O
processing	O
and	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nikkei	O
Personal	B-Device
Computing	I-Device
magazine	O
reported	O
in	O
1993	O
that	O
most	O
home	O
users	O
purchased	O
PCs	B-Device
to	O
complete	O
office	O
work	O
at	O
home	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ichitaro	B-Application
,	O
a	O
Japanese	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
for	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
and	O
considered	O
one	O
of	O
its	O
killer	O
applications	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1985	O
and	O
ported	O
to	O
other	O
machines	O
in	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Japanese	O
version	O
of	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
was	O
also	O
ported	O
to	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
first	O
in	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1	O
million	O
copies	O
of	O
all	O
Ichitaro	B-Application
versions	O
and	O
500,000	O
copies	O
of	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
were	O
shipped	O
by	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC-98	B-Operating_System
software	O
generally	O
ran	O
from	O
program	O
and	O
data	O
disks	O
(	O
Disk	O
0	O
&	O
1	O
or	O
A	O
&	O
B	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Ichitaro	B-Application
's	O
system	O
disk	O
contained	O
a	O
runtime	O
version	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
main	O
programs	O
,	O
an	O
input	B-General_Concept
method	I-General_Concept
editor	I-General_Concept
(	O
ATOK	B-Device
)	O
and	O
its	O
dictionary	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
used	O
the	O
entire	O
space	O
of	O
an	O
1.2	O
MB	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1980s	O
,	O
most	O
machines	O
only	O
had	O
two	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
because	O
HDDs	O
were	O
an	O
expensive	O
additional	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
provided	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
operating	O
systems	O
including	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
,	O
Concurrent	B-Operating_System
CP/M	I-Operating_System
,	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
PC-UX	B-Operating_System
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
(	O
discontinued	O
after	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Localized	O
versions	O
of	O
NetWare	B-Operating_System
and	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
were	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
had	O
many	O
game	O
titles	O
designed	O
for	O
it	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
made	O
creative	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
limitations	O
(	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
originally	O
designed	O
as	O
a	O
business	O
machine	O
)	O
to	O
great	O
commercial	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
having	O
hardware	O
specifications	O
inferior	O
to	O
the	O
FM	B-Device
Towns	I-Device
and	O
the	O
X68000	B-Device
,	O
the	O
massive	O
install	O
base	O
and	O
steady	O
flow	O
of	O
game	O
titles	O
(	O
in	O
particular	O
"	O
dōjin	O
"	O
style	O
dating	O
sims	O
and	O
RPGs	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Policenauts	B-Application
,	O
YU-NO	B-Application
:	I-Application
A	I-Application
Girl	I-Application
Who	I-Application
Chants	I-Application
Love	I-Application
at	I-Application
the	I-Application
Bound	I-Application
of	I-Application
this	I-Application
World	I-Application
,	O
Koutetsu	B-Application
no	I-Application
Kishi	I-Application
,	O
Mayonaka	B-Application
no	I-Application
Tantei	I-Application
Nightwalker	I-Application
,	O
MechWarrior	B-Application
,	O
Rusty	B-Application
,	O
Hiōden	B-Application
:	I-Application
Mamono-tachi	I-Application
tono	I-Application
Chikai	I-Application
,	O
Shūjin	B-Device
e	I-Device
no	I-Device
Pert-em-Hru	I-Device
,	O
Corpse	B-Application
Party	I-Application
,	O
Slayers	B-Application
,	O
J.B.	B-Application
Harold	I-Application
Murder	I-Application
Club	I-Application
and	O
Touhou	B-Application
Project	I-Application
)	O
kept	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
favored	O
platform	O
for	O
PC	O
game	O
developers	O
in	O
Japan	O
until	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
the	O
DOS/V	B-Application
clones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Partial	O
list	O
of	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
models	O
sold	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
(	O
no	O
1992-2000	O
models	O
,	O
no	O
notebook	B-Device
models	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
journalist	O
explained	O
in	O
1988	O
how	O
NEC	O
established	O
the	O
nation	O
of	O
Japanese	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
:	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
responded	O
quickly	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
demand	O
for	O
business	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
adopted	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
as	O
an	O
operating	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Western	O
computers	O
lacked	O
Japanese	O
support	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
display	O
resolution	O
and	O
memory	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
could	O
not	O
get	O
into	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PC	O
market	O
until	O
the	O
DOS/V	B-Application
and	O
faster	O
computers	O
came	O
out	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
IBM	O
Japan	O
sold	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5550	I-Device
instead	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yoshihiko	O
Hyodo	O
,	O
a	O
programmer	O
who	O
developed	O
the	O
text	O
editor	O
VZ	B-Application
Editor	I-Application
,	O
said	O
two	O
advantages	O
that	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
had	O
were	O
its	O
kanji	O
character	O
memory	O
and	O
non-interlaced	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
senior	O
vice	O
president	O
of	O
Otsuka	O
Shokai	O
(	O
a	O
computer	O
distributor	O
for	O
enterprises	O
)	O
recalled	O
that	O
"	O
early	O
users	O
such	O
as	O
Kao	O
already	O
had	O
office	O
automation	O
with	O
the	O
PC-8000	B-Device
,	O
but	O
it	O
lacked	O
speed	O
and	O
kanji	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Then	O
,	O
the	O
PC-9800	B-Operating_System
was	O
released	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
perfect	O
,	O
so	O
distributors	O
and	O
users	O
immediately	O
switched	O
to	O
it.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Shunzo	O
Hamada	O
of	O
NEC	O
thought	O
the	O
biggest	O
reason	O
for	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
was	O
that	O
NEC	O
could	O
get	O
software	O
companies	O
to	O
cooperate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
said	O
,	O
"	O
Third-party	O
suppliers	O
of	O
Japanese	O
PCs	B-Device
had	O
already	O
grown	O
up	O
to	O
a	O
certain	O
extent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
we	O
developed	O
the	O
PC-9800	B-Operating_System
series	I-Operating_System
,	O
we	O
changed	O
our	O
method	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
conscious	O
effort	O
to	O
grow	O
them	O
up	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC-98	B-Operating_System
'	O
s	O
large	O
software	O
library	O
assured	O
buyers	O
that	O
the	O
machine	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
all	O
purposes	O
,	O
although	O
most	O
users	O
actually	O
purchased	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
major	O
softwares	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
1982	O
,	O
NEC	O
had	O
four	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
lines	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
covered	O
a	O
wide	O
price	O
range	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
IBM	O
's	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
reforming	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
lines	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
NEC	O
began	O
expanding	O
the	O
PC-9801	B-Operating_System
series	O
and	O
its	O
number	O
of	O
models	O
exceeded	O
its	O
competitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NEC	O
encouraged	O
third-party	O
developers	O
as	O
IBM	O
did	O
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
hardware	O
of	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
was	O
also	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
though	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
IBM	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kou	O
guessed	O
that	O
NEC	O
avoided	O
releasing	O
an	O
IBM	O
compatible	O
PC	O
because	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
proud	O
of	O
developing	O
an	O
original	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
felt	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
was	O
an	O
"	O
ordinary	O
"	O
16-bit	B-Device
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
but	O
it	O
had	O
plenty	O
of	O
games	O
because	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
deny	O
the	O
playability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
theorized	O
that	O
Fujitsu	O
did	O
not	O
consider	O
the	O
16-bit	B-Device
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
as	O
a	O
game	O
platform	O
,	O
and	O
considered	O
IBM	B-Device
JX	I-Device
handling	O
games	O
to	O
be	O
of	O
minor	O
importance	O
,	O
which	O
made	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
less	O
attractive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
concluded	O
that	O
the	O
actual	O
value	O
of	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
must	O
be	O
found	O
by	O
not	O
sellers	O
but	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
writer	O
of	O
the	O
ASCII	O
magazine	O
wrote	O
that	O
the	O
Japanese	O
input	B-General_Concept
method	I-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
Japanese	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
were	O
significantly	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
era	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
had	O
a	O
kanji	O
character	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
Japanese	O
applications	O
were	O
developed	O
for	O
it	O
,	O
which	O
influenced	O
Japanese	O
input	B-General_Concept
methods	I-General_Concept
being	O
developed	O
for	O
them	O
;	O
the	O
two	O
built	O
off	O
of	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
companies	O
that	O
developed	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
immediately	O
expanded	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
business	O
on	O
the	O
Famicom	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
believed	O
most	O
programmers	O
learned	O
computer	B-General_Concept
programming	I-General_Concept
on	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
at	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
,	O
competitors	O
accused	O
NEC	O
of	O
monopolizing	B-Application
the	O
Japanese	O
computer	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Contrary	O
to	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
,	O
every	O
Japanese	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
had	O
a	O
short	O
lifespan	O
;	O
NEC	O
released	O
a	O
new	O
model	O
of	O
the	O
PC-98	B-Operating_System
every	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
PC-9801VX01/21/41	O
models	O
brought	O
a	O
new	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreter	I-Language
which	O
supported	O
the	O
Enhanced	O
Graphic	O
Charger	O
(	O
EGC	O
)	O
chipset	O
,	O
most	O
commercial	O
software	O
did	O
not	O
use	O
it	O
as	O
they	O
were	O
written	O
in	O
C	B-Language
.	O
Many	O
developers	O
did	O
not	O
follow	O
it	O
because	O
they	O
wanted	O
to	O
make	O
their	O
software	O
less	O
dependent	O
on	O
the	O
specific	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
