The MSX was a standardized home computer architecture introduced by ASCII Corporation in 1983. It was designed to create a unified computing standard, much like VHS did for video recording. The project was backed by Microsoft, and the name MSX is often debated—some say it stood for "Microsoft Extended", while others believe it meant "Machines with Software eXchangeability".
MSX computers were manufactured by several companies, including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Toshiba, and Yamaha. They were particularly popular in Japan, Europe, and South America, though they never gained much traction in the United States. The first MSX model used a Zilog Z80 processor, with later versions like MSX2, MSX2+, and MSX TurboR improving graphics, memory, and processing power.
The MSX platform became a major gaming system, with companies like Konami and Hudson Soft developing games for it. Notably, the first two Metal Gear games were originally released on MSX hardware.
