MSX2 computer system runs on Cyclone FPGA

Bazix has begun taking orders on a limited, special edition of the One Chip MSX, the first MSX computer available to the European market in more than 20 years.

Bazix has begun taking orders on a limited, special edition of the One Chip MSX, the first MSX computer available to the European market in more than 20 years.

This modernised version of the multi-million-selling home computer can be pre-ordered exclusively until 21st November 2006 at a retail price of Eur 229.

The core of the One Chip MSX is an Altera Cyclone FPGA chip which can be reconfigured completely with different hardware designs, programmed in VHDL.

By default, the One Chip MSX is configured as an MSX2 computer system, which was introduced to the market by Microsoft and ASCII Japan in the 1980s.

The source code of this default configuration is included in the package, giving novice and advanced VHDL developers an educational starting point to improve the MSX2 standard as "open source hardware", or implement other classic retro computers and consoles on their own.

In the 1980s, the MSX computer standard introduced a brand-independent, open standard to the consumer market that paved the way for amateur software development.

Now, more than 20 years later, MSX gets another "first" in the industry, introducing "open source hardware" that allows end-users to alter the hardware design completely to their liking.

Back to top