The 9-pin Greek Joystics that Refuse to Die
In the 80s, several manufacturers in Greece created high-quality joysticks for the 8-bit and 16-bit home micros. They used hard-plastic shells, microswitch controllers, and professional sticks to build joysticks that were as good as the ones of the arcade machines.
"Roland MT-32.. the Orchestra inside your PC or Home Computer"
Released in 1987 by the Japanese manufacturer Roland Corporation, the MT-32 was the standard MIDI device for PC games in the 80s. Hundreds of video games support the MT-32 on various platforms (IBM PCs, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, MAC, etc.) Notable mentions include several adventure games from Sierra and Lucasfilm.
- The MT-32 Multi-Timbre Sound Module is a MIDI synthesizer module featuring a preset library of 158 sounds and 9 channels
- Several platforms used the MT32, including PCs, Mac, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Apple IIGS, PC-8800 series, NEC PC-98, and Sharp X68000
- In 1987, the device cost $695 (equivalent to $1,700 in 2022)
The Home Computer market began in the early 1980s when the price-reduction of hardware components made computers affordable for the average European and American family.
During the first half of the decade, many 8-bit computers were released, most of which were based on Z80 and MOS 6510 CPUs.
Table: Popular 8-bit Computers and their CPUs
MOS-BASED |
ZILOG-BASED |
MOTOROLLA-BASED |
|
|
|
Commodore 8-bit (PET, VIC, 16, Plus/4, C64, and C128) |
Amstrad 464, 664, and 6128 CPC |
TRS‑80 Color Computer |
Apple 8-bit (Apple II and III) |
Sinclair's Z80, Z81, and ZX Spectrums |
Thomson Computers |
Atari 8-bit (400, 800, XL, and XE) |
MSX/MSX2 |
Sinclair QL |
Acorn 8-bit (Master, Atom, BBC, and Electron) |
TRS-80 Model |
|
Oric (Oric 1, Atmos, and Telestrat) |
Grundy NewBrain |
|
|
Jupiter Ace |
|
|
Enterprise |
|
SAM Coupe |
A comparison of 16-bit computer systems (IBM, Apple, Amiga, Atari, and Acorn Archimedes).
By comparing the features and the price tag (in today's money) of different systems, we can understand how well these computers were competing against each other.