Old Computers #4: Sharp X68000

Released by Sharp in 1987, the X68000 was another attempt to break into the Japanese home computer scene. It was much more powerful than the established competition presented by the PC88 and MSX series. In fact, its hardware was comparable to the arcade units of the time which had a predictable result – it was the champion of arcade conversions, hosting arcade classics from the kings like Capcom, Konami and Namco. Unfortunately, there weren’t a great deal of original games for it except for an awesome Castlevania installment (released here for PlayStation).

As was often the case in the 1980s, machines with high graphical capabilities were of little use to most business and many homes, meaning the X68K was a popular alternative, but not a big boy. The last model was released in 1993 before the line succumbed to the all-powerful Windows 95 craze.