Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
It turns out that GAF is so full of old people it may as well be the millennial image of a retirement home. Which is why I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers the day when Japanese companies not only ruled the consumer electronics industry, but utterly destroyed the competition in terms of design. At some point it was almost as if Japan was trying its damn best to emulate Masamune Shirow and Katsuhiro Otomo's visions of the future, only with less murder. From the early 80's to mid 90's, Japanese industrial design was second to none.
And it wasn't just TVs or the Walkman (not to mention oddities like the jaw dropping Sony PS-F5 portable vinyl player); while most of us were fawning over dull, beige boxes, Japanese consumers were already gaming on vastly superior computers that not only remain strikingly gorgeous even today, but they were also considerably more powerful than their Western counterparts. Let's take a look at the Sharp X1, for example.
Coetaneous with the Commodore 64, it was released in 1982 and still looks like a million bucks, while packing some crazy features like the ability to superimpose graphics and text over TV images. The X1 turned out to be a massive success, and served as the basis for the better known X68000 range, a complete beast of a computer that remains sought after by collectors around the world.
There's also the odd looking X1 Twin, which not only was a computer in the classic sense, but also a game console thanks to its PC-Engine compatibility. That one didn't stand the passage of time like the X1 or the X68000, but it has that old school "hi-tech" charm.
Then you had companies like Fujitsu, which made a mockery of most computers of the era with the FM Towns, which featured crazy innovative features like bootable CDs in 1989 and (just like the X68000) amassed a large amount of cult classics through its long life.
As for videogame consoles, I think the Neo Geo remains one of the most visually arresting machines of its era, but even humbler platforms like the Master System II and Sega's range of CD add-ons had some very unique, undeniable Japanese appeal. I personally think the Sega CD and the Sega Multimega still look damn fine.
The PC Engine Shuttle also deserves a mention because it was so goddamned bizarre.
And as ugly as the CoreGrafx was, the CD-ROM² add-on is a classic example of great Japanese design. Not only it looked insanely advanced, but it also doubled as a CD-ROM unit for the also rather unique PC-8801MC range of NEC computers. Wild stuff.
It is hard to explain how damn innovative this was at the time when DOS boxes were still struggling with the MPC standard. While we are all too familiar with Sega, Sony and Nintendo, there are times when I wonder what could have been of PC gaming if Japan had dared to look outside its borders.
I'm aware that this post is painfully incomplete without modern creations like the beautiful Sega Saturn and the iconic PlayStation, but I don't intend to create a complete repository of Japan's best and finest. This thread only pretends to celebrate the stunning design and innovation of Japanese companies during the 80's and 90's, so feel free to post your favourite products from that era if you think they are missing.
And it wasn't just TVs or the Walkman (not to mention oddities like the jaw dropping Sony PS-F5 portable vinyl player); while most of us were fawning over dull, beige boxes, Japanese consumers were already gaming on vastly superior computers that not only remain strikingly gorgeous even today, but they were also considerably more powerful than their Western counterparts. Let's take a look at the Sharp X1, for example.
That's right. You are looking at a multimedia keyboard. On a computer released over three decades ago.
Coetaneous with the Commodore 64, it was released in 1982 and still looks like a million bucks, while packing some crazy features like the ability to superimpose graphics and text over TV images. The X1 turned out to be a massive success, and served as the basis for the better known X68000 range, a complete beast of a computer that remains sought after by collectors around the world.
So. Much. Eroge.
There's also the odd looking X1 Twin, which not only was a computer in the classic sense, but also a game console thanks to its PC-Engine compatibility. That one didn't stand the passage of time like the X1 or the X68000, but it has that old school "hi-tech" charm.
Then you had companies like Fujitsu, which made a mockery of most computers of the era with the FM Towns, which featured crazy innovative features like bootable CDs in 1989 and (just like the X68000) amassed a large amount of cult classics through its long life.
1.9.8.9.
As for videogame consoles, I think the Neo Geo remains one of the most visually arresting machines of its era, but even humbler platforms like the Master System II and Sega's range of CD add-ons had some very unique, undeniable Japanese appeal. I personally think the Sega CD and the Sega Multimega still look damn fine.
And what is to be said about the visually arresting Sharp Twin Famicom, which coupled Nintendo's iconic 8 bit console with the then rather innovative Family Computer Disk System add-on? Not too shabby for 1986, right?
Then there's also that needs to be said about NEC, which released hot garbage like the CoreGrafx and the inexplicably hideous PC Engine SuperGrafx, but also gorgeous products like the TurboDuo and the PC-ified PC-FX, which remains one of my personal favourites despite being a total bomb.
The PC Engine Shuttle also deserves a mention because it was so goddamned bizarre.
And as ugly as the CoreGrafx was, the CD-ROM² add-on is a classic example of great Japanese design. Not only it looked insanely advanced, but it also doubled as a CD-ROM unit for the also rather unique PC-8801MC range of NEC computers. Wild stuff.
It is hard to explain how damn innovative this was at the time when DOS boxes were still struggling with the MPC standard. While we are all too familiar with Sega, Sony and Nintendo, there are times when I wonder what could have been of PC gaming if Japan had dared to look outside its borders.
I'm aware that this post is painfully incomplete without modern creations like the beautiful Sega Saturn and the iconic PlayStation, but I don't intend to create a complete repository of Japan's best and finest. This thread only pretends to celebrate the stunning design and innovation of Japanese companies during the 80's and 90's, so feel free to post your favourite products from that era if you think they are missing.
