X68000



"Personal workstation."

The X68000 is a line of computers made by Sharp and released only in Japan. It was the successor to the X1.

This was a very powerful gaming system, very similar to the best arcade boards of its day (in fact Capcom used it to develop CPS1 games). But such power came with a ludicrous price tag: ¥369,000 at launch (equivalent to $6,600 today). For some perspective: that's fifteen times the price of the PC Engine console, launched that same year. Consequently it remained a niche system. And yet, its unique power enticed developers - professionals and indies alike - to produce the most accurate arcade ports and the most advanced original titles possible at the time.

Even though the X68000 was so advanced at launch, later updates were too modest, and the system started to lose its edge. By the early '90s, the more popular rival PC-98 was catching up, and that in turn was feeling the heat of a price war against Western-style PC clones. Sharp considered a move to the PowerPC processor, but decided it wouldn't be viable in that competitive market, and discontinued the platform.