Dutch company Bazix, in co-operation with the Japanese companies ASCII and MSX Association, has started taking pre-orders on the One Chip MSX.

We reported about the MSX chip the first time last year. Back then the MSX chip board was still in the works. Now retro gaming fans can get their hands on an MSX system soon.
As of today Bazix is accepting pre-orders for the One Chip MSX. In order to start commercial production, Bazix and ASCII have to gather over 5,000 pre-orders combined.
In Japan alone, ASCII have already sold 2,000 One Chip MSX computers. Until August 20th, 2005, the One Chip MSX can be pre-ordered at Bazix for 189,00 Euros inc. VAT.



By default, the One Chip MSX is configured as an MSX1 computer system. The MSX standard originates from a co-operation between ASCII and Microsoft, and was very popular in the eighties and early nineties. In this setting, all chips originally used in the MSX1 computer (Z80 CPU, TMS9918 VDP, etc.) are implemented in the Altera Cyclone FPGA chip, turning the One Chip MSX in a fully MSX1 compatible device. Out of the box, the One Chip computer can be used to play high quality retro games, but this is just a small part of its functionality.

MSX Specifications:
Altera Cyclone EP1C12Q240C8 FPGA chip
32 MB SDRAM
SD/MMC card slot
MSX Cartridge slot
2 mono audio outputs
Composite video output
VGA output
PS/2 keyboard connector
USB connector
MSX Joystick port
FPGA I/O pin (40 pins and 10 pins)