The first member of the PC-8000 series, the PC-8001 was first introduced on May 9, 1979, and went on sale in September 1979 for
¥168,000.
Specification The PC-8001 has an
NEC μPD780C-1 (
Z80-compatible processor) clocked at 4 MHz, 16 KB of RAM (expandable to 32 KB), CRT video output, cassette port, parallel port for a printer, serial port and an expansion bus. The built-in
BASIC interpreter, called N-BASIC, fits in 24 KB of ROM. This is a variant of
Microsoft Disk BASIC 4.51. Optional DISK BASIC allows disk I/O for an external floppy drive. The video output is provided by an NEC μPD3301 CRT controller and a μPD8257C (
Intel 8257 clone)
DMA controller. It has various text modes, and the maximum screen is 80×25 text with 8×8 pixel font. Each character has two attributes chosen from blinking, highlight, reverse, secret, vertical line, over line, under line and eight colors (
3-bit RGB hardware color palette), and up to 20 different attributes per line can be set. The attribution also supports
semigraphics, and each characters have a 2×4 matrix. In 1978, the Hitachi Basic Master and
Sharp MZ-80K, both developed by consumer electronics companies, were released as personal computers targeted for hobbyists, not for business use. The development team consisted of 10 engineers including section manager and chief designer . They had already planned to release a version of the
TK-80BS within a plastic case as a personal computer. It was released as the COMPO BS/80, but it failed in the market due to its poor built-in
BASIC and slow clock speed. The PC-8001 was intended to be a high-performance and inexpensive computer for personal use. When Goto visited
Silicon Valley to survey the application of microprocessors, he ran across
Kazuhiko Nishi at a computer store. They only exchanged business cards, but Nishi introduced
Microsoft to him after he returned to Japan. Goto thought of visiting Microsoft, but he worried that the trip wouldn't be accepted by his boss because Microsoft was a small company. Instead, he attended the fall 1978
West Coast Computer Faire during its first day. The next day, he met
Bill Gates at the airport in
Albuquerque. After lunch, they went to Microsoft's office, and then Gates told him the importance of having a
de facto standard. Goto agreed. The team had already been developing a BASIC interpreter, but Watanabe decided to adopt
Microsoft BASIC because it was widely used in the North American market. At that time, Microsoft and
ASCII (the main Microsoft dealer in Japan) intended to expand
OEM business in Japan, so N-BASIC was provided for NEC with a very low licence fee. Other NEC divisions didn't appreciate the project before the PC-8001 went on sale. Most people, even in NEC, didn't know about microcomputers, and they couldn't understand what the Microcomputer Sales Section aimed for. The TK-80 sold well for computer enthusiasts, but the computer division regarded it as a toy. Their projects were often criticized inside the company. Watanabe recalled that engineers of the computer division criticized microcomputers didn't have
parity bit checking, and they assumed the microprocessors of the time were not suitable for computing due to their lack of performance and reliability. He believed microprocessors were more reliable than wirewrapped
minicomputers. When he circulated the contract with Microsoft for approval, computer division's director criticized they planned to purchase the software from a small company. Inside the company, it was considered engineers were confident in their softwares and had to develop softwares themselves. He explained to the director, "It's profitable, so there is no problem. We are salesmen." Watanabe knew importance of the industrial standard and third party developers, but his perception was against company's practice. Watanabe's bosses, Electronic Device Sales Division manager and executive director , let him do what he wanted. When he suggested the TK-80 project, Sawanobori supported him in anticipation that it would expand the microprocessor market, and Ouchi trusted their decision. When he planned to develop the personal computer, Ouchi wavered. It would become a computer product involved in NEC's core business, and would influence their corporate image. Watanabe also hesitated to develop it in the device division instead of the computer division, but he saw the burgeoning personal computer market in America, and then he decided to continue the project. As the project progressed, Watanabe, Sawanobori and Ouchi discussed their thoughts about marketing, planned a method for mass production, and reached an agreement they devoted all their energies to the project. In January 1979, Goto submitted the first mass production request to New Nippon Electric. They were sure the product would sell, but planned to educate and increase dealers little by little.
Success in Japan '' June 1979. "A dramatic story with the computer will begin. The Personal Computer comes out from NEC." The PC-8001 was introduced on May 9, 1979, and its prototype went to the public at the held from May 16 to 19 at the Tokyo Ryūtsū Center. Soon after the exposition, NEC received thousands of orders. It took half a year to ship about 10,000 backorders after shipment began on September 20, 1979. By 1981, it dominated 40% of the Japanese personal computer market. About 250,000 units were shipped until production stopped in January 1983. NEC also succeeded in expanding their personal computer chain in Japan. The chain owned 7 stores in 1979, 15 stores in 1980, more than 100 stores in 1981, and reached 200 stores by 1983. Kanagawa Prefectural Chigasaki Nishihama High School was the first futsu-ka school (upper secondary schools with a focus on a common course) to purchase PC-8001 computers (buying 17 units) and started teaching programming as an elective subject in 1981. In April 1982,
NHK Educational TV started the television program "" using the PC-8001. Its textbook "" sold 700,000 copies. == PC-8001mkII ==