was a monthly released

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, published by ASCII Corporation from 1977. It targeted business users who used a personal computer in their home and office, but it sometimes introduced

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

s and computer music. It was also known as the written along with the title from Vol. 2 No. 4, and distinguish with the founded in 1997. The ASCII was rebranded as the in 2008, and ceased in 2010. Its news website and the Weekly ASCII are continuing as in 2016. The , a computer game magazine, was first published as an extra issue of the ASCII in 1982, and the was branched from the LOGiN.

Foundation

Japanese PC Shipments by bit designs 1983-1993

In 1976, NEC released the TK-80, a

single-board computer A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstrati ...

kit, and it became popular among hobbyists in Japan. joined foundation of the first Japanese microcomputer magazine ''I/O'' ( ja) as an editor when he was a student at the Waseda University. The I/O initially served information for assembled microcomputer systems with a few video game columns. Growing the video game market, it was shifted to a video game magazine. Against it, Nishi considered that personal computers must have far more potential than video games. In April 1977, Nishi left the company, borrowed money from his grandmother and visited the West Coast Computer Faire held in San Francisco. Then, he realized the difference between Japan and the United States. "In Japan, the TK-80 just caused a microcomputer craze. While in the United States, it seems the beginning of the personal computer revolution. Each persons try to face a personal computer, based on their own identity," he said. On May 24, 1977, Nishi founded with his friends, and . They published the ASCII as a microcomputer magazine for business, while the I/O was for hobbyists. The first issue was sold 5,000 copies. It became one of the most popular computer magazine in 1980s in Japan. In 1999, the magazine reached its largest circulation of 170,000 copies. A profile of Satoshi Endo, an editor of the ASCII in 1990s, was broadcast on Japanese TV in 2016.

References

External links

ASCII.jp
{{in lang, ja Defunct computer magazines Defunct magazines published in Japan Magazines established in 1977 Magazines disestablished in 2008 Magazines published in Tokyo Monthly magazines published in Japan