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In 1991 Fujitsu made an entry into the Japanese video games market by releasing their first video game system, based upon their popular FM Towns computers which had been on the market for 2 years now. The system would be called the FM Towns Marty and had all the power of the computer as well as a few extra components to form one powerful video game system. It was the first 32-bit video game system and featured a 386 processor, CD-ROM drive and a Floppy Disk Drive. The FM Towns Marty was made backwards compatible with the computer software. The system itself looks similar to an NEC PC Engine Duo/Turbo Duo [link].
At the time of the Marty's release, computers and software were very expensive in Japan with computers costing over US$1000 and software between US$70 and over US$140, due to the limited runs made. While the Marty provided a cheaper solution to buying games for computers, it was still a high-priced video games console when compared to the Sega Mega Drive and Nintendo Super Famicom, which were both a few hundred US Dollars cheaper. And people still would have rathered a computer system rather than one that only plays games, thus the FM Towns Marty did not take off too well after its release.
Later down the track, Fujitsu released a revised version of the FM Towns Marty; the FM Towns Marty 2. This was a 486 model, giving it that extra power that the first Marty needed. This revision did fairly well, not only because of the extra power, but also because the cost of producing the system and software had come down by this time. Games now ranged from US$38 to US$75, with only the occasional release of a game priced around $140. These higher priced titles were mostly adult Anime titles, something that this system is known to have a large library of. Even though it was not the main purpose for the system, their production was not discouraged, thus many titles of this nature were released by third parties.
The Marty 2 also featured Internet connectivity, allowing avatar chat and bulletin board system as well as the ability to play games over the net. Something interesting to note about this system is that it featured the only 32-bit version of Operation Wolf. The controller for the Marty 2 looked similar to that of an NEC PC Engine/Turbo Grafx 16, only with a very short cable! (You'd be best off using an extension cable for the controllers, which use a standard 9-pin plug like those for Sega Master System and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis).
The FM Towns Marty was supported by Fujitsu for many years after its release and by some third party software manufacturers up to as late as 1999. The Fujitsu company were wise not to produce any more follow-ups to this system as soon after the popularity of the FM Towns Marty faded, Sony's PlayStation devoured the market.
Additional features include:
Platform: Fujitsu FM Towns Marty.
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