[I ♥ The PC Engine] PC-KD863G

PC-KD863G

Maker: NEC Home Electronics
Release Date: 9/27/88
Price: 138,000 yen

Another example of the “Core Concept” (last seen in the X1 Twin) gone mad.

Along with envisioning the PC Engine as the “core” that drove a vast variety of home peripherals and accessories, NEC also saw the PCE’s internal hardware as a fully sub-licensable product, capable of being installed into all manner of other devices. These new products would be called “HE-System devices” (HEシステム機), and just as Sharp did with the X1 Twin in 1987, any third party could release PCE-compatible HE-System hardware if they were willing to pay a license fee to NEC.

The PC-KD863G, by far the most uncommon piece of first-party PC Engine hardware, is the only labeled HE-System device that NEC-HE themselves released into the marketplace. Simply put, it’s a computer (RGB) monitor with PCE hardware pre-installed internally. As you can see from the pamphlet photo, there’s a HuCard slot and a single control port down below the screen, along with speakers on both sides of the CRT. This means that you could play PCE games with this set by itself without tying up Dad’s TV — sort of like a really big PC Engine LT or GT, I suppose.

The unique thing about this device is that it was the only officially-licensed PC Engine to output straight RGB video. The X1 Twin could only do composite video for the PCE since the console’s hardware was functionally separate from the computer, but the PC-KD863G outputs a direct RGB signal, giving the sharpest picture you can expect to find in real life. (All PCEs output RGB video internally, and at one point Dempa Shinbunsha announced a standalone RGB monitor that included a special video interface for the PCE, but that dissolved into vaporware. High-end gamers used custom cables instead, which were sold by many mail-order joints.)

The 138,000 yen list price makes this easily the most expensive piece of PC Engine hardware ever released. Most of that price is probably tied up in the cost of the monitor hardware — those things were expensive during the 80s, something rarely appreciated today (there’s a reason why most 8-bit PCs connected to television sets) — and when you consider the PC Engine LT itself cost just a bit under 100,000, that six-figure MSRP begins to become just a tad easier to swallow. Besides, maybe some customers looking for a plain ol’ PC monitor saw the PCE hardware as a little extra bonus. I don’t know.

In reality, the PC-KD863G saw its most frequent use in the editorial departments of video game magazines, which used it for screenshot snapping until custom RGB cables came along. Otherwise it wasn’t too useful, thanks to its lack of expansion port and resulting incompatibility with the CD-ROM System.

I’ve never ever ever seen one of these in real life. In fact, I’d honestly be surprised if there were any working examples left. Brandon Sheffield noted that a Hong Kong dude has had one up on eBay since last fall for $1000 even. French super-collector Adol has one, too. The last one I could find on Japanese auction sites was sold back in 2005.