Never Would I Have Thought That I Would Search Everywhere for a PC-FX Controller

A piece of hardware nobody paid attention to 30 years ago

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In December 1994, as the successor to the PC Engine, NEC Home Electronics released the PC-FX.

However, the opponents up against it were far too mighty.

The Sony PlayStation.

The Sega Saturn.

And, of course, the Super Famicom, which still claimed massive popularity.

Whenever you opened a gaming magazine, “the next-gen console wars” were featured day after day. The entire gaming community was buzzing with talk about new software releases.

Amidst all of this, the PC-FX struggled.

Sales figures didn’t budge. And for many gamers, it left a lasting impression that it was a failed system.

That being said, I myself actually purchased a PC-FX back then.

And, right from its launch, I honestly didn’t think its performance was ever fairly appreciated.

To me, the PC-FX was just a little bit too far ahead of its time.

At the time, the PlayStation and Sega Saturn were generating massive hype with 3D polygon graphics. However, NEC chose to rely on the winning formula they established during the twilight years of the PC Engine.

Titles on the PC Engine like Tokimeki Memorial and Snatcher—which combined high-quality anime-style graphics, CD audio, and full voice acting—gained massive popularity. This created a fixed market perception that “CD-ROM games” equals “dramatic anime games.”

That is precisely why the PC-FX threw its full weight behind 2D animation processing—even if it looked like they were defying the trend of the times. And personally, I wanted to experience the evolution of that winning formula.

This can be easily verified today by watching online videos, but the PC-FX’s animation rendering capabilities were exceptionally excellent for its time. Characters moved dynamically, and the software packed in an abundance of voiced dialogue.

However, mid-90s gaming magazines and in-store retail demos alone couldn’t fully convey that appeal. Today, you can do a side-by-side hardware performance comparison with just a single video. But back then, it wasn’t like that.

As a result, the PC-FX got buried by fierce market competition before its praise-worthy specs were properly communicated to consumers.

I ended up keeping my PC-FX console tucked away in my closet for the longest time. Time passed, and both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn came to be classified as “retro games.”

Then one day, for the first time in ages, I had the sudden urge to boot up my PC-FX.

The console itself had survived. However, there was a problem. The controller was missing.

I searched the whole house. I searched the closet. But it was nowhere to be found. I had probably misplaced it during a move or while decluttering.

Back then, I might have given up. But now, it’s completely different.

I opened Yahoo! Auctions. And I was shocked.

The first-party PC-FX controller, which nobody paid attention to 30 years ago, was being actively traded.

Units in good condition are not cheap by any means. But still, I won the auction.

After it arrived, I plugged in the controller and, once again, powered on the PC-FX. Holding the official gamepad after all this time brought me back to the exact feeling of anticipation I had when it first launched.

The FX-PAD—the PC-FX’s stock controller—features a 6-button layout, which was inherited from the PC Engine’s Arcade Pad 6. Back then, just looking at that controller design made me imagine all of the fighting games and full-fledged action games that would flood this next-gen console. Even more so than the actual hardware specs, the existence of that 6-button pad gave me a sense of the future.

Furthermore, the PC-FX console had a unique “tower” form factor that was also memorable. Compared to conventional home consoles, the PC-FX was described as a design built with PC integration in mind. That alone gave it a completely different aura.

Looking back now, rather than a mere game console, its appearance feels like the very embodiment of NEC’s ideal—which is to create futuristic multimedia devices.

When I saw the boot screen display for the first time in a while, I experienced a strange sensation.

It wasn’t just that the console had been resurrected. It felt as though the very era of misunderstanding had materialized right before my eyes again.

It’s fascinating that, even now, bidding wars break out whenever particular PC-FX-related merchandise gets listed on Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions.

It didn’t sell well when it first launched. But since then, it has become easier than ever to share information.

Thanks to today’s online video platforms and personal blogs, all of these once-invisible “hidden charms” keep getting unearthed.

As a result, reductionist terms like “failed hardware” can’t easily define an entity such as the PC-FX.

Even now, I still occasionally browse through PC-FX consoles and software on Mercari and Yahoo! Auctions. When a clean unit is listed, I can’t help but be drawn to it.

This is not the pull of mere nostalgia.

After 30 years, I am finally witnessing the exact moment when bold technological and design choices—unappreciated at their launch—are finally receiving their critical reassessment.

If you happen to spot a PC-FX console or its peripherals in good condition on Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions right now, it is no mere secondhand console.

While hiding in the shadows of the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, the PC-FX is a living witness to gaming history that has kept waiting for 30 years for its own era to arrive.

Written by Keida | Translated by Jacob

[Market Reality Note] The artifacts featured in our reports are live, highly volatile listings sourced directly from the Japanese domestic secondary market. Due to the underground nature of these collector ecosystems, items may sell out or be removed by the seller at any given moment. Consider each report a real-time window into a vanishing opportunity.

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