Japanese gaming icon, the NEC PC-88, is heading back to living rooms in a new Classic Mini form in Spring 2025. Better known to purists as the PC-8801, part of the PC-8800 series, this reproduction of NEC’s seminal console returns to us as the ‘PasocomMini PC-8801mkIISR’ and comes with 2x 5″ floppy disk drives for playing floppy disk games just like the original – it’s a nostalgia overload!
As documented in Japanese magazine Game Watch, the new machine will emulate the sounds of the original computer and has CPU clock that allows users to toggle between 8MHz and 4MHz. ‘The PasocomMini PC-8801mkⅡSR is a miniature reproduction of the NEC 8-bit PC “PC-8801mkⅡSR” that was released in 1985,‘ Game Watch writes, ‘many people around the age of 50 will know or have used the actual machine, but most people under the age of 40 will not know about it.‘
In terms of size, it’s going to be around 1/4 of the original dimensions of the PC-88, measuring up at 99.5 mm wide x 85.7 mm deep x 31.0 mm high. As with all of the modern mini iterations of classic consoles, it has new features like HDMI output and microSD card slots, but I’m most impressed by the fact that it will be shipping alongside 10 games – many of our readers won’t have even seen a floppy disk before, so this machine will probably seem like a huge novelty.
Powered by USB-C and with a comparability for a keyboard just like in the good-old days, the PC-88 Mini is expected to cost ¥33,000 which equates to $242. Other than the release time of Spring 2025, we don’t have any more information on a specific release date. I’ll update this article with more news as and when it arrives, but in the meantime, here’s the full article from Game Watch for those looking to learn more!
