1983 · Casio · Japan · console
Casio PV-1000
On sale in Japan for a few months, gone before anyone noticed.
Mixed Trivial to run ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
Casio's brief 1983 console, on sale in Japan for only a few months before the company withdrew it in favour of its own PV-2000 home computer. Around thirteen cartridges are known to exist.
The library was a set of arcade-style clones — Dirty Chameleon, Pooyan, Amidar — none of which travelled beyond Japan.
What it cost
only about 5% of a month’s pay in 1983 · about $196 today
| Japan launch price (¥14,800 / ~$65 USD) |
¥14,800 (1983)
Casio’s Z80 home video game console launched alongside the Famicom. |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈30,000 estimate Estimated 30,000 units sold. |
Why it mattered
Its near-instant withdrawal shows how brutal Japan's early console market was: Casio judged its own machine a mistake within months and pivoted to home computers instead.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | MAME (pv1000 driver) |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Trivial to run (0 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | A standard modern controller covers the ordinary controls, though unusual accessories may need custom mapping. |
| Runs on a handheld | Yes |
The emulator names above are starting points, not a promise that every title or accessory behaves identically. Computer platforms usually add model selection, disk handling and keyboard setup even when CPU emulation itself is mature.
Firmware
This system needs no firmware file. Install an emulator, open a game, and it runs.
How many files you need: none to go and find. No separate firmware file is needed for an ordinary setup.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see Libretro documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
Preservation catalogues describe verified dumps; they do not grant permission to download commercial software. A curated, correctly matched set is easier to use than an undifferentiated archive.
Copyright: Commercial software remains copyrighted unless its owner explicitly released or relicensed it. Homebrew, public-domain programs and current reissues should be treated separately from abandoned commercial titles.
This site names preservation projects and explains what they are. It does not link to ROM downloads.
Where to start
- Dirty Chameleon 1983 action
- Pooyan 1983 shooter
- Amidar 1983 maze
The verdict
A curiosity with about a dozen simple games; of interest mainly to collectors.
Nothing here rewards a return visit — emulate it to complete a set, not to play.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about educational machines, oddities and fantasy consoles and willing to learn how the original machine worked.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants a large, instantly accessible library and no model, firmware or control decisions.
Scored 3/5 for fun today and 3/5 for historical importance. Those two scores decide the label at the top — a machine can matter enormously and still be no fun.
Read more & watch
This page is 50% complete against the facts we try to record for every system. Gaps are shown as gaps.