1989 · Fujitsu · Japan · computer
Fujitsu FM Towns
A Japanese PC that built in a CD-ROM years before it was normal.
Mixed Fiddly Needs a keyboard Awkward on a modern pad ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
Image: Picopon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fujitsu's 1989 multimedia computer, notable for building a CD-ROM drive into the standard machine years before that was normal. It carved out a niche in Japan for games with full-motion video and red-book soundtracks.
Falcom's Ys entries and lavish CD ports of arcade games like After Burner III showed off what the format could do.
What it cost
around a month and a half of an average wage in 1989 · about $6,156 today
| Japan launch price (¥338,000 for model 1 with 1MB RAM) |
¥338,000 (1989)
World’s first personal computer with a built-in CD-ROM drive as standard. |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈500,000 estimate Estimated 500,000 units sold in Japan. |
Why it mattered
By building the CD-ROM into a standard computer, the FM Towns previewed the multimedia PC and gave Japanese developers an early canvas for voiced, animated, music-rich games.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | UNZ, Tsugaru, MAME |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Fiddly (7.5 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | This is a computer-like platform: games may use a joystick or pad, but launching and configuring software often needs a keyboard. |
| Runs on a handheld | No — it needs a real machine |
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.
TownsOS System & Font ROMs (FMT_SYS.ROM, FMT_FNT.ROM, FMT_DIC.ROM)
Fujitsu FM Towns emulators (like Tsugaru and UNZ) require ROM dumps from the physical machine: the system BIOS (FMT_SYS.ROM), Kanji font ROMs (FMT_FNT.ROM), and Japanese dictionary ROMs (FMT_DIC.ROM). Without these motherboard ROMs, the CD-ROM drive interface and TownsOS kernel cannot initialize.
How many files you need: 3. Three primary files: system BIOS (FMT_SYS.ROM), Font ROM (FMT_FNT.ROM), and Dictionary ROM (FMT_DIC.ROM).
Where it stands legally: FM Towns system and font ROMs remain copyrighted by Fujitsu and must be dumped from original FM Towns hardware.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see Tsugaru FM Towns Emulator Documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
TOSEC catalogues computer disks and tapes broadly, including many revisions. It is useful for preservation, while a smaller curated selection is usually easier to play.
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
- Ys I & II 1989 action RPG
- Sim City 1990 city builder
- Alshark 1992 RPG
- Puyo Puyo 1992 puzzle
- After Burner III 1992 combat flight
The verdict
Rewarding for its lavish CD ports and Japanese exclusives; expect a Japanese-language wall on many titles.
Much of its best software assumes you read Japanese — the barrier is real for outsiders.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about sharp, fujitsu and msx 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.