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My Konix adventure - or why I created this website
I've been a games enthusiast since the days of VIC 20 and ZX81. I've been a rampant consumer of video game and computer magazines and have always taken a keen interest in any new machine that has come along or been mooted. I am especially interested in Japanese games machines that never made their way over to the UK.
Website Author - Mark Campbell
Of all the machines that ever got released or were talked about, I can honestly say in a completely unbiased way (I after all own a very healthy multi denominational collection of computers and games machines) that no machine up to the Nintendo Wii U has ever been more alluring and exotic, offering something that is truly different to any other machine around.
There are several reasons why I'd go to the effort of creating a website dedicated to telling the story of a machine that was never released. Probably the most significant reason is simple - It's that I believed the hype. I was taken in hook, line and sinker like so many of my fellow gamers. We fell for its obvious charms, we believed the promise of arcade style gaming in our homes, the thrills and spills of interactive peripherals and immersive sound, bright vibrant graphics and all for just 200 pounds, how could we resist?
The failure of the machine to get released wasn't an unexpected shock announcement; it was more like the gradual breakdown of a relationship. There were lots of little signs that were clear to see to objective viewers, but we were too in love to see them. In the end all that we had left of the Konix was a sickening felling that Alka-Seltzer couldn't ease. We had photos of better times, Perfume soaked love letters written by the likes of ACE and TGM magazine, but the perfume has long since faded.
Old clichés are the best (isn't that a cliché?) and time really is a healer. The Konix system, despite failing to get to market didn't "fail" as a console (It never had a chance to fail), there are several machines that were released that didn't set the world on fire quite like the NES, SNES, Genesis and PS1 did.
All the people I've talked to who were involved with designing the various aspects of this machine have kindly allowed me to interview them and they all can now look back on it with the cleansing, healing powers of time and fondly reminisce about what could have been a revolutionary machine. We can only speculate about how it would have fared if released, but it is safe to say, that in lots of little ways, this machine shaped the games industry that we enjoy today.
In creating this website I have attempted to collate all the information available regarding this machine. I've laboured to make this site easy to use yet informative. There may be errors or missing information - if you spot anything, let me know and I'll fix it. And if you have ANY contributions whatsoever regarding the KMS then please drop me an e-mail and I'll be happy to investigate them and publish them once they are confirmed or backed up by research.
There are two sides to every story; I have tried to represent both sides
fairly. No one other than Wyn Holloway really knows what happened to the
Multi-system. Therefore I present his version of events to you. Others may
speculate, but this is the man that created it and saw it die. At the time of
writing, 18 years have passed since its death, so make your own mind up about
what he says in the interview he kindly gave me.
This may be peoples only chance to 'experience the reality' let's see if it
confirms your suspicions, leaves a bad taste in the mouth or fills in all the
gaps and gives you closure.