A company in the Middle East developed a game console that you could only buy there. The star of the console was a penguin.
In the 1980s, the Kuwaiti Sakhr Software Company, led by its CEO Mohammed Al-Sharekh, decided to create excitement with a console based on MSX. MSX is an open 8-bit home computer standard that was primarily used by Japanese and South Korean companies starting in the 80s. The operating system was based on Microsoft BASIC.
Cooperation with Konami brings penguins to Arab console
How did the penguin get to the Middle East? To actively sell its new console, the Sakhr Software Company entered various partnerships, especially with East Asian countries. Because a lot of software for MSX was developed, especially here.
Ultimately, they teamed up with Konami, a Japanese manufacturer and publisher, allowing Konami to bring its games to Sakhr’s model.
One of those games was Penguin Adventure from 1986. You take on the role of the penguin Penta, who must rescue the penguin princess with a golden apple. The game was developed by a team around Hideo Kojima, who was 18 years old at the time. Today, most people probably know him more for games like Metal Gear Solid or Death Stranding.
Today, Penguin Adventure is considered one of the best action games ever released for Microsoft’s MSX. Compared to modern games, “Penguin Adventure” actually seems quite modern since it offers many contemporary features:
- There were boss battles.
- You could buy items for your journey.
- And there were several mini-games that you had to overcome.
- Additionally, you could unlock new abilities for the protagonist Penta.
Company ceased development of the console, but the company still exists today
What happened next? In the following years, further models of the console were released and continuously adapted to new developments. Even the second version (MSX 2) was taken over by the company. However, Microsoft ceased the development of MSX in the 1990s, marking the end of the console era in the Middle East.
What does the Arab company do today? In 1992, the last console was released in the Arab market, and then it focused again on software development. By the way, the Sakhr Software Company still exists today.
This is by the way not the only strange console that made it to market. The giant Apple also once attempted to create a game console, but was not very successful:
