|
|
|
History
Daewoo was founded in 1967 by Kim Woo-choong. At the time the South Korean government had started a series of five-year plan under which the large family-owned business conglomerate (aka chaebol) of Korea had to achieve a number of goal. As a newly founded, Daewoo didn’t became implicated until the seconds plans, were it was able to take advantage of some government loans on export goods in the clothing and textile industries. During the next decade Daewoo continue to participate in the country economic effort under the series of five-year plans established by the government. But while the main focus of the company was to support the plans, the company also dabbled in other sectors, producing various goods, including consumer electronics. In 1984, Daewoo started to manufacture it first computer, called the DPC-100.
*Note: There is some information about a possible DPC-80 that would have been released prior to the DPC-100, but no concrete evidence has been found yet.
The DPC-100 was based on the MSX1 standard, a standardized home computer architecture released in 1983. The MSX standard quickly became very popular, especially in Japan where a lot of companies produced MSX-compatible computers. As Korea didn’t have a copyright law at the time, many computer store chains such Zemina, Prosoft, Clover, Topia, Screen Software and Aproman started to make bootleg copy of Japanese titles. They would push the audacity to add their own copyright notice in the game as if the game was actually developed by them. This surge of availability of MSX software created an opportunity for Daewoo who, in 1985, created the first ever MSX-based video game console: the Zemmix.
Also called the CPC-50, the Zemmix, which means ‘It’s Fun’, was pretty well received in Korea. With a price tag of ₩70,000 (₩81,000 with a joystick), it was a bargain when compared to the DPC-100 which retailed for ₩257,000. But the Zemmix had one major flaw : it’s memory. While the first software to be released for the MSX were simple enough to run on the Zemmix, the more complex games needed a bit more than the 8kb of RAM and 16kb of VRAM. Daewoo updated the Zemmix once in 1986 (CPC-50A) with a new CPU and a second time in 1987 (CPC-50B) adding the much needed memory upgrade to 64k of RAM and 16k of VRAM.
While the CPC-50B was a huge upgrade, two new problems came into the light. First, while the new model came in different body colors, the name and the shell form remain the same across all variation causing a lot of confusion. It was therefore not clear for potential buyers that the new variation was more powerful and would allow them to experience a vast number of games.
The second problem was related with the 20 in 1 cartridge included with the console. Around the same, on July 1, 1987, the Law for the Protection of Computer Programs (bill #3920) came into effect. This law prohibited companies to sell/distributed pirated software. As the included cartridge didn’t have all the proper licenses, it became a problem for Daewoo to distribute it/
To solve this issue, Daewoo released the first “new” model of the Zemmix, the Zemmix V.
Release
Release in 1988, the Zemmix V was an exact copy of the CPC-50B hardware-wise. The console didn’t include any pack-in game. The Zemmix V became quickly a fan favorite, beating the CPC-50 in sales. It was initially released in red and black (model CPC-51) and because of its color and shape was quickly nicknamed the Superman panties and the Red panties. As the Zemmix V was extremely well received, Daewoo quickly decided to expand their offering by making the Zemmix V available in 3 different color variations : red and black (model CPC-51R), white and gray (CPC-51W) and blue, yellow and black (CPC-51B).
Demise
Two major factors explain the demise of the Zemmix V. First was the availability of MSX game. After the Law for the Protection of Computer Programs came into effect, the offering of new MSX games was severely impacted. While small computer stores continued to sell pirated games, the more reputable store chains, which were under more scrutiny, had to stop selling pirated MSX games which led their shelves empty. While, the situation would eventually normalize itself with Korean company getting proper licensing agreements with Japanese companies, it overall offering of new MSX games would be forever affected.
The other major factor in the also related with the previously mentioned law. With adequate copyright protection, Japanese and U.S. company were more interested in selling their product in Korea. In 1989, the Sega Master System was released in Korea by Samsung under the name Gam*Boy. The same console was also importing under its Japanese form by Oacs Korea and sold through HiCom. Later in 1989, the Nintendo Entertainment System was released by Hyundai under the name Comboy.
To counter the influx of competitors, Daewoo decided to upgrade once again it’s Zemmix series with the Zemmix Super V (CPC-61) which feature 64kb of RAM, 128kb of VRAM, but most importantly MSX2 supports. Release in 1990, this update would the completely replace the Zemmix V.
Color Variation
3 different color schemes exist for the Zemmix V. It is to be noted that, in the model CPC-51B exist in two variations where the Blue and Yellow part are inverted.
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Red and Black model CPC-51, CPC-51R |
Blue, Yellow and Black model CPC-51B |
White and Gray model CPC-51W |