Our history:
We started in 1994, in October, when Rafael Corrales (current manager) and Iván de la Peña were decided to make true a think, a think which was months around our minds, in Madrid the MSX had a big number of users, but the major part had forget the MSX system because the non support from the firms which were making MSX computers, the MSX-Club magazine stopped and this cause a big deficiency of MSX info the system aparently was dead.
Althought the big number of Madrid inhabitants, the MSX had not any structure in this city, there were not clubs, Madrid had not MSX fairs, there were not active MSX users and the disunion between MSX users was very big, but there were MSX users what can generate MSX things, Padial had many MSX projects with no sucess in the MSX market, there were good programmers, people with great ideas, experienced users....but nobody knowed to another users, even many MSX users bought the Hnostar magazien. It was evident that this situation had to change, very slowly the MSX in Spain was acquiring the current situation, there were new clubs in diferent cities, new magazines, in Catalonia where the MSX has a great support, the Barcelona fair was getting a bigger number of visitors and new programmers.
It is very logical that in Madrid appeared anything, a club destinated to unify the MSX potential of this city, in the refered date and with the support of a new club from Bilbao, called MDS Lehenak we founded a new club, it was very complicated to start, with a chaos situation and with nothing to start, so I started to localize MSX people adresses from MSX-Club magazine, Hnostar and other sources, I had many surprises, I discovered a programer group called Majara Soft with a recently launched game called "Arma Mortal", I discovered to Padial with great MSX developments. I told with other new members about different projects, make an MSX meeting in Madrid, I met many MSX users with Turbo-R, 2+ and many good ideas.
In the moment we knew that there were many MSX moovment till then unknow, we could start to advertise our club trough MSX magazines, with products distribution which could be made in Madrid, it was 94´Christmas, and we were ten direct members in the club, our contacts out of Madrid were good, MDS Lehenak, Hnostar, Mesxes and people from other places. The seed was on the earth, we only need to wait for the seed growth, the MSX meeting started to be organized, we contacted with the city hall of Latina district to take permission for use a building destinated for the MSX fair, with the permission we started to advertise it in MSX magazines, Internet, and spanish computer magazines like ULTIMA, where later we would have a new section. We sent letters to many users and MSX clubs, and to all the MSX users of Madrid from our computer.
The MSX fair was in the 1995, in the 14th of May, it was not successful because the first time we made an MSX fair, the news in this fair was greater than in other bigger MSX fairs, many Madrid MSX users discovered the true about the MSX.
Very soon, in the ULTIMA magazine of June in that year appeared an article, big and concret, and very complete about the history, current situation. We wrote about the MSX games, the MSX fair in Madrid. Thanks to the article many new MSX users contacted with our club. In 1995 Summer I prepared the MSX Power Replay club face to the future, we received many visitors in Madrid from MSX users from another places of Spain, we started to distribuite the Padial hardware products. We sent info to another MSX party located in Cartagena.
In the users database we got the magical number of 75 users when the club had the first birthday, we acquire a modem, in the MSX area of Fidonet we could start to be know in other spanish cities. In the 1995 Barcelona fair (in October), Padial went to show the new eight slotexpander, first time showed in Madrid fair. The 95 Christmas was magic, we got 85 users and we received a letter from a foreign club, Miri Software, interested in our next MSX fair in Madrid.
We knew another MSX group in Madrid called Second Foundation, they had a good idea, make a new MSX CD´s with all the games, programs and documents, an MSX history trough its programs. In fact, before the MSX fair in Madrid in 1996, in February, we launch the new Xtory I CD, with a very big sucess, because of this we have sold 500 Xtory I units. We start to advertise our products in Fido and Internet.
And a new fair was coming, with stands, in February of 1996 and with a great succes, more than 65 visitors came to see the MSX news, people from all the spanish autonomous comunities, Murcia, Catalonia, Basque Country, Andalucia, Castilla...with many good news for the MSX, visitors went out very happy.
That year I could speak about our club and the MSX in a very important radio channel, Cadena 40, in Game 40 program. Before the second MSX fair in Madrid we got 90 MSX users and the distribution list was getting big thanks to the new Padial products and different new disks. We could start to surf in Internet, with all the MSX resources, like the MSX mailing list where we tried to show our club, we told about the game project from Majara soft called "El Poder Oscuro". In 1996 Summer I could go to Bilbao for visit MDS Lehenak and more MSX users from Spain. In September any club members went to Cartagena MSX party with Xtory CD´s and different disks and information. And in October the manager and the main club members went to Barcelona fair, we sold out all our Xtory´s and we showed a new project, the MMSX, a new MSX based in different boards, with a modular structure, based on the Padial slotexpander, however, the project will not have a name until middle of 1997, in that fair we only showed a little of the MMSX.
Detail of the MSX article in the ULTIMA#3 - June 1995
Very soon, two months later, Madrid opened its doors for a new MSX fair, the third edition where we got only 60 users, at least we could show the MMSX with its name, and the PC Keyboard interface, for use a PC keyboard in the MSX, with the 32 bits slotexpander. The MSX fair was advertise in radio channels of Spain and Internet. 1996 Christmas and we got 100 MSX users (!!) in our database, very good number for a young club, we increased our contact list, with brazilian contacts, japanese contacts and good collaborators from another countries like Italy, Finland...we got collaborators for the next Xtory CD. So the MSX Power Replay club was recognized in the worldwide MSX stage, we published a web in Internet and the product list was ampliated to enter new products from foreign clubs, even the SCSI LP interface.
In 1997 the MSX in Spain was increasing its support faster than another countries, spanish software was recognized in another countries as a very quality software, the number of MSX users was increased, and we take a difficult decision, to go to the best MSX fair in the world, Tilburg, it was the best way to notice our club for foreign users of Europe, we wanted to give a good image, we were very concentrated to prepare the travel, Padial made a new 4 Mb expansion card, our club got 105 users, the best way to get new users was to sell MSX computers with a good price, only 8000 pts, we sold 25 MSX computers in two months, in Tilburg we sold 25 Xtory´s CD and several disks, we showed differents projects from Spain.
Very soon the 1997 Summer, our club had many ideas, new slotexpander versions, Xtory II CD, the MMSX and new pheripericals. In Cartagena 2NDF brought our products to show there. In Barcelona (November) five users went from Madrid to present MSX news and advertise the next MSX fair in Madrid, we presented the Xtory II CD, Pachecho showed the MMSX project and the new slotexpander, and he announced the MSX fair in Madrid.
In 97´Christmas we got 110 MSX users, thanks to the MSX sold by the club, in a short time we prepared the MSX fair in Madrid, in March of 1998, with the writen permission we had problems to get a good room, but very soon we could dispose a great room for the MSX fair, we want to make the best MSX fair and we received as an expositor a great group called Hnostar and very famous in the MSX world.
MadriSX´98, the name as we decided to call to the MSX fair in Madrid, it had a good sucess till now not equalized by other MSX fairs in Spain, this is because we take MSX groups from ALL the autonomous comunities of Spain, although the number was not big, only 85 visitors, it is not bad, the majority of visitors were from out of Madrid, and there were all the spanish MSX groups. Furthermore we can showed the MMSX running with different just made boards, like PC heyb.interface, 32 bits slotexpander and a PC case. Hnostar could present the new GFX9000 digitizer, "Video9000", exclusively in Madrid fair as an absolute new, and the Culla ACCnet. There were a really unexpensive prices. There were radio announcements.
Very soon, I went alone to Tilburg´98 to show the MMSX project and the Z380 board specifications, I could show the new Xtory II, luckly I had the company of the Padial´s niece. We were very famous between the visitors, the sales were great and we get the very important club title as an axys for the MSX future. In the 1998 summer we redesing our web pages, making a Padial web page and creating this page, very soon we got 100 visits and in one day we had 46 visitors.
In October Canal C: (a spanish computing channel) contacted with us and Rafael Corrales recorded one interview dedicated to the MSX and the current situation, thanks to it we got more MSX users. In December we went to Barcelona and we could present the MMSX project and we sold out all the CDs, we had a great success, in that month we got 1000 visitors in this web.
In 1999 we organized a new MSX fair in Madrid, for first time a foreign MSX group visited us: Sunrise, first time in Spain too, Padial could finish the Z380 design and he could present the new design in a just printed board. We get 114 users and a great succesful, this fair was made in 6th of march. 2NDF sold the new Xtory III CD.
Near from summer Padial finished the Z380 board, 2NDF returned to programation and we developed a new project called Phoenix, the standarization platform, where we try to unify all the MSX hardware projects. We stablished contacts with another groups, like Ademir from Brazil or Matra, a group of Spain, we will distribuite some products of them. At the end of summer we celebrated a special lunch for celebrating the fifth club anniversary and I announced the next MSX meeting in Madrid, a special anniversary edition.
Yes, at the end of October we made the sixth MSX fair of Madrid, MadriSX´99 special anniversary, surprisly we received the visit of XSW magazine of Netherlands and Padial showed the first Z380 board functional version, a good new. We went to Barcelona and we presented the Z380 board, explaining it to all the interested programmers and users. 2NDF finished the last Power CD Metal Gear Classics and a Z380 programation tools CD.
In 2000 we have started well, with more visitors in our web, up to 10 daily visits and more than 4000 visitors since the start. Padia finished the Z380 commercial version and in MadriSX´2000, the seventh MSX fair of Madrid edition with only 58 visitors, Padial started to sell the Z380 and he has a good success.
The 200 year marked us specially because our club is changing its structure and some important changes. After march MSX meeting of Madrid, we visited Tilburg (Ivi, Padial and Rafa Corrales) for presenting the Z380 board, there were not good sales, we did not sell Z380 boards, we also showed the new 4 Evolution slotexpander and our task was to promote our activities and the Padial developments.
In summer our club stablished some interesting contacts, the number of Madrid users in our database decreased to 60 users (some users dissappeared), but luckly some new users like Fernando or Miguel appeared with collaboration spirit, this was a great profit to our club, our club started to collaborate with the MEI (Spanish Computing Museum), this museum offered us room for local and international meetings, and a good support in the computing area.
In Autumn Padial (LPE) decided to be completely independient from our club caused by a strictly personal problem, so our club stopped the official distribution of his products, maintaining the announcements in our page. We were present in some magazines like Eko and at the end of the year we imported a lot of japanese stuff, we went to Barcelona MSX fair and our web got up to 8.000 visitors.
Since this point we think that you could check all the historical events of this club in each year of history, we will condense the current situation:
In 2001 year the crisis in the MSX system is growing in Europe due the personal problems between the own members of the MSX scene, our club was doubting about the MadriSX fairs future, but finally we forgot the problems and we will continue while it is possible.
The club´s database has now 53 members, only 30 of them are active users, and users colaborating for the MSX survival (buying MSX products, helping or going to the MSX meetings and fairs, and of course using their MSX) are only 10. Very sad.
In the 2001 year there were problems of all the kinds, problems with MEI, personal problems between users, and MadriSX ´2001 was very bad.
Está claro que las cosas han decaido mucho, aunque mientras haya amistad habrá MSX Power Replay.
It is a fact: the MSX situation is in crisis, but while the friendship is still alive, MSX Power Replay will be.
Thanks to Gregorio Corrales (8 years)
Now we are a big club, many facts guaranteed us as one of the most important club inside the current MSX standard, of course, while there would be users needed of help, we will be there to give help. The facts: seven MSX fairs, more than 600 visitors in that events. We have got agglutinate to 125 MSX users from Madrid in our database, we have got 200 new MSX users thanks to the Philips MSX-2 in stock, we have developed new projects for MSX, from MSX CD´s to quality MSX hardware opened to the future, orientated to new possibilities, we have got to sell more than 1000 Xtory CD´s, a compilation which has opened the frontiers and has gone to different countries like Brazil, Chile, Argentina, USA, United Kingdom, France, Holland, Russia, Japan and a neverending list of countries. We have showed the MSX in different mass media ways, TV, radio channels, Internet, Fidonet and direct letters and fairs. We have offered support and help to more than 2000 users...we wanted to make the MSX a big thing in Madrid and not only we have got it, thus we have got a cone of MSX users, with a great friendship around the world, that is the best of this system, friendship between us and the love for the MSX.
The history have not to be forgotten, and we do not forget people whose we got help, support, collaboration in many ways, to start: my great colleage Iván de la Peña, VAJ Club (MSX Lehenak before), Hnostar, AAM, and all the groups that this asociation comprise, Jose Maria Pacheco, Leonardo Padial, Gustavo, 2NDF, Majara, Melisa, Armando, Ivi, Ricardo Suarez, Diego Millan, JAM, Sapphire, KNM, Ramón, Bruno Querzoli, Marco Andre Heidtman, MBT, Werner Augusto, Takamichi, Roderik Muit, Richard, MSX Fun club, Santiago Herrero, Paco Molla, Roberto Herranz, Raul Fernández, Jose Luis Lerman, Club Mesxes, Máximo, Hans Guijt, MCCM, Power MSX, David Michel, Marco Casali, Henrik Gildav, Pol Roca, Manuel Pazos, Teo López, David Madurga, AlucardX, Dani Higuero, Javier Dorado, Oscar, Sergio, Z-0, Ikeda, Manolo, Teresa, Gerrit Van den Berg, MSX Info Blad and more people and groups, it is impossible to remember so much people, to all of them my sincere graceful and I wish to them a neverengind effort for the MSX at least we must try to pass the 2000 year, this will make from the MSX a Phoenix, immortal for centuries, let us hope to live for see it.