ASCII is best known for creating the Derby Stallion video game series, the MSX computer, and the RPG Maker line of programming software.

In 1984, ASCII entered the semiconductor business, followed by a further expansion into commercial online service in 1985 under the brand of ASCII-NET.

[6] Despite its struggles to remain focused on its core businesses, the company continued to suffer from accumulated debts, until an arrangement was made that CSK Corporation would execute a major investment into ASCII in 1997.

Co-founder Tsukamoto had left ASCII to create a company of his own in 1992, named Impress.

[8] On November 26, 2001, CSK Corporation and Unison Capital Partners L.P. announced the approval of transferring the control of its subsidiary ASCII to Unison Capital Partners L.P., effective on March 30, 2002, as part of a strategy to focus CSK's operations on B2B enterprises.

On January 29, 2004, Unison Capital Partners, L.P. announced the sale of ASCII's parent company MediaLeaves to Kadokawa Group Holdings, to be completed in March 2004.

[18][19] It was conceived and marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-president at Microsoft Japan and director at ASCII Corporation.

Nishi conceived the project as an attempt to create unified standards among various home computing system manufacturers of the period.