An Okay Console,
But Nothing Worth Collecting.
Hudson wanted financial backing. NEC wanted to get into the game market. The result? The TurboGrafx-16. It is known as the PC-Engine in Japan, but it never saw an official release in the European market. A grey importer made a very small amount of the console in a limited area, though mostly including the UK.
The Console
Commonly referred to as a 16-bit system, it was actually powered by an 8-bit CPU and a 16-bit graphic processor. The TurboGrafx-16 was a very small system. It utilized a three-chip architecture making the console very small. Combined with the HuCard, a data cartridge that is little bigger than a credit card, the overall size of the system was tiny. All of the major parts, the processor, graphics processor, and video encoder chip were all custom designed by Hudson. The console was a step above all other 8-bit consoles, but when compared to the 16-bit consoles it competed with during the fourth generation of consoles, it was at a distinct disadvantage.
Extra’s Worth Having
The TurboGrafx-16 had only one controller port – yep, just one. However, there was a five port multi-tap accessory. This accessory proved to be rather useful after the game Bomberman was released.
However, the most important peripheral to be released was the CD-ROM drive. It was the first console to feature the add-on, and partly contributed to its success in Japan. It was a very expensive add-on however, debuting at a price of $399.99 (about ?200). The packaging is another thing of note, the console only contributed to about 15% of the total space of the box. The other 85% was filled with protective styrofoam. Sadly, there were few titles available for the TurboGrafx-CD. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair and Street Fighter were among the first titles available. With the release of Ys Book I & II, the titles become the must have games on the system, and are still considered great, even today.
Fortunately, the CD games had no manner of region protection. This allowed North Americans, and the few European owners, the ability to play the more numerous Japanese games.
The Rivalry…
Even though it was marketed as a direct competitor to the NES, it came into much competition with the Mega Drive. The TurboGrafx-16 was first test-marketed in New York and Los Angeles before being launched nationally, much like the Sega Genesis two weeks earlier. In fact, Sega had an ad campaign mocking NEC’s claim that the TurboGrafx-16 was the first 16-bit console.
One of the reasons the Genesis was much more successful, in North America at least, what came in the package. The Genesis had a second controller port, whereas if you wanted to play with more than one person with the TurboGrafx-16 you first needed to purchase the Turbo Tap, which allowed the console to support five controllers, and then purchase all of the necessary controllers. Another mistake was the game that came packaged with the console. The TurboGrafx-16 had Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, a mediocre game that didn’t even show off the console’s capabilities. On the other hand, the Genesis had Altered Beast, an excellent game that was very impressive. By the time ad campaigns were run that mocked the Genesis, the Genesis had already taken hold in North America.
There were also a number of market mistakes made in North America. Targeting large metropolitan areas worked well in the smaller, less diverse country of Japan, but the much larger, much more diverse continent of North America, the strategy was a failure. As such, the CD-ROM add-on was a great contributor to the console’s success in Japan, but as a result of their marketing plan, the add-on was very difficult to find elsewhere, not to mention that many people just didn’t want to spend that much money for the console.
However, in Japan the opposite occurred. Rather than being the less popular console, the TurboGrafx-16 was fairly successful. There were a number of innovate and very popular titles which never saw release in the North American market. Another contributor to the popularity of the TurboGrafx-16 in Japan was the existence of many ‘adult’ games, such as the Super Real Mahjong series.
In The End
The TurboGrafx-16 had a number of decent titles, many of which were shooters. While it became quite popular in Japan, providing real competition to the Mega Drive and later to the SNES, in North America bad marketing plans and high prices caused many consumers to go to the Sega Genesis. Some of the most popular titles are making their way to the Wii Virtual Console, so perhaps those who never got to play, or who have played, but no longer have a TurboGrafx-16, will be able to enjoy the greatness that was. However, if you’re searching for a good console to collect, you may be better to aim for the SNES or Mega Drive, as there were simply more games.
