The TurboGrafx-16, also called the PC Engine in Japan, is a home video game console created by Hudson Soft and made by NEC. It was first sold in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. As the first console of the fourth generation, it was introduced in Japan to compete with Nintendo’s Family Computer. However, its later release in the United States placed it against more advanced systems like the Sega Genesis and the Super NES.
The TurboGrafx-16 uses an 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) along with two 16-bit graphics processors. It can display up to 482 colors from a total of 512 available. The "16" in its North American name was criticized because the console did not fully match the capabilities of 16-bit systems. Measuring 14 by 14 by 3.5 centimeters (5.5 inches by 5.5 inches by 1.4 inches), the PC Engine is the smallest major home console ever made.
Games for the TurboGrafx-16 were first sold on HuCard cartridges. Later, the system supported other formats, each requiring different hardware: TurboGrafx-CD (called CD-ROM² in Japan) games on compact discs, SuperGrafx games on a new console version, and LD-ROM² games on LaserDisc through the LaserActive, a system developed by Pioneer. No single console version could use all formats at once. While the TurboGrafx-CD had some success, the other formats were not widely adopted. This variety of formats caused confusion among buyers.
The PC Engine was very successful in Japan, with strong support from other companies and competition with the Super Famicom. In contrast, the TurboGrafx-16 had limited success in North America because of weak marketing, fewer games, and its late release. In Europe, Japanese models were bought and modified for sale without official approval, but plans for an official release were canceled after poor U.S. sales. Over 17 different versions of the console were made, including portable models and versions that included a CD-ROM add-on. Production ended in 1994. It was later replaced by the PC-FX, which was only sold in Japan and did not succeed commercially.
History
The PC Engine was created through a partnership between Hudson Soft, a company that made video game software, and NEC, a Japanese company known for its personal computers like the PC-88 and PC-98. NEC did not have experience in the video game industry and asked many game studios for help. At the same time, Hudson Soft tried to sell designs for advanced graphics chips to Nintendo but failed. In July 1985, Hudson Soft proposed a new add-on for the Famicom that used their patented Bee Cards, which could store and replace games. Nintendo liked the idea but decided not to move forward because of the high cost and royalty fees. This led Hudson Soft and NEC to form a partnership and develop the PC Engine together.
The PC Engine was first sold in Japan on October 30, 1987, and it was very successful. The system had an attractive, small design compared to its competitors. It sold 500,000 units in its first week.
The CD-ROM expansion for the PC Engine was also a success in Japan, selling 60,000 units in its first five months. By 1989, NEC had sold over 1.2 million consoles and more than 80,000 CD-ROM units in Japan.
In 1988, NEC decided to sell the system in the United States. NEC’s team tested the system and found that the name "PC Engine" and its small size did not appeal to American consumers, who preferred larger, more futuristic designs. They renamed the system "TurboGrafx-16" to highlight its fast graphics and 16-bit GPU. They also redesigned the hardware to make it larger and black. This process delayed the system’s release in the U.S.
The TurboGrafx-16 (called the TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem on packaging) was finally released in test markets in New York City and Los Angeles in late August 1989. However, this was two weeks after Sega of America launched the Sega Genesis with a 16-bit CPU. Unlike NEC, Sega kept the Japanese Mega Drive design with only small changes. The Genesis quickly became more popular than the TurboGrafx-16. NEC’s decision to include an unknown game, Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, hurt sales compared to Sega’s inclusion of Altered Beast. NEC also produced too many consoles, which led to poor sales. By 1990, NEC could not compete with Nintendo and Sega’s marketing efforts.
In late 1989, NEC planned to create an arcade version of the TurboGrafx-16 but canceled the project in early 1990.
In Europe, the system was known by its original name, PC Engine, not TurboGrafx-16. Some people in the UK imported the PC Engine from Japan and used adapters to make it work with PAL televisions. In 1989, a British company called Mention made a version called the PC Engine Plus. In France, a company named Sodipeng imported PC Engine consoles and add-ons after positive media coverage. These consoles came with French instructions and an AV cable for compatibility with SECAM televisions.
After the TurboGrafx-16 struggled in the U.S., NEC canceled its European plans. Units already made for Europe were sold to distributors, and in the UK, Telegames released the console in 1990 in very limited numbers.
By March 1991, NEC reported selling 750,000 TurboGrafx-16 consoles in the U.S. and 500,000 CD-ROM units worldwide.
In 1992, NEC and Hudson Soft created a new joint venture called Turbo Technologies to relaunch the system in North America. They released the TurboDuo, a combined console with a built-in CD-ROM drive. However, the Genesis and Super NES dominated the U.S. market. In 1994, Turbo Technologies stopped supporting the TurboDuo but continued offering repairs and software through other companies.
In Japan, NEC sold 5.84 million PC Engine units by 1995, with CD-ROM² and TurboDuo models adding 1.92 million by 1996. This means over 6.59 million units were sold in Japan and the U.S. by 1995. The last licensed game for the PC Engine was Dead of the Brain Part 1 & 2, released on June 3, 1999, on the Super CD-ROM² format.
Add-ons
The CD-ROM² (シーディーロムロム, officially pronounced "CD-ROM-ROM") is an add-on device for the PC Engine that was released in Japan on December 4, 1988. This attachment allowed basic models of the console to play PC Engine games stored on CD-ROM in addition to the standard HuCards. This made the PC Engine the first video game console to use CD-ROM as a storage medium. The add-on included two parts: the CD player itself and the interface unit, which connected the CD player to the console and provided a single power supply and output for both devices. Later, it was released in the United States as the TurboGrafx-CD in November 1989. The interface unit was redesigned to fit the TurboGrafx-16 console. The TurboGrafx-CD had a launch price of $399.99 and did not include any games. Fighting Street and Monster Lair were the first games released with the TurboGrafx-CD. Ys Book I & II followed shortly after.
In 1991, NEC released an improved version of the CD-ROM² System called the Super CD-ROM². This upgrade updated the BIOS to Version 3.0 and increased buffer RAM from 64 KB to 256 KB. The upgrade was available in several forms: the PC Engine Duo, a new console model with a built-in CD-ROM drive and upgraded BIOS/RAM, released on September 21. Next, the Super System Card was introduced on October 26 as an upgrade for existing CD-ROM² add-ons, replacing the original System Card. Owners without the original CD-ROM² add-on could choose the Super-CD-ROM² unit, released on December 13. This version combined the CD-ROM drive, interface unit, and Super System Card into one device.
On March 12, 1994, NEC introduced a third upgrade called the Arcade Card ( アーケードカード , Ākēdo Kādo ), which increased the onboard RAM of the Super CD-ROM² System to 2 MB. This upgrade was available in two models: the Arcade Card Duo, designed for consoles already using the Super CD-ROM² System, and the Arcade Card Pro, intended for the original CD-ROM² System. The Arcade Card Pro combined the features of the Super System Card and Arcade Card Duo into one device. The first games for this add-on were ports of Neo-Geo fighting games, Fatal Fury 2 and Art of Fighting. Later, ports of World Heroes 2 and Fatal Fury Special were also released, along with original games under the Arcade CD-ROM² standard. By this time, support for the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo consoles was declining in North America. No North American versions of the Arcade Card were made, but Japanese Arcade Cards could still be used on North American consoles with a HuCard converter.
Variations
Many different versions and related products of the PC Engine were made and sold over time.
The PC Engine CoreGrafx was an improved version of the original PC Engine, released in Japan on December 8, 1989. It had the same shape and size as the original but used a new color scheme—black and blue instead of white and red. It also replaced the radio frequency output connector with a composite video AV port. The CoreGrafx used an updated CPU called the HuC6280A, which fixed some small audio problems. A version of the CoreGrafx with a different color—light grey and orange—was released on June 21, 1991. This version, called the PC Engine CoreGrafx II, had the same features as the original CoreGrafx but used the original HuC6280 CPU instead of the updated one.
The PC Engine SuperGrafx was released on the same day as the CoreGrafx in Japan. It was a more powerful version of the PC Engine with better hardware. It had two VDC chips, a VDP chip that combined their outputs, four times more RAM, twice as much video RAM, and an extra layer of scrolling. It also used the updated HuC6280A CPU. However, the SuperGrafx did not improve the sound or color features, which made it expensive and limited its popularity. Only five exclusive games and two hybrid games were made for the SuperGrafx. It had the same expansion port as earlier models but needed an adapter to use the CD-ROM² add-on because of its larger size.
The PC Engine Shuttle was released in Japan on November 22, 1989, as a cheaper model. It cost ¥18,800 and had a spaceship-like design. It came with a special TurboPad II controller and did not have an expansion port, making it incompatible with the CD-ROM² add-on. Instead, it had a slot for a memory backup unit needed by some games. The Shuttle used an A/V port instead of the RF output found on the original PC Engine. The Shuttle was also sold in South Korea by Daewoo Electronics in 1990.
The TurboExpress, known as the PC Engine GT in Japan, was a portable version of the console released in December 1990. It could play HuCard games on a 2.6-inch color LCD screen, which was advanced for portable devices at the time. However, the screen made the device expensive and caused it to have a short battery life. It also included a TV tuner adapter and a two-player link cable.
The PC Engine LT was a laptop-style model released in Japan on December 13, 1991, for ¥99,800. It had a built-in screen and speakers but required a power supply instead of batteries. Unlike the TurboExpress, it had a full expansion port and could use the CD-ROM² unit with an adapter. However, its high price limited its production.
NEC Home Electronics released the PC Engine Duo in Japan on September 21, 1991. It combined the PC Engine and Super CD-ROM² unit into one console, allowing it to play HuCards, audio CDs, CD+Gs, and Super CD-ROM² games. The North American version, called the TurboDuo, was released in October 1992. Two updated versions, the PC Engine Duo-R and Duo-RX, were released in 1993 and 1994. The Duo-RX had a new 6-button controller.
The PC-KD863G was a CRT monitor with a built-in PC Engine console, released in Japan on September 27, 1988, for ¥138,000. It used RGB signals for clearer display quality than the original PC Engine’s RF and composite outputs. However, it lacked a BUS expansion port, making it incompatible with the CD-ROM² System and memory backup add-ons.
The X1-Twin was the first PC Engine-compatible hardware made by a third-party company, released by Sharp in April 1989 for ¥99,800. It could run PC Engine games and X1 computer software.
Pioneer Corporation’s LaserActive supported an add-on module that allowed it to play PC Engine games (HuCard, CD-ROM², and Super CD-ROM²) as well as new "LD-ROM²" titles. NEC also released its own LaserActive unit and PC Engine add-on module. Only 11 LD-ROM titles were made, with three released in North America.
Outside of North America and Japan, the TurboGrafx-16 was sold in South Korea by Haitai under the name Vistar 16. It was based on the American version but had a curved design. Daewoo Electronics also sold the PC Engine Shuttle in South Korea.
Technical specifications
The TurboGrafx-16 uses a Hudson Soft HuC6280 CPU, an 8-bit processor operating at 7.16 million cycles per second. It is paired with two 16-bit graphics processors: a HuC6270 video display controller and a HuC6260 video color encoder. The system includes 8 KB of RAM, 64 KB of Video RAM, and can display 482 colors at once from a 512-color palette. The sound hardware, built into the CPU, includes a programmable sound generator operating at 3.58 MHz and a 5-10 bit stereo PCM.
TurboGrafx-16 games use HuCard ROM cartridges, which are thin, credit card-sized cards that insert into the front slot of the console. PC Engine HuCards have 38 connector pins. TurboGrafx-16 HuCards, also called "TurboChips," reverse eight of these pins as a method to prevent region-specific games from being used on other systems. The power switch on the console also acts as a lock to prevent HuCards from being removed while the system is on. The European version of the TurboGrafx-16 did not include its own PAL-formatted HuCards due to limited availability. Instead, it supported standard HuCards and output a PAL 50 Hz video signal.
In Japan, the PC Engine originally came with a standard controller called the Pad. It has a rectangular shape, a directional pad, two action buttons labeled "I" and "II," and two rubber buttons labeled "Select" and "Run." This matches the number of buttons on the Famicom’s primary controller and standard NES controllers. A separate controller called the TurboPad was also released, adding two "Turbo" switches for the I and II buttons with three speed settings. These switches allow a single button press to register multiple inputs at once, such as rapid fire in scrolling shooters. The TurboPad became the standard controller for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America and later models of the PC Engine in Japan.
All PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 consoles have only one controller port. To use multiple controllers for multiplayer games, a separate peripheral called the MultiTap (in Japan) or TurboTap (in North America) was required. This device allowed up to five controllers to be connected to the system. A Cordless Multitap was also available in Japan, sold as a set with a single Cordless Pad, with additional wireless controllers available separately.
Due to differences in controller port sizes, PC Engine controllers and peripherals are not compatible with TurboGrafx-16 consoles and vice versa. The TurboDuo returned to using the same controller port as the PC Engine, leading to new versions of the TurboPad and TurboTap called the DuoPad and DuoTap. An official TurboGrafx-16/Duo Adapter was also produced, which was an extension cable allowing TurboGrafx-16 controllers to connect to the TurboDuo or PC Engine consoles.
The Virtual Cushion, released in 1992, helps players feel vibrations from enemy attacks through sound.
Many peripherals were made for the TurboGrafx-16 and PC Engine. The TurboStick is a tabletop joystick designed to mimic the control layout of arcade games from that era. Other similar joysticks were made by third-party companies, such as the Python 4 by QuickShot and the Stick Engine by ASCII Corporation. The TurboBooster attached to the back of the system and allowed it to output composite video and stereo audio. Hudson released the Ten no Koe 2 in Japan, which enabled saving progress in compatible HuCard games. In 1991, NEC Avenue released the Avenue Pad 3, adding a third action button labeled "III" that could be assigned as either the Select or Run button. The Avenue Pad 6, released in 1993 with the PC Engine version of Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, added four action buttons labeled "III" through "VI." These buttons did not duplicate existing ones but added new functions in compatible games. A six-button controller called the Arcade Pad 6 was released by NEC Home Electronics in 1994, replacing the TurboPad as the bundled controller for the PC Engine Duo-RX (the last model of the console).
Library
A total of 678 commercial games were released for the TurboGrafx-16. In North America, the system included Keith Courage in Alpha Zones as a pack-in game, which was a version of the PC Engine title Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru. The PC Engine console received strong support from other companies in Japan, but the TurboGrafx-16 had difficulty attracting other developers. Hudson brought several of its popular game series, such as Bomberman, Bonk, and Adventure Island, to the system with visually impressive updates. Hudson also created and published original games, including Air Zonk and Dungeon Explorer. Compile released Alien Crush and Devil's Crush, two highly praised virtual pinball games. Namco adapted several of its arcade games for the system, such as Valkyrie no Densetsu, Pac-Land, Galaga '88, Final Lap Twin, and Splatterhouse. Capcom also released a version of Street Fighter II: Champion Edition for the console.
Many games on the TurboGrafx-16 are horizontal and vertical-scrolling shooters. Examples include Gradius and Salamander by Konami, Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade by Hudson, Galaga '88 by Namco, R-Type by Irem, and Darius Alpha, Darius Plus, and Super Darius by Taito. The console is also known for its platformer and role-playing games. The Legendary Axe by Victor Entertainment won many awards and is considered one of the TurboGrafx-16's most important titles. Ys I & II, a collection of two games from Nihon Falcom's Ys series, was very popular in Japan. Cosmic Fantasy 2, an RPG originally made in Japan, was released in the United States and received the Electronic Gaming Magazine RPG of the Year award in 1993.
Reception
In Japan, the PC Engine was very successful and became the best-selling console in the country. In North America and Europe, the opposite happened. Sega and Nintendo were more successful, while NEC's console, the TurboGrafx-16, struggled. At first, the TurboGrafx-16 sold well in the United States, but later, it had problems because few companies made games for it.
In 1990, ACE magazine said the PC Engine had the best racing games compared to other popular consoles. In 1993, GamePro reviewed the Turbo Duo model and gave it a "thumbs down." They liked the CD sound and graphics, and the ability for five players to play together, but they criticized the old controller and the limited selection of games. They noted that few companies made games for the console, and most of the games made by NEC were versions of Japanese games that didn't work well in other countries. In 2009, IGN ranked the TurboGrafx-16 as the 13th greatest video game console of all time. They praised the collection of games but also pointed out the lack of support from other companies and the absence of a second controller port.
The debate about how companies advertised the power of their consoles came up again with the Atari Jaguar. Mattel did not mention the bit width of its 1979 Intellivision system, even though it used a 16-bit CPU.
Legacy
In 1994, NEC introduced a new video game console called the PC-FX. It was only sold in Japan and used a 32-bit system with a tower-like shape. The console did not sell well, and NEC decided to stop making video game consoles.
Emulation programs that let people play TurboGrafx-16 games are available for many modern and older computer systems. Examples include Mednafen and BizHawk, which are often updated and widely used.
In 2006, several TurboGrafx-16, TurboGrafx-CD, and Turbo Duo games were made available for download on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii. These games were later also available on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, including titles that had never been released outside Japan. In 2011, ten TurboGrafx-16 games were added to the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable in North America.
In 2010, Hudson released an iPhone app called "TurboGrafx-16 GameBox." The app let users buy and play selected TurboGrafx games through in-app purchases.
The 2012 role-playing game Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory includes a character named Peashy, who is inspired by the TurboGrafx-16 console.
In 2016, rapper Kanye West first announced that his eighth solo album would be named Turbo Grafx 16. However, the album was later canceled.
In 2019, Konami announced the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, a small console with many built-in games, at E3 2019 and Tokyo Game Show 2019. On March 6, 2020, Konami said the Mini and its accessories would be delayed indefinitely because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted factories in China. The console was finally released in North America on May 22, 2020, and in Europe on June 5, 2020.