The TurboGrafx-16, also called the PC Engine in regions outside North America, is a home video game console created by Hudson Soft and built by NEC. It was first sold in Japan in 1987 and later 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 delayed release in the United States meant it faced competition from more advanced systems like the Sega Genesis and later 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 some people believed it was misleading. Measuring 14 by 14 by 3.5 centimeters (5.5 by 5.5 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 special hardware: TurboGrafx-CD (called CD-ROM² in Japan) games on compact discs, SuperGrafx games on a modified console, and LD-ROM² games on LaserDisc through the LaserActive, a system made by Pioneer. No single setup could use all formats at once. While the TurboGrafx-CD had some success, the other formats were not widely adopted. This variety of hardware caused confusion among buyers.
The PC Engine was a commercial success in Japan, with many companies creating games for it. It was the main competitor to the Super Famicom. In contrast, the TurboGrafx-16 had limited success in North America due to weak marketing, a small number of games, and its late arrival. In Europe, Japanese versions of the console were imported and modified for local sale, but plans for an official release were canceled after poor sales in the United States. More than 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, a system sold only in Japan, which did not succeed commercially.
History
The PC Engine was developed through a partnership between Hudson Soft, a company that made video games, and NEC, a company that led the Japanese personal computer market with its PC-88 and PC-98 systems. NEC did not have much experience in making video games and asked several game studios for help. At the same time, Hudson Soft tried to sell advanced graphics chip designs to Nintendo but failed. In July 1985, Hudson Soft proposed a new add-on for the Famicom that used their patented Bee Cards, which they had tested on the MSX computer. Nintendo liked the idea because the cards could store full games and replace existing ones. However, because of the high cost of the technology and the need to pay fees for each card sold, Nintendo decided not to use the proposal. This led Hudson Soft and NEC to form a partnership, and together they created the PC Engine.
The PC Engine was first sold in Japan on October 30, 1987, and it was very successful. It had an attractive design and was much smaller than its competitors. It sold 500,000 units in its first week.
The CD-ROM expansion for the PC Engine was a big 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 PC Engine in the United States and asked its U.S. team to prepare the system for American buyers. NEC’s leader, Keith Schaefer, tested the system and found that the name "PC Engine" did not excite customers, and the small size was not preferred in the U.S. They changed the name to "TurboGrafx-16," which highlighted its fast graphics and 16-bit GPU. They also redesigned the hardware to have a larger, black case. This change and questions about the system’s success in the U.S. delayed its release.
The TurboGrafx-16 (called the TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem on packaging) was finally sold in New York City and Los Angeles in late August 1989. However, this was two weeks after Sega of America released the Sega Genesis with a 16-bit CPU. Unlike NEC, Sega did not change the design of its Japanese Mega Drive system, only making small changes to its look.
The Sega Genesis quickly became more popular than the TurboGrafx-16 after its release. NEC’s decision to include a game called Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, which was unknown in the West, hurt its chances compared to Sega’s inclusion of a popular arcade game, Altered Beast. NEC also produced too many units in the U.S., far more than customers wanted. This benefited Hudson Soft, as NEC paid them royalties for every console made, even if it was not sold. By 1990, it was clear the system was not doing well, and NEC could not compete with Nintendo and Sega’s marketing.
In late 1989, NEC planned to make a coin-operated arcade version of the TurboGrafx-16 but canceled the plan in early 1990.
In Europe, the console is still called the PC Engine, not the TurboGrafx-16. Some people in the U.K. imported the PC Engine from Japan and used adapters to make it work with their TVs. In 1989, a British company called Mention made a version called the PC Engine Plus. However, NEC did not officially support this. From 1989 to 1993, a French company called Sodipeng imported the PC Engine and some add-ons from Japan. These were sold in France and the Benelux region with French instructions and an AV cable for compatibility with SECAM TVs.
After the TurboGrafx-16 struggled in the U.S., NEC stopped selling it in Europe. Some units were already made and modified to work with PAL TVs. NEC sold these to distributors, and in the U.K., 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 company called Turbo Technologies to manage the system in North America. They released the TurboDuo, a unit that included a built-in CD-ROM drive. However, the North American market was still dominated by the Sega Genesis and the Super NES, which was released in August 1991. In May 1994, Turbo Technologies announced it would stop supporting the TurboDuo but would continue repairs and software releases through other companies in the U.S. and Canada.
In Japan, NEC sold 5.84 million PC Engine units by 1995, with 1.92 million from CD-ROM² units and the TurboDuo by March 1996. This means more than 6.59 million PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 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 allows the basic versions of the console to play PC Engine games stored on CD-ROM in addition to standard HuCards. This made the PC Engine the first video game console to use CD-ROM as a storage medium. The add-on includes two parts: the CD player itself and an interface unit. The interface unit connects the CD player to the console and provides a single power supply and output for both devices. Later, in the United States, the add-on was released as the TurboGrafx-CD in November 1989. It included a redesigned interface unit to match the shape of 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 for the TurboGrafx-CD, followed later by Ys Book I & II.
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 three forms: the PC Engine Duo, released on September 21, which was a new console model with a built-in CD-ROM drive and upgraded BIOS/RAM. Next, the Super System Card was released on October 26 as an upgrade for existing CD-ROM² add-ons, replacing the original System Card. For users who did not own the CD-ROM² add-on, NEC offered the Super-CD-ROM² unit on December 13. This device 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 ). This upgrade increased the onboard RAM of the Super CD-ROM² System to 2 MB. The Arcade Card was released in two models: the Arcade Card Duo, designed for consoles already using the Super CD-ROM² System, and the Arcade Card Pro, which was 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, including Fatal Fury 2 and Art of Fighting. Later, ports of World Heroes 2 and Fatal Fury Special, along with original games under the Arcade CD-ROM² standard, were released. At this time, support for the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo consoles was declining in North America. Therefore, no North American versions of the Arcade Card were produced. However, a Japanese Arcade Card can still be used on a North American console with a HuCard converter.
Variations
Many different versions and related products of the PC Engine were released over time.
The PC Engine CoreGrafx was an updated version of the PC Engine, released in Japan on December 8, 1989. It had the same shape and size as the original PC Engine but used a different 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 a revised CPU called the HuC6280A, which fixed some minor audio issues. A recolored version, called the PC Engine CoreGrafx II, was released on June 21, 1991. It had a different color (light grey and orange) and used the original HuC6280 CPU instead of the HuC6280A.
The PC Engine SuperGrafx was released on the same day as the CoreGrafx in Japan. It was an improved version of the PC Engine with better hardware. It had a second HuC6270A chip, a HuC6202 chip that combined the output of two chips, four times as much RAM, twice as much video RAM, and an additional scrolling layer. It also used the revised HuC6280A CPU. However, the sound and color palette were not upgraded, which made the system expensive and limited its popularity. Only five exclusive games and two hybrid games were released for the SuperGrafx. The system was discontinued quickly. The SuperGrafx had the same expansion port as earlier models but required an adapter to use the original CD-ROM² add-on because of its larger size.
The PC Engine Shuttle was released in Japan on November 22, 1989, as a cheaper version of the console, priced at ¥18,800. It had a spaceship-like design and came with a TurboPad II controller that looked different from standard TurboPad controllers. The lower price was possible because it removed the expansion port, making it incompatible with the CD-ROM² add-on. However, it had a slot for a memory backup unit needed for some games. The Shuttle also used an A/V port instead of the original RF output.
The PC Engine Shuttle was also sold in South Korea in 1990 by Daewoo Electronics.
The TurboExpress, known as the PC Engine GT in Japan, was a portable version of the console released in December 1990. It played HuCard games on a 2.6-inch backlit color LCD screen, which was the most advanced screen available for portable systems at the time. However, the screen made the device expensive and caused short battery life, which hurt its sales. It also included a TV tuner adapter and a two-player link cable.
The PC Engine LT was a laptop-style console released in Japan on December 13, 1991, priced at ¥99,800. It had a built-in flip-up screen and speakers, like a laptop, and did not require a television. Unlike the GT, the LT used a power supply instead of batteries. Its high price limited production. The LT had a full expansion port, making it compatible with the CD-ROM² unit in the same way as the original PC Engine and CoreGrafx. However, it required an adapter to use the enhanced Super CD-ROM² unit.
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. The system could play HuCards, audio CDs, CD+Gs, standard CD-ROM² games, and Super CD-ROM² games. The North American version, called the TurboDuo, was released in October 1992.
Two updated versions of the Duo were released in Japan: the PC Engine Duo-R on March 25, 1993, and the PC Engine Duo-RX on June 25, 1994. These changes were mostly cosmetic, but the RX version included 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 was designed to eliminate the need for a separate television and console. It used RGB signals, which made the image clearer than the original PC Engine’s RF and composite outputs. However, it had no 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 was a hybrid system that 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) and new "LD-ROM²" titles. NEC also released its own LaserActive unit (NEC PCE-LD1) and PC Engine add-on module under an OEM license. A total of eleven LD-ROM titles were made, with only three released in North America.
Outside North America and Japan, the TurboGrafx-16 console was sold in South Korea by a third-party company, Haitai, under the name Vistar 16. It was based on the American version but had a new curved design. Daewoo Electronics also sold the PC Engine Shuttle in South Korea.
Technical specifications
The TurboGrafx-16 uses a Hudson Soft HuC6280 CPU, which is an 8-bit processor that runs at 7.16 MHz. It works with two 16-bit graphics processors: the HuC6270 video display controller and the HuC6260 video color encoder. The system has 8 KB of RAM, 64 KB of Video RAM, and can show 482 colors at once from a 512-color palette. The sound system, built into the CPU, includes a programmable sound generator that runs 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 plug 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 to prevent games from other regions from working. The power switch on the console also locks the HuCard in place to stop it from being removed while the system is on. The European version of the TurboGrafx-16 did not include PAL-formatted HuCards because of its limited release. Instead, it used 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 main controller and the standard NES controller. A separate controller called the TurboPad was also released, which added two "Turbo" switches for the I and II buttons with three speed settings. These switches let players press a button once to trigger multiple actions, such as rapid fire in scrolling shooter games. The TurboPad became the standard controller for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America and later models of the PC Engine in Japan, replacing the original Pad.
All PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 consoles have only one controller port. To use multiple controllers for multiplayer games, a separate device called the MultiTap (in Japan) or TurboTap (in North America) was needed. This device allowed up to five controllers to connect to the system. A Cordless Multitap was also available in Japan, sold with a single Cordless Pad and additional wireless controllers.
Because of differences in controller port sizes, PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 controllers and accessories are not compatible with each other. 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 made, which was an extension cable that allowed TurboGrafx-16 controllers to connect to the TurboDuo or PC Engine consoles.
The Virtual Cushion, released in 1992, lets players feel vibrations from enemy attacks through sound.
Many accessories 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 time. 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 let players save progress in compatible HuCard games. In 1991, NEC Avenue released the Avenue Pad 3, which added a third action button labeled "III" that could be set to work 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 provided new functions in compatible games. In 1994, NEC Home Electronics released the Arcade Pad 6, a six-button controller that replaced 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 free game with the console, which was a version of the PC Engine game Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru. The PC Engine console had strong support from other companies in Japan, but the TurboGrafx-16 had difficulty attracting other developers. Hudson Software brought several popular games, such as Bomberman, Bonk, and Adventure Island, to the system with improved graphics. Hudson also created and published new games, including Air Zonk and Dungeon Explorer. Compile released Alien Crush and Devil's Crush, which were popular virtual pinball games. Namco adapted many 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 side-scrolling shooter games. 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 platformer and role-playing games. The Legendary Axe by Victor Entertainment won many awards and is considered one of the best games on the TurboGrafx-16. Ys I & II, a collection of two games from Nihon Falcom’s Ys series, was very popular in Japan. Cosmic Fantasy 2, an RPG game brought from Japan to the United States, won the Electronic Gaming Magazine RPG of the Year award in 1993.
Reception
In Japan, the PC Engine was very popular and became the best-selling console in the country. However, in North America and Europe, the situation was different. Companies like Sega and Nintendo were more successful than NEC, which made the PC Engine. At first, the TurboGrafx-16 sold well in the United States, but later it struggled because few outside companies created games for it.
In 1990, ACE magazine said the PC Engine had the best racing games compared to other consoles. In 1993, GamePro gave the Turbo Duo model a "thumbs down" review. They liked the system's sound, graphics, and ability to support five players, but they criticized the old-style controller and the limited number of games. They also noted that few outside companies supported the console, and most games were versions of Japanese games that did not fit well in other regions. In 2009, IGN ranked the TurboGrafx-16 as the 13th greatest video game console of all time. They praised its collection of games but also pointed out the lack of outside support and the absence of a second controller port.
The debate about how companies promoted the power of their consoles returned when the Atari Jaguar was released. Earlier, in 1979, Mattel did not mention the bit width of its Intellivision system, even though it used a 16-bit CPU.
Legacy
In 1994, NEC introduced a new console called the Japanese-exclusive PC-FX, a 32-bit system with a tower-like design. The console did not sell well and led NEC to leave the video game industry.
Emulation programs that allow people to play TurboGrafx-16 games are available for many modern and older operating systems and computer designs. Examples include Mednafen and BizHawk, which are widely used and regularly updated.
In 2006, several TurboGrafx-16 (TurboChip/HuCARD), TurboGrafx-CD (CD-ROM²), and Turbo Duo (Super CD-ROM²) games were made available on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii. These games were later also released for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, including titles that had never been sold 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," which let users purchase and play selected TurboGrafx games through in-app purchases.
The 2012 JRPG game Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory includes a character named Peashy, who is inspired by the TurboGrafx-16 console.
In 2016, rapper Kanye West initially planned to name his eighth solo album Turbo Grafx 16. However, the album was not completed and was canceled.
In 2019, Konami announced the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, a dedicated console with many built-in games, at E3 2019 and Tokyo Game Show 2019. On March 6, 2020, Konami delayed the release of the TurboGrafx-16 Mini and its accessories indefinitely because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted manufacturing in China. The console was finally released in North America on May 22, 2020, and in Europe on June 5, 2020.