The TurboGrafx-16, called the PC Engine in regions outside North America, is a home video game console created by Hudson Soft and made by NEC. It was released 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 delayed release in the United States led to competition with the more advanced 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 for being misleading. Measuring 14 by 14 by 3.5 centimeters (5.5 in × 5.5 in × 1.4 in), the PC Engine is the smallest major home console ever made.
At first, games were released on HuCard cartridges. Later, the platform supported other formats, each requiring separate hardware: TurboGrafx-CD (called CD-ROM² in Japan) games on compact discs, SuperGrafx games on a new console model, and LD-ROM² games on LaserDisc through the LaserActive, a system developed by Pioneer that works with the TurboGrafx-16. No single console supported all formats at the same time. While the TurboGrafx-CD had some success, the other formats did not gain popularity. This variety of hardware caused confusion among buyers.
The PC Engine was commercially successful in Japan, with strong support from third-party developers and competition with the Super Famicom. In contrast, the TurboGrafx-16 faced challenges in North America due to limited marketing, a smaller selection of games, and its late release. In Europe, Japanese models 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 of the final model 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 developed through a partnership between Hudson Soft, a company that made video game software, and NEC, a leading company in Japan’s personal computer market known for its PC-88 and PC-98 systems. NEC did not have experience in the video game industry and asked many game studios for help. At the same time, Hudson Soft was trying 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 had been tested on the MSX computer. Nintendo liked the idea because the cards could store full games and replace existing ones. However, because the technology was expensive and required paying royalties for each card sold, Nintendo declined the proposal. This led Hudson Soft and NEC to form a partnership, and together they created the PC Engine.
The PC Engine was released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and became very popular. 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 major success, selling 60,000 units in Japan within five months of its release. 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 bring the PC Engine to the United States. NEC’s U.S. team tested the system and found that the name “PC Engine” did not excite American consumers, and the small size was not preferred in the U.S. They changed the name to “TurboGrafx-16,” which highlighted the system’s fast graphics and 16-bit GPU. They also redesigned the hardware to be larger and black. This redesign 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 released in New York City and Los Angeles in late August 1989. However, this was two weeks after Sega of America launched the Sega Genesis, which had a 16-bit CPU. Unlike NEC, Sega did not change the design of the Japanese Mega Drive system much, only making small aesthetic changes.
The Genesis quickly became more popular than the TurboGrafx-16 after its U.S. debut. NEC’s decision to include a Hudson Soft game called Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, which was unknown to Western players, was a disadvantage compared to Sega’s inclusion of Altered Beast, a popular arcade game. NEC’s U.S. operations also produced too many units, 750,000, which was far more than needed. This was profitable for Hudson Soft because NEC paid them royalties for every console made, even if it was not sold. By 1990, it was clear the system was not performing well and could not compete with Nintendo and Sega’s marketing efforts.
In late 1989, NEC planned to create a coin-operated arcade version of the TurboGrafx-16 but canceled the plan in early 1990.
In Europe, the system remained known as the PC Engine, not the TurboGrafx-16. Unauthorized imports of the PC Engine from Japan were available in the United Kingdom during the late 1980s, along with NTSC-to-PAL adapters. In 1989, a British company called Mention made a PAL version called the PC Engine Plus. However, NEC did not officially support this version. From November 1989 to 1993, French importer Sodipeng, a subsidiary of Guillemot International, brought PC Engine consoles and add-ons from Japan to France after strong interest in the French press. The system was sold in France and Benelux 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 releases. Units for Europe had already been produced, which were U.S. models modified to work on PAL televisions. NEC sold these to distributors, and in the U.K., Telegames released the console in 1990 in very limited quantities.
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 unit with a built-in CD-ROM drive. However, the North American market was still dominated by the Genesis and the Super NES, which was released in August 1991. In May 1994, Turbo Technologies announced it would stop supporting the Duo but continued offering repairs and software through independent companies in the U.S. and Canada.
In Japan, NEC sold a total of 5.84 million PC Engine units by 1995. CD-ROM² units and the Duo combined contributed 1.92 million units 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) is an add-on device for the PC Engine that was released in Japan on December 4, 1988. This add-on allowed 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 method. The add-on included two parts: the CD player itself and an interface unit that connected the CD player to the console. It also provided a single power supply and output for both devices. Later, the add-on was released in the United States as the TurboGrafx-CD in November 1989. The U.S. version had a redesigned interface unit to match the TurboGrafx-16 console. The TurboGrafx-CD had a starting price of $399.99 and did not include any games. The first games released for it were Fighting Street and Monster Lair, followed 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 system’s BIOS to Version 3.0 and increased buffer RAM from 64 KB to 256 KB. This upgrade came 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; the Super System Card, released on October 26, which replaced the original System Card in existing CD-ROM² add-ons; and the Super-CD-ROM² unit, released on December 13, which combined the CD-ROM drive, interface unit, and Super System Card into one device for users who did not already own the CD-ROM² add-on.
On March 12, 1994, NEC introduced a third upgrade called the Arcade Card ( アーケードカード ). 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 combined the features of the Super System Card and Arcade Card Duo for users with the original CD-ROM² System. The first games for this add-on were versions of the Neo-Geo fighting games Fatal Fury 2 and Art of Fighting. Later, versions of World Heroes 2 and Fatal Fury Special were also released, along with new games developed for the Arcade CD-ROM² standard. At this time, support for the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo consoles was declining in North America, so no North American versions of the Arcade Card were made. 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 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 size and shape 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 a new CPU called the HuC6280A, which was said to fix some small audio problems. A version of the CoreGrafx with different colors—light grey and orange—was released on June 21, 1991. This model, called the PC Engine CoreGrafx II, was nearly the same as the original CoreGrafx, except it used the original HuC6280 CPU instead of the revised 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 updated hardware. This model had two HuC6270A chips (VDCs), a HuC6202 chip (VDP) that combined the output of the two VDCs, four times as much RAM, twice as much video RAM, and an extra layer of scrolling. It also used the revised HuC6280A CPU. However, the sound and color features were not improved, which made the system expensive and limited its success. Only five exclusive SuperGrafx games and two hybrid games (Darius Plus and Darius Alpha) were made. These games could be played on the SuperGrafx and also on the original PC Engine using special HuCards. The SuperGrafx had the same expansion port as earlier PC Engine 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 version of the console. It cost ¥18,800 and was designed to appeal to younger players with its spaceship-like look. It came with a TurboPad II controller, which had a different shape than other TurboPad controllers. The lower price was possible because the Shuttle did not have an expansion port, making it incompatible with the CD-ROM² add-on. However, it did have a slot for a memory backup unit, which was needed for certain games. The Shuttle also used an A/V port instead of the RF output found on the original PC Engine.
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 could play HuCard games on a 2.6-inch backlit color LCD screen, which was the most advanced screen available for a portable game system at the time. However, the screen made the device expensive and caused it to have a short battery life, which limited its popularity. It also had 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, for ¥99,800. It did not need a television because it had a built-in screen and speakers, like a laptop. Unlike the TurboExpress, the LT used a power supply instead of batteries. Its high price meant few units were made. The LT had a full expansion port, so it could use the CD-ROM² unit in the same way as the original PC Engine and CoreGrafx. However, it needed an adapter to use the enhanced Super CD-ROM² unit.
NEC Home Electronics released the PC Engine Duo in Japan on September 21, 1991. This model combined the PC Engine and Super CD-ROM² unit into one console. It 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 models had mostly cosmetic changes, but the Duo-RX 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 picture clearer than the original PC Engine’s RF and composite outputs. However, it had no expansion port, so it could not use the CD-ROM² System or 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 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 special computer chip called the 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 the same time from a total of 512 colors. 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 for audio.
TurboGrafx-16 games use a type of game card called the HuCard ROM cartridge, which are thin, credit card-sized cards that fit into the front slot of the console. These cards have 38 connector pins. In the TurboGrafx-16 version, eight of these pins are reversed to prevent the use of game cards from other regions. The power switch on the console also prevents HuCards from being removed while the system is on. The European version of the TurboGrafx-16 did not include PAL-formatted HuCards due to its limited release, instead using standard HuCards and outputting 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," matching the layout of the Famicom's primary 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 allow a single button press to register multiple inputs, 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 device called the MultiTap (in Japan) or TurboTap (in North America) was needed, allowing up to five controllers to be connected. The Cordless Multitap was also available in Japan, sold as a set with a single Cordless Pad, with additional wireless controllers sold separately.
Because of differences in the size of controller ports, PC Engine controllers and peripherals are not compatible with TurboGrafx-16 consoles and vice versa. The TurboDuo used 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 is an extension cable allowing TurboGrafx-16 controllers to connect to the TurboDuo or PC Engine.
The Virtual Cushion, released in 1992, uses vibrations to let players feel the impact of 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 enabled saving 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 function 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," which provided new functions in compatible games. A six-button controller called the Arcade Pad 6 was released in 1994 by NEC Home Electronics, replacing the TurboPad as the bundled controller for the PC Engine Duo-RX (the last model of the console).
Library
In total, 678 commercial games were released for the TurboGrafx-16. In North America, the system included the game Keith Courage in Alpha Zones as a free game with the console. This game was a version of the PC Engine title Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru. The PC Engine console in Japan had strong support from other companies, 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 original games for the console, including Air Zonk and Dungeon Explorer. Compile released two popular virtual pinball games, Alien Crush and Devil's Crush. Namco provided high-quality versions of its arcade games, 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 system.
Many games on the TurboGrafx-16 are side-scrolling shooters, where players move left and right or up and down while shooting enemies. 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 TurboGrafx-16's best games. A compilation of two games from Nihon Falcom's Ys series, Ys I & II, was very successful 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 was once the best-selling video game console in the country. However, in North America and Europe, the situation was different. Companies like Sega and Nintendo were more successful, while NEC, which made the PC Engine, struggled to compete. At first, the TurboGrafx-16 sold well in the United States, but later it had problems because few companies created games for it.
In 1990, a magazine called ACE said the PC Engine had the best racing games compared to other consoles. In 1993, another magazine, GamePro, gave the Turbo Duo model a poor review. They liked the sound, graphics, and ability to play with five people, but they criticized the old-fashioned controller and the limited number of games. They also said few companies supported the console. In 2009, IGN ranked the TurboGrafx-16 as the 13th greatest video game console of all time. They praised its games but noted 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 returned when the Atari Jaguar was released. Earlier, in 1979, Mattel made the Intellivision system, which used a 16-bit CPU but did not advertise it as a 16-bit console.
Legacy
In 1994, NEC introduced a new console called the Japanese-exclusive PC-FX, a 32-bit system with a tower-like design. It did not sell well, and NEC stopped making video game consoles.
Emulation programs for the TurboGrafx-16 are available for many modern and older operating systems and computer designs. Well-known and regularly updated programs include Mednafen and BizHawk.
In 2006, several TurboGrafx-16 (TurboChip/HuCARD), TurboGrafx-CD (CD-ROM²), and Turbo Duo (Super CD-ROM²) games were made available for download on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii, later the Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS. Some of these games had never been released outside Japan. In 2011, ten TurboGrafx-16 games were released on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable in North America.
In 2010, Hudson released an iPhone app called "TurboGrafx-16 GameBox" that let users buy and play some TurboGrafx games using in-app purchases.
The 2012 JRPG 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 eventually 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 said the TurboGrafx-16 Mini and its accessories would be delayed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting supply chains in China. The console was released in North America on May 22, 2020, and in Europe on June 5, 2020.