I bought a TurboGrafx-16 when Bonk's Adventure released. Soon afterward, I learned of the Japanese PC Engine market, went to my local import shop and picked up a PC Engine and 2 games. Seeing the multitude of amazing games that were left in Japan, it's no wonder TG-16 failed in the U.S.
I only had the (for the time) ridiculously expensive TurboExpress. It was $300 and worse, no rental shops near me had TH-16 games to rent, so all the games I played had to be purchased. I ended up with a decent sized collection that I still have. Eventually, when I was old enough to drive, I drove myself to Funcoland and bought a used TG-16, so I could finally play my games on the TV. The Express took 6 AA batteries and gave you about 4 hours of play. So I spent a lot of time at the end of my living room couch plugged into the wall. My Express had a loose port for the AC adapter so I had to hold the wire pressed against the side of the handheld. If it shifted, the connection was severed and it powered off. I made it all the way through Splatterhouse and Talespin like that, with my sweaty 10 year old hands gripping the console for dear life. When those credits finished I was very relieved. But because of the hassle, I turned my attention and gaming dollars to Genesis and Sega CD. At least those games were available to rent. I still have fond memories, but there aren’t many TG-16 games (besides Alien Crush) that I still go back to. I have Alien Crush on my Wii, I think. And it was included on the TG-16 mini. But I mostly play it on my PS3. My Turbo Grafx-16 is one of my only consoles that is in storage. Most of my consoles are hooked up to CRTs in my game room. But there just aren’t that many TG-16 games that I care to play.
I had almost the exact situation (down to the twitchy AC connector!). Long after owning the Express, I bought the home version and couldn't adjust to how ugly and garish the graphics were on the big screen vs the Express, where they were astounding. (It probably didn't help that the first game I tried on the CRT was pack-in Keith Courage.)
My best friend bought one of these and spent over a year trying to tell me that it was better than my Genesis for some reason. Did he ever have egg on his face when new games slowed to a trickle! NEC should've either released their system as soon as it was kicking butt in Japan or at least included the $400 CD addon for that crazy $200 price. And tying up 750,000 consoles when there was no demand for this albatross? NEC and Hudson clearly didn't know what they were doing. And so few games brought over from Japan.
The problem with the turbo Express power supply is actually the tip on the end of the power supply itself, not the power jack built into the system. I too had the same problem back in the day and would tape my cable to the side of my system so the power wouldn't turn off.
Same. I went through 2-3 adapters. Finally found the universal AC adapter from Radio Shack had a tip that worked. The Turbo Express adapter was an oddball 7 volts, but the 7.5 volt setting on the Radio Shack adapter worked fine.
Never owned one, but I definitely recall playing a Bonk game on the system at a Toys R Us back in the day. It was the stage where you were inside the the dinosaur.
Bravo for remembering Snatcher for the PC-Engine. And yes, I would have loved an English translation for it. I'm very lucky I got to play the Sega CD one.
Some of this doesn't take into consideration how competitors will react. Although once Sony (and still much later Microsoft) was on the scene, they were using infinite money to take over the market.
I would bundle The Legendary Axe in and release the console when it originally came out and then let Bonk release in the US at Christmas, creating a must-have app. And while we're at it, I would've just made the PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 the SuperGrafx to begin with.
You know there was an entire version of this script that had the Supergrafx the machine that was released in the US. But that thing was what, around $300 at release?
Keith Courage is actually a localization of an anime tie-in game based on Mashin Hero Wataru, and I feel like it was a missed opportunity for NEC not to push to localize the anime in the US as a Keith Courage Saturday morning cartoon... sponsored by the Turbo-Grafix, of course
I love the system. My parents used to travel to a larger city during Christmas time to visit Toys 'R Us & one year I went with them. There was a TG-16 discounted to $50 which I asked for & got. It was just nice to have something different for so cheap.
NEC had Mall tour introducing the console that summer before it launched, I remember playing Bonk's Adventure for at least 45 minutes straight, I was wearing a Super Mario t-shirt too, must have given the guys from NEC a good laugh. Definitely should have been the pack in.
I still have my Turbografx 16. Bonk's 1 and 2 were quite fun, R-Type was so close to the arcade version - and Blazing Lazers was (and is) still one of the most best shooters I've ever played. The variety of powerups and the soundtrack were amazing. Space Megaforce for the SNES was it's spiritual successor, as was equally as good.
I think they should have gone all-in on the SuperGrafx and released that in North America instead of the TG16, since the SuperGrafx hardware was basically done by the time the TG16 launched. Develop games for North America, then launch the SuperGrafx system to Japan the following year with a full fledged software library. Crazy? Maybe. But it would have been an interesting way to foster two systems and two libraries of games with less market overlap. And the SuperGrafx would have competed beautifully during the second half of the 16-bit console cycle.
@@francofrignani3997 SGX has an update to the audio chip tho, allowing you to do some things you can't do with the original PCE. While no SGX games took advantage of this, it was there.
@@maxxdahl6062 They did. Because I've written some demos to take advantage of the updated audio chip (which the Duo units do not have). Even Furnace tracker has an option to use the Rev-A of the sound chip (which is what they use in the SGX).
These are really fun thought experiments. I did a deep dive into the TG16/PC Engine during Covid lockdown. That & Animal Crossing took up all of 2020 for me. Sooo many Shmups, I was in heaven.
I had a TG16 as a kid, I never met anyone else for a long time that also owned one. I enjoyed the hell out of it, an underrated console from that era for sure.
Absolutely love this. I always wanted to get into this system but back in this era, living in a small town in the midwest... made this almost mythical, just like the Neo Geo console. You'd see it in ads in issues of EGM. I'd dream of being able to order one of these from the back pages where you'd see them for sale but never was a realistic option for me. I was blessed to get both a SNES and a Genesis in the same Christmas and the prior year I had got a Sega Master System (sadly only had the 2 built in games). So I had it better than a lot of my peers, but still wanted to experience more than what the average American did.
When I saw the video cover, I came here just to say that I am very excited to watch this!! I am looking forward to watch it soon. #1 idea, make The Legendary Axe the pack-in game!
I don’t think I ever remember seeing a TG16 in a store or at a friends house until much much later in the early 2000s when people were collecting retro consoles. I started getting really into games when I was around 6 in 1991 so i think I missed the boat. The TG16 looked like an incredible system though, I still toy around with the idea of getting one and an Everdrive since I have never played a single game for it.
My childhood best friend had the TG16 where I had the NES, SNES, and Genesis. Getting to experience that system along with the more popular ones was an absolute treat, and I'm so happy that I now have a Turbo of my own. :)
Get yourself a cheaper PC engine from Japan and get a turboeverdrive or the SSDS3 its worth the price of either instead of looking for ultra expensive carts these days.
@@G-zeus_M or just play them all for free on an emulator. it's literally the exact same as using an SSDS3 since that uses FPGA emulation as well. Also a TG16 console isn't that much, it's about $125-150 on Ebay right now. Bonk HuCard only is $30-40, and Splatterhouse is about $50-70 for a Hucard. $250-300 for everything isn't a lot when considering how much kids these days spend on shallow cosmetic skins on Fortnite or Apex etc etc.
I remembered that my best friend at the time got the Turbogrfx-16 at almost the same time that my older brother got me the Sega Genesis, and we argued about the technical details endlessly. As time went on, he was forced to accept that the games, speed, and hardware were better in Segaland. Obviously, the PC Engine won in the Japanese market because it was smaller, came out sooner, had tons of great games, and it was easy to bring sequels and ports over from the Famicom to NEC's entry. The fact that NEC held up the machine for nearly a year to redesign the box with something larger and bulkier--and that forced you to spend $10 more for a machine that nickel and dimed you right out of the box--pissed off value-conscious American buyers something fierce. And their CD add on was $399! By the time NEC finally allowed the price to come down, it was obvious that all of the cool games were coming out for the Genesis, and everyone dumb enough to pay $700 for the full Turbogrfx platform was going to be left holding the bag when the music stopped. If you're going to force people to buy a control adapter for every two player game, you'd better be ready with some cool new games, a lower price, or an earlier launch. NEC-Hudson Soft had none of these things. NEC could've sold the combined CD console for $300, saved millions on those game cards, and courted all of those developers who wanted arcade-sized games and jRPGs on a home console.
"Let's save the Atari 7800" "Let's save the Atari Jaguar" "Let's save the 3DO" (✅️) "Let's save the Master System"(✅️) "Let's save the Game Gear"(✅️) "Let's save the Neo Geo CD" "Let's save the Neo Geo Pocket"
Thanks for vidéo. The PC-Engine was indeed released in France, and was distributed by Guillemot, owner of Ubi Soft. It had a moderate success, far behind the Megadrive and the SNES but it still has a cult following.
These are such fun videos! I just bought a broken CoreGrafx last year and fixed it up and its been a wonderful little machine. I only have Galaga but I'm currently waiting on a Super HD System 3 I got last August and Im pretty excited! :)
Living in Kansas I only knew of the TG through gaming magazines and promo tape they mailed me. I wanted one. Bad. Finally had my dream come true when the mini was released.
The audio chip sounded like a beefed up NES one, which is a very good thing if you're into chiptunes. Of course, CD games mostly had redbook audio (CD quality) soundtracks.
it was pretty close to being capable of a lot more. it's a wavetable chip, meaning it works like an nes but you can use your own wave shapes. one of the best tricks for wavetable is being able to swap waves you're playing in the middle of a note, but the tg-16 resets the volume when you do this, causing a click sound. if not for this it could do noticeably richer sounding music. some games ignored the click and still sounded pretty good, like bloody wolf.
I never got to experience the Turbo during it's heyday. I would see the games in all the magazines, but much like the Master System, I never saw a single system or any games for sale around me (in an admittedly fairly small town). I got mine in 1999 for next to nothing at a game store I was working at at the time. I was far into my Playstation days during that time, but I made some time to play the Turbo, and it was awesome. I've loved it ever since, and have always felt like the games on it feel like nothing else during that time. They have their own thing going on, and I appreciate that.
IMO the best bet would have been to get the system released as early as possible. Capitalize on the window you have before the Genesis was released to capture as much market as possible. So, best bet for success IMO: 1. No redesign of the console AT ALL. Make it black, rename it, fine, but don’t waste months working on a new design or stupid rubber covers for the expansion port (which got abandoned anyway). I don’t mind the idea of RCA outs, but RF only is fine. The same geniuses who thought the system needed to be bigger were ex Atari guys who had size issues on the brain. The time and money wasted on redesign could have been used selling and marketing. 2. Package it with some version of a Twin Commander controller. Boom, two players without a re-design. 3. Release it with the best early game you got…IMO that means either translate Bikkuri Man World or use R-Type.
I agree about the fact that it came out in the US just after the Genesis was released being a major issue considering how it was less powerful (the fact that TG-16 was slightly more expensive despite only having one controller port didn't help either).
@@yoman8027It is just a controller with a single breakout box on the cord for another controller plug in (player 2). While I am unsure exactly when they released these for the PC-E, I do believe they would have been available for an early US release.
@@bubbythebear6891 They could have ported the game to the Sega CD or Mega CD as they did with Snatcher. But i guess that would have taken more effort and money and somewhat they tought Castlevania was not popular enough to justify the investment.
Key Takeaways: 00:01 *🎮 Evolution of the PC Engine and Turbografx-16* - Evolution of the PC Engine and Turbografx-16, - NEC and Hudson released the PC Engine in Japan in 1987, featuring impressive 8 and 16-bit hybrid technology. - Despite its technical prowess, the Turbografx-16 struggled to compete with the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in North America. - The video aims to propose strategies to improve the Turbografx-16's market position and change its history. 02:47 *💡 Hardware and Launch Strategy* - Hardware and Launch Strategy, - Retaining the PC Engine's powerful hardware features, including its unique sound chip and graphic capabilities. - Adjustments to the launch strategy involve bundling two controller ports into the device and maintaining the original PC Engine shell design. - Emphasis on enhancing consumer value by including built-in features and adopting cost-effective retail strategies. 06:23 *🚀 Software and Retail Strategy in 1989* - Software and Retail Strategy in 1989, - Introducing a strong pack-in title, "Bonk's Adventure," to enhance the value proposition of the Turbografx-16. - Adjusting the North American launch date to December 1, 1989, to align with the holiday season and leverage Christmas sales. - Offering a compelling launch lineup of games, including "Blazing Lazers," "The Legendary Axe," and various sports titles. 08:26 *💽 Introduction of Turbo CD and Software Strategy in 1990* - Introduction of Turbo CD and Software Strategy in 1990, - Delaying the launch of Turbo CD to focus on establishing the base console and expanding the game library. - Expanding the software lineup with popular Japanese titles like "Liquid Kids" and "Ninja Gaiden." - Implementing aggressive advertising campaigns to promote the Turbografx-16's capabilities and game offerings. 12:26 *📈 Market Strategy in 1991* - Market Strategy in 1991, - Emphasizing sports games and securing league licenses to appeal to a broader audience. - Establishing partnerships with third-party developers like Electronic Arts to diversify the game library. - Expanding the availability of Japanese-exclusive games and securing popular franchises for North American release. 17:14 *💼 Turbo Duo Launch and Market Expansion in 1992* - Turbo Duo Launch and Market Expansion in 1992, - Introducing the Turbo Duo console bundle with attractive pricing and bundled games to stimulate sales. - Expanding the software lineup with notable releases like "Snatcher" and "Viewpoint" for the Turbo CD. - Lowering the price of existing hardware to increase accessibility and promoting aggressive Christmas campaigns to boost sales. 18:26 *🎯 Future Market Strategies for 1993 and Beyond* - Future Market Strategies for 1993 and Beyond, - Focusing on securing high-quality software releases, including Japanese imports and third-party collaborations. - Continuing to iterate and improve upon existing game franchises and hardware offerings. - Expanding partnerships and aggressively pursuing popular game franchises to enhance the Turbografx-16's appeal and competitiveness in the market. 22:24 *💿 Focus on 1994 and Future Directions* - Focus on 1994 and Future Directions, - Planning for the final year of the Turbografx-16 in the US in 1994 with an emphasis on CD-ROM format and Japanese game imports. - Introducing a variety of high-quality Japanese titles and arcade ports to cater to diverse consumer preferences. - Anticipating the need to transition towards the next generation of gaming consoles in the near future. 23:31 *🌍 Potential European Release Strategy* - Potential European Release Strategy, - Considering a European release strategy by establishing distribution in key European markets and targeting early 1990 for launch. - Emphasizing the uniqueness of Turbografx-16 games as alternatives to competitors' offerings in Europe. - Leveraging advertising to promote exclusivity and differentiate the platform from competitors in the European market. 25:07 *🤔 Reflecting on Strategy and Future Opportunities* - Reflecting on Strategy and Future Opportunities, - Summarizing the proposed strategy, focusing on the importance of the right pack-in game, aggressive advertising, and licensing popular IPs. - Acknowledging the potential of additional games like the Legendary Axe series and Newtopia to enhance the platform's appeal. - Emphasizing the significance of establishing Fire Pro Wrestling and securing Konami games to differentiate from competitors and attract a wider audience.
Them Neo-Geo ports ain't fittin on Hu-Cards. Some of the tiny puzzlers and platformers, sure. But the fighters and beatemups need the CD storage space and upgraded RAM cards. Then, would SNK be willing to enable all this competition for their own competing, Neo-Geo CD console? 🤔
I never owned an original TurboGrafx -16 but I did buy the Mini version and among the other mini consoles I have, it's my 2nd favorite behind only the Sega Genesis Mini.
I remember wanting the tg16 over the genesis back in '89. My uncle surprised me with it for christmas that yr. I still remember all the games i had; keith courage, vigilante, blazing lazers, victory run, bloody wolf, splatter house, alien crush, china warrior and veigues tactical gladiator.
I think it was Tectoy that reached Sega for distributing the Master System in Brazil. There is a big reason most game companies avoided that market: ridiculous import taxes and a large population unable to afford such an expensive product.
I gotta say, this is one of the best videos I've seen you do in a long time. The last video I seen that were this good, was the videos you made talking about your childhood and how you went from the Atari to NES to SEGA Genesis and so on.... This was a fun video for a diehard PCE fan like myself. When I was a kid, I was one of the only kids who had a TurboGrafx 16 and it always bothered me why NEC didn't do more to show people how awesome the console really was!! So this video hits close to my heart and what could have been. 🤩👍❤️👍❤️👍
@Marc_Araujo You are applying 2024 standards and expectations to a game that was designed in 1986. No one knew the moves were unnecessarily difficult to do in Fighting Street because every fighting game before it had even worse controls. There is no fixing its bad controls short of the porting staff time traveling to the future year of 1991, acquire Street Fighter II's joystick polling algorithm that was written for a faster 16-bit CPU, bring it back to 1988, and reimplement it on a slower 8-bit CPU from 1987.
@@Marc_Araujo Everything Sega Lord X mentioned in the video all involved making smarter decisions on things that actually existed at the time. Your "make Fighting Street good" suggestion involves methods and thinking that haven't even come into existence yet. Street Fighter II turned out the way it did because it was built upon the mechanics of Final Fight, and it also didn't exist when the Fighting Street port was being done.
These videos are a lot of fun and I really enjoy watching them! I never got the chance to play one until a few years ago at a friend's house. I do have one suggestion though - when you give the stats, could you compare them to another console on the market at the time? It would be good for us that aren't as savvy with the tech stats lol.
Where I live in Canada, one of the big problems for the TG16 was RadioShack was the only place that sold it and for an over inflated price compared to the Genesis (that you could buy anywhere) and even later the Super Nintendo! Had it been on NORMAL store shelves (which it was advertised in catalogues, but never seem to have inventory) for a modest price it might have sold better over here on the east coast.
@@gracekim1998its a mix of a small electronics store and electronic parts shop. They were really pushing the Turbo Grafx there and had it on display at every shop as you passed them in the shopping mall. Almost always there was people around it playing the console. They only sold Turbo Grafx and nothing else. Great times!
What an amazing video! And just in time that I've got a pcengine as a gift from a friend from the other side of the planet! I'm just getting to know the games following your video and pretending that all the things you narrate really happened and I'm just enjoying the games in th order they appear on the video ! Fantastic Job! Thank you once again !
I remember seeing the TurboGrafx 16 in department store catalogs back in the 90s and always wanting to have one. Other than that, I didn't see much advertising for it. This was a great video on how you would have done things differently; would love another one with you talking about how the next system from them would turn out (possible specs, games released, etc)!
I completely agree, I love my TurboGrafx 16, first game I bought when I finally added the TurboGrafx 16 too my collection was the Iconic SPLATTER HOUSE
Interesting video, I like these thought experiments. That being said, I don't think your diversification of content would have grabbed me without some rpg attention. The 1st console that I bought "myself" was the Genesis because Phantasy Star 2/3/4. The 2nd console that I bought was the PS1 because Final Fantasy 7/8/9/Tactics. The 3rd was the PS2 cause Final Fantasy 10 & 12...Guess I'm biased toward really good [mostly turn based] RPG's. The NEC Turbografx-16 would have needed a killer RPG at that time(s) to compete for me. Either something really good & original, or an assortment of other [not exclusive to NEC] rpg stuff to pad the library. Dragon Quest 1 & 2, Final Fantasy 1 [+anything else in the series as available] and Ultima IV [or even try for a license of Zelda 2 since it wasn't good anyway but still looks good on a resume for an IP to be included].
I missed the TG16 in its heyday. It wasn’t until about six years or so ago that I got my TG16, and that was the very first time I ever played one. It has quickly become one of my favorite consoles of the generation, with a ton of great games that are obscure, but mostly very good. I love it!
Unfortunately, I don't see how the Turbografx would ever have been truly successful in the North America due to 2 major factors: the lack of true killer-app / next-gen software on the base unit compared to its competitors, and the overall cost of ownership once you factor in the CD add on. Having a significant chunk of the system's library only accessible via the CD add on really hurt any chances of mass adoption in the west compared to the SNES and Genesis, which while the Sega CD was a "nice to have" at the time, it wasn't required to really enjoy the system's overall library. One thing I would have done differently with the TG-16 is release it as early as possible in North America. I'd have done a "soft launch" in the fall of '88 in the US to get its foot in the door as the first of the "16-Bit" systems, riding the coat tales of the NES's skyrocketing popularity, and start an advertising blitz during the holidays into '89 to get people buzzing about it, and then pushing as much software as readily possible for it in the 2nd half of '89 as the Genesis is getting ready to launch. While I still think it would have ended up a distant 3rd compared to the SNES and Genesis's sales, this likely would have helped give it a longer lifespan and a healthier library here in NA.
I love the US TG-16 design mostly from nostalgia. If I was on your board of directors I would push a compromise of keeping the PC engine shell but using the black and orange color scheme which I think stands out and looks great. Two controller ports is of course super smart. Nice video as always!
Imho the two times to strike would be early simultaneous with Japan launch to only compete against nes and sms, or release with Bonk which was a better system seller than Altered Beast on Genesis.
Your plans are great, I think this would have made this system MUCH more successful. I remember seeing the initial launch at Montgomery Wards in Texas and then going to the PX and BX in 90/91 in Germany and seeing the CD player and Final Zone II and Psychosis and wanting a TG-16, so bad. I didn’t get one until Christmas 93. But, my parents were able to get my brother and I the last Two Turbo Expresses at our local Toys R Us before they stopped carrying it. We mostly played on those until I got a duo in 94.
I love the TurboGrafx, I bought a new old stock one here in the UK and I am still blown away by the games on it. Definitely an underrated console and a missed opportunity outside of Japan.
"The Genesis has more buttons. A more powerful console should have more buttons" was what I remember thinking about the TG-16. That is what wrote it off in my young mind. (I realize that they both technically have the same number of buttons. I didn't say I was smart.) In all seriousness, though, I think the only thing that would have saved the TG-16 in North America would have been if it launched a year earlier without the nonsense back-and-forth about the the redesign and marketing. And that would have required NEC having marketing sense, which they never did (even in Japan, I would add).
I had one of these as a kid, system, turbo booster, turbo tap, like 4 controllers and a decent amount of games. I only knew what this was cause my best friend's older brother borrowed one from his friend with bonk's adventure and I fell in love with it. Over the next year the owner of the local video rental place just randomly had one for sell and my mom got it for me for christmas. But that I think is why it failed....I lived in a small town, I was young and lived out in the sticks, we didnt have cable tv or internet at that time. Didnt go into town much so I was lucky if I got a video game magazine monthly. Just know one knew about them. Hell it wasnt until highschool I found another person that owned one which me and him made great friends cause we had someone to talk tg16 with finally lol. There was only one place locally that sold tg16 games and it was a goodyear tire shop, they had that little kiosk you could flip through and the game still had to be ordered.
I understand not wanting to change the hardware and I agree but there is one thing you can do and that is to move some of the chips from the CD unit to the base console. This would allow you to off-load some of the cost of the add-on onto the base console and make the add-on more affordable. If I had to pick a part of the CD unit hardware to move over it would be the memory, as that is used for saving games and there where card games that could use this memory for saving too. So you would be giving the base unit something that is still useful, while making the CD unit cheaper.
I bought my pc engine from the virgin megastore in London around 1988. They were selling scart modded imported ones along with a ton of Japanese games. From memory the console was £225 and the games about £30 each. The pack in game was a japanese language only action rpg that I never managed to get very far in due to the walls of text. Spent hours playing bloody wolf, the game I bought along with the console. I fully agree that the console needed 2 controller ports as standard, that was one of the only downsides of the machine. It was an aesthetically beautiful machine, still one of my fav console designs.
An amazing "What if..." video. I've gone through most of what you've presented here in my mind plenty of times over the years, wondering "What if NEC and the TG16 won the console wars back then?" Would they still be around today serving us up with the "TG-X", while having millions love Bonk as we do Mario today? Bravo sir.
As an old man, I was fully there! TG16 & Genesis came out when I was in college. I got the TG16 first, then couldn't stand it and went back and bought the Genesis a week later lol. I can't tell you how blown away we were in my frat house with the TG16 especially with Blazing Lazers.. and even Keith Courage gave us that next-gen feel. I accumulated about 40 TG16 games and some imports before I lost interest in the console. Few things: 1) Software was indeed key. As a consumer, the TG16 had a "slow decline" where it started out so awesome.. but then games just started coming out slower and seemingly less quality. After only 2 years (right before the SNES came out) I was really looking for any new releases on the system and the stuff I ended up getting here in the US were things like Bravoman or Psychosis which were underwhelming at best. It's such a shame so many good games never made it overseas here. Anyway result was for me, once the SNES came out.. I barely looked at my TG16 anymore as the games already seemed dated and flat. 2) The CD add-on was just too expensive and seemed sudden/forced. I balked at the price and the lack of software for it. I liked Ys.. but I had already played a bunch on SMS. Eventually when barely any games came out for it here, not buying it seemed like the smart choice. I wonder if Rondo came out here whether I would have more strongly considered it.. but, it did not. 3) I was so excited about Street Fighter 2.. since I was lucky to go to Japan often back then I bought it excitedly along with a 6 button pad. Only to find when I got back home.. that the controller wouldn't fit in the TG16 lol! There wasn't much info about this kind of stuff back then.. anyway since it turns out playing SF2 with 2 buttons sucked. I never played the game much at all.. and that controller went into storage where I finally broke it out only recently after decades of storage once I got a Duo off ebay ;p
Keith Courage was always a weird choice for a pack-in game since it was a localized version of a game based on a anime that never came out in the West.
I was born in 1988 and my earliest memories of gaming harken back to 1992, so I had no idea the TG-16 even existed until years later -- just like the venerable Master System. Looking back at it, it was a pretty cool little device that I wish had done better out here.
The TG 16 (PC Engine) was an awesome system that was definitely the Dreamcast of its generation that deserved better and was a victim of poor management and marketing.
We had a TG-16 2.5 years before getting a Genesis. The longest 2.5 years of my life lol. No one else had one until this kid moved to our school in 6th grade and he had one. It was a shock. We ended up trading games and I played some awesome ones I had somehow missed like Splatterhouse and Bloody Wolf. Still got a Genesis a few months later tho lol.
Ah, yes. I theorize that innthis alternate timeline, we would be watching "NEC Lord X", and he'd be talking about how he would have saved SEGA's consoles back in the 90s whilst NEC was encouraged to keep making consoles. What a timeline THAT would be! XD
Rebranding of the sports titles is good but not worth much without better sports games. More localizations of the best JP games is of course a good move, as is changing the pack-in game. But a lot of this would do little to improve its commercial performance. They needed to replace their PR department and made sure that their games were readily available in important stores, first and foremost (and not ignoring Europe would've been nice!). Various games that could've made a difference and weren't "taken" by the competition: 1989: Final Fight, a proper Batman NES port instead of the maze game, STUN Runner, Chip's Challenge, Mr. Ghost/Yuureikun MSX, Golvellius remaster or a sequel, Aleste 2 MSX or Space Manbow MSX, Military Madness/Nectaris with a good anime or cartoon license attached to it, Willow ARC, an earlier Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari/River City Ransom port/remaster, a Project Firestart C64 remake?, Toki, North & South? 1990: Aliens ARC, Metal Gear 2, Blood Bros. or NAM-1975, Crystalis, Out Zone, Mercs 2- or 3-player, Loom (CD), Blue's Journey, a good Turrican port, Gargoyle's Quest, Wings AMI, Smash TV, Little Nemo or Nemo ARC, Gremlins 2, any Mega Man game, Cyber-Lip?, R-Type 2? 1991: Turrican II (so-so MD port), Xexex, Moonstone, Rogha Armor Force/Wolf Fang (no early ports), Scorched Earth/Scorched Tanks, Vroom, D/Generation, The Simpsons ARC, Space Quest IV (possibly a VGA-style remake of 3 too), Battle Isle, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts with a more reasonable Easy mode, Sunset Riders? - it needs *some* alternative to Contra, Quest for Glory VGA, Metal Storm, Final Fantasy Adventure/Seiken Densetsu 1992: Mortal Kombat is pretty much a must, Ultima VII (no accurate ports at the time), The Incredible Machine, Star Control II, Asterix ARC, Indiana Jones and the Fate Of Atlantis, Soul Blazer, King's Quest VI, Truxton II, X-Men ARC, Lionheart AMI, Agony, Sensible Soccer, Apidya, Pocky & Rocky, R.C. Pro-Am II, Flashback, Gargoyle's Quest II, Last Resort or Boogie Wings, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Oregon Trail Deluxe,
I bought a TurboGrafx-16 when Bonk's Adventure released. Soon afterward, I learned of the Japanese PC Engine market, went to my local import shop and picked up a PC Engine and 2 games. Seeing the multitude of amazing games that were left in Japan, it's no wonder TG-16 failed in the U.S.
It is I, a time traveler from 1988. I have been sent from nec to hire you. Congratulation
God, I hope (and assume) that "congratulation" was intentional. 😂
One singular congratulation
@@Mentherex thank
The TG-16 in a way is like that generation's Dreamcast, a damn fine console that deserved to do way better than it did.
True, but unlike the Dreamcast (which was not successful anywhere) the PC/Turbografx was highly successful in Japan.
Like the Dreamcast the Turbo Grafx was somewhere inbetween two generations. Some games Feeling more like NES games, but looking slightly more 16 bit.
Uhh i owned one when it was new. It was a rip off. Dont get me wrong i liked it but it lied on its actual capabilities.
Too good for American't
It was a success in Japan, just like the Sega Saturn.
@rameybutler-hm7nx I had one, too. It would have been a dominant 8-bit console, but I felt misled about it's 16-bit claims.
I only had the (for the time) ridiculously expensive TurboExpress. It was $300 and worse, no rental shops near me had TH-16 games to rent, so all the games I played had to be purchased. I ended up with a decent sized collection that I still have. Eventually, when I was old enough to drive, I drove myself to Funcoland and bought a used TG-16, so I could finally play my games on the TV. The Express took 6 AA batteries and gave you about 4 hours of play. So I spent a lot of time at the end of my living room couch plugged into the wall. My Express had a loose port for the AC adapter so I had to hold the wire pressed against the side of the handheld. If it shifted, the connection was severed and it powered off. I made it all the way through Splatterhouse and Talespin like that, with my sweaty 10 year old hands gripping the console for dear life. When those credits finished I was very relieved. But because of the hassle, I turned my attention and gaming dollars to Genesis and Sega CD. At least those games were available to rent.
I still have fond memories, but there aren’t many TG-16 games (besides Alien Crush) that I still go back to. I have Alien Crush on my Wii, I think. And it was included on the TG-16 mini. But I mostly play it on my PS3. My Turbo Grafx-16 is one of my only consoles that is in storage. Most of my consoles are hooked up to CRTs in my game room. But there just aren’t that many TG-16 games that I care to play.
I had almost the exact situation (down to the twitchy AC connector!). Long after owning the Express, I bought the home version and couldn't adjust to how ugly and garish the graphics were on the big screen vs the Express, where they were astounding. (It probably didn't help that the first game I tried on the CRT was pack-in Keith Courage.)
My best friend bought one of these and spent over a year trying to tell me that it was better than my Genesis for some reason. Did he ever have egg on his face when new games slowed to a trickle!
NEC should've either released their system as soon as it was kicking butt in Japan or at least included the $400 CD addon for that crazy $200 price. And tying up 750,000 consoles when there was no demand for this albatross? NEC and Hudson clearly didn't know what they were doing. And so few games brought over from Japan.
The problem with the turbo Express power supply is actually the tip on the end of the power supply itself, not the power jack built into the system. I too had the same problem back in the day and would tape my cable to the side of my system so the power wouldn't turn off.
Same. I went through 2-3 adapters. Finally found the universal AC adapter from Radio Shack had a tip that worked. The Turbo Express adapter was an oddball 7 volts, but the 7.5 volt setting on the Radio Shack adapter worked fine.
Crazy you made it through TailSpin and those shitty controls! I played that game too much..
Having Bonk's adventure as a tie in would have helped massively imo. The bonk's series is still one of my all time favorites.
Never owned one, but I definitely recall playing a Bonk game on the system at a Toys R Us back in the day. It was the stage where you were inside the the dinosaur.
Bravo for remembering Snatcher for the PC-Engine. And yes, I would have loved an English translation for it. I'm very lucky I got to play the Sega CD one.
Have always been and still am in love with the Turbografx 16/PC Engine! I still collect games for it current day.
I love this “Let’s Save The” series!
I want a "Let's Save The Nintendo 64"
@@PaperBanjo64 "Let´s Save the Atari 7800" 🙂
@@PaperBanjo64 I think a better suggestion would be "Let's Save The N64DD".
@@G.L.999 that was too late in Japan to have mattered, I think scrapping it would've been a more logical choice
It's fun, but some suggestions wouldn't have been possible and total hindsight calls really.
I adore what-if/armchair general scenarios like this. Great video!
Some of this doesn't take into consideration how competitors will react. Although once Sony (and still much later Microsoft) was on the scene, they were using infinite money to take over the market.
My all time Favorite system. It was an underdog here in the state.
Mine too
Same here looooved several of the games I had for it
Best system for SMUPS
I would bundle The Legendary Axe in and release the console when it originally came out and then let Bonk release in the US at Christmas, creating a must-have app. And while we're at it, I would've just made the PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 the SuperGrafx to begin with.
You know there was an entire version of this script that had the Supergrafx the machine that was released in the US. But that thing was what, around $300 at release?
Keith Courage is actually a localization of an anime tie-in game based on Mashin Hero Wataru, and I feel like it was a missed opportunity for NEC not to push to localize the anime in the US as a Keith Courage Saturday morning cartoon... sponsored by the Turbo-Grafix, of course
Oh wow never knew but it makes sense. Played a lot of it!
Thanks, you really put your NEC on the line for us fans!
I love the system. My parents used to travel to a larger city during Christmas time to visit Toys 'R Us & one year I went with them. There was a TG-16 discounted to $50 which I asked for & got. It was just nice to have something different for so cheap.
My brother had a TG16... I played it before.. The fact that Bonk wasnt the pack in game was crazy cause I thought he was the mascot!
NEC had Mall tour introducing the console that summer before it launched, I remember playing Bonk's Adventure for at least 45 minutes straight, I was wearing a Super Mario t-shirt too, must have given the guys from NEC a good laugh.
Definitely should have been the pack in.
I still have my Turbografx 16. Bonk's 1 and 2 were quite fun, R-Type was so close to the arcade version - and Blazing Lazers was (and is) still one of the most best shooters I've ever played. The variety of powerups and the soundtrack were amazing. Space Megaforce for the SNES was it's spiritual successor, as was equally as good.
I think they should have gone all-in on the SuperGrafx and released that in North America instead of the TG16, since the SuperGrafx hardware was basically done by the time the TG16 launched. Develop games for North America, then launch the SuperGrafx system to Japan the following year with a full fledged software library. Crazy? Maybe. But it would have been an interesting way to foster two systems and two libraries of games with less market overlap. And the SuperGrafx would have competed beautifully during the second half of the 16-bit console cycle.
To the SG I would have added a 6-button pad, 2 pad ports and a new audio chip
@@francofrignani3997 SGX has an update to the audio chip tho, allowing you to do some things you can't do with the original PCE. While no SGX games took advantage of this, it was there.
@@francofrignani3997 6 button pad wasn't ready until 1994
@@TurboXray They didn't change the audio chip to my understanding, only upgraded the graphics capabilities.
@@maxxdahl6062 They did. Because I've written some demos to take advantage of the updated audio chip (which the Duo units do not have). Even Furnace tracker has an option to use the Rev-A of the sound chip (which is what they use in the SGX).
These are really fun thought experiments. I did a deep dive into the TG16/PC Engine during Covid lockdown. That & Animal Crossing took up all of 2020 for me. Sooo many Shmups, I was in heaven.
Never played the TurboGrafx-16. I am excited to learn more about it!
These videos are great. An amazing opportunity for you to flex your knowledge of technology and marketing. Thank you for another banger!
I had a TG16 as a kid, I never met anyone else for a long time that also owned one. I enjoyed the hell out of it, an underrated console from that era for sure.
Absolutely love this. I always wanted to get into this system but back in this era, living in a small town in the midwest... made this almost mythical, just like the Neo Geo console. You'd see it in ads in issues of EGM. I'd dream of being able to order one of these from the back pages where you'd see them for sale but never was a realistic option for me. I was blessed to get both a SNES and a Genesis in the same Christmas and the prior year I had got a Sega Master System (sadly only had the 2 built in games). So I had it better than a lot of my peers, but still wanted to experience more than what the average American did.
Well happy Turbo Tuesday to you !! Have a great day
This was such a fun video. Thank you!
The PC FX was a great idea, it really needed an add-on that provided more ram and 3D capabilities. Great Stuff, as always.
You contradicted yourself there. How could the PC FX be a great idea if it needed things that basically turns it into a PlayStation?
When I saw the video cover, I came here just to say that I am very excited to watch this!! I am looking forward to watch it soon. #1 idea, make The Legendary Axe the pack-in game!
Thank you for this, watching it now and feeling that exciting when I turned on the system for the first time. Great video!
I don’t think I ever remember seeing a TG16 in a store or at a friends house until much much later in the early 2000s when people were collecting retro consoles.
I started getting really into games when I was around 6 in 1991 so i think I missed the boat. The TG16 looked like an incredible system though, I still toy around with the idea of getting one and an Everdrive since I have never played a single game for it.
My childhood best friend had the TG16 where I had the NES, SNES, and Genesis. Getting to experience that system along with the more popular ones was an absolute treat, and I'm so happy that I now have a Turbo of my own. :)
I wasn't sure about these 'Let's Save' videos, but they are all in good fun & interesting. Thanks Sega Lord X
Wish I could afford a TG16. Started playing the games when they came to the Wii's VC and spent hours with Bonk's Adventure and Splatterhouse.
Get yourself a cheaper PC engine from Japan and get a turboeverdrive or the SSDS3 its worth the price of either instead of looking for ultra expensive carts these days.
@@G-zeus_M or just play them all for free on an emulator. it's literally the exact same as using an SSDS3 since that uses FPGA emulation as well. Also a TG16 console isn't that much, it's about $125-150 on Ebay right now. Bonk HuCard only is $30-40, and Splatterhouse is about $50-70 for a Hucard. $250-300 for everything isn't a lot when considering how much kids these days spend on shallow cosmetic skins on Fortnite or Apex etc etc.
@@G-zeus_Mjust get a Wii and mod it. It plays all pc engine games perfectly.
@@G-zeus_M Or an Analogue Duo and jailbreak it.
PC engine is way affordable. Skip the US system and go for the PCE.
I remembered that my best friend at the time got the Turbogrfx-16 at almost the same time that my older brother got me the Sega Genesis, and we argued about the technical details endlessly. As time went on, he was forced to accept that the games, speed, and hardware were better in Segaland.
Obviously, the PC Engine won in the Japanese market because it was smaller, came out sooner, had tons of great games, and it was easy to bring sequels and ports over from the Famicom to NEC's entry. The fact that NEC held up the machine for nearly a year to redesign the box with something larger and bulkier--and that forced you to spend $10 more for a machine that nickel and dimed you right out of the box--pissed off value-conscious American buyers something fierce. And their CD add on was $399!
By the time NEC finally allowed the price to come down, it was obvious that all of the cool games were coming out for the Genesis, and everyone dumb enough to pay $700 for the full Turbogrfx platform was going to be left holding the bag when the music stopped.
If you're going to force people to buy a control adapter for every two player game, you'd better be ready with some cool new games, a lower price, or an earlier launch. NEC-Hudson Soft had none of these things.
NEC could've sold the combined CD console for $300, saved millions on those game cards, and courted all of those developers who wanted arcade-sized games and jRPGs on a home console.
"Let's save the Atari 7800"
"Let's save the Atari Jaguar"
"Let's save the 3DO" (✅️)
"Let's save the Master System"(✅️)
"Let's save the Game Gear"(✅️)
"Let's save the Neo Geo CD"
"Let's save the Neo Geo Pocket"
Thanks for vidéo. The PC-Engine was indeed released in France, and was distributed by Guillemot, owner of Ubi Soft. It had a moderate success, far behind the Megadrive and the SNES but it still has a cult following.
These are such fun videos! I just bought a broken CoreGrafx last year and fixed it up and its been a wonderful little machine. I only have Galaga but I'm currently waiting on a Super HD System 3 I got last August and Im pretty excited! :)
Living in Kansas I only knew of the TG through gaming magazines and promo tape they mailed me. I wanted one. Bad. Finally had my dream come true when the mini was released.
Yes, I must say the TG-16 sound was great.
some hucards have terrible sounds tho, like cadash
The audio chip sounded like a beefed up NES one, which is a very good thing if you're into chiptunes. Of course, CD games mostly had redbook audio (CD quality) soundtracks.
it was pretty close to being capable of a lot more. it's a wavetable chip, meaning it works like an nes but you can use your own wave shapes. one of the best tricks for wavetable is being able to swap waves you're playing in the middle of a note, but the tg-16 resets the volume when you do this, causing a click sound. if not for this it could do noticeably richer sounding music. some games ignored the click and still sounded pretty good, like bloody wolf.
I got one of these xmas 89 and the cd add on a year or two later, my favorite system of all time I was the only kid in the neighborhood with one!
Good luck saving the PCFX!
I never got to experience the Turbo during it's heyday. I would see the games in all the magazines, but much like the Master System, I never saw a single system or any games for sale around me (in an admittedly fairly small town). I got mine in 1999 for next to nothing at a game store I was working at at the time. I was far into my Playstation days during that time, but I made some time to play the Turbo, and it was awesome. I've loved it ever since, and have always felt like the games on it feel like nothing else during that time. They have their own thing going on, and I appreciate that.
As I loved the previous 2 Let’s Save episodes, I can already predict that I will love this video haha 😁
Next up: Let’s save the PC-FX
It’s a single screen that says “no porn”
IMO the best bet would have been to get the system released as early as possible. Capitalize on the window you have before the Genesis was released to capture as much market as possible. So, best bet for success IMO:
1. No redesign of the console AT ALL. Make it black, rename it, fine, but don’t waste months working on a new design or stupid rubber covers for the expansion port (which got abandoned anyway). I don’t mind the idea of RCA outs, but RF only is fine. The same geniuses who thought the system needed to be bigger were ex Atari guys who had size issues on the brain. The time and money wasted on redesign could have been used selling and marketing.
2. Package it with some version of a Twin Commander controller. Boom, two players without a re-design.
3. Release it with the best early game you got…IMO that means either translate Bikkuri Man World or use R-Type.
I agree about the fact that it came out in the US just after the Genesis was released being a major issue considering how it was less powerful (the fact that TG-16 was slightly more expensive despite only having one controller port didn't help either).
What's a twin commander controller? It's the first time I've heard about it.
@@yoman8027It is just a controller with a single breakout box on the cord for another controller plug in (player 2). While I am unsure exactly when they released these for the PC-E, I do believe they would have been available for an early US release.
@@yoman8027it is just a single controller, but it has a breakout box on the cord which allows a 2P controller to plug in. Pretty handy!
Rondo of Blood would have been the perfect swansong for the North American fans
I would have loved to be in the board room for that decision to not bring one of the best games ever made over to NA looooooooool great job NEC
@@warchild9381 most likely it was Konami's decision.
@@jsr734 makes sense, Konami made plenty of blunders even back in their heyday of the 90s.
@@jsr734I thought the same. Why bother translating and bringing over a game to an already dead console?
@@bubbythebear6891 They could have ported the game to the Sega CD or Mega CD as they did with Snatcher. But i guess that would have taken more effort and money and somewhat they tought Castlevania was not popular enough to justify the investment.
Key Takeaways:
00:01 *🎮 Evolution of the PC Engine and Turbografx-16*
- Evolution of the PC Engine and Turbografx-16,
- NEC and Hudson released the PC Engine in Japan in 1987, featuring impressive 8 and 16-bit hybrid technology.
- Despite its technical prowess, the Turbografx-16 struggled to compete with the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in North America.
- The video aims to propose strategies to improve the Turbografx-16's market position and change its history.
02:47 *💡 Hardware and Launch Strategy*
- Hardware and Launch Strategy,
- Retaining the PC Engine's powerful hardware features, including its unique sound chip and graphic capabilities.
- Adjustments to the launch strategy involve bundling two controller ports into the device and maintaining the original PC Engine shell design.
- Emphasis on enhancing consumer value by including built-in features and adopting cost-effective retail strategies.
06:23 *🚀 Software and Retail Strategy in 1989*
- Software and Retail Strategy in 1989,
- Introducing a strong pack-in title, "Bonk's Adventure," to enhance the value proposition of the Turbografx-16.
- Adjusting the North American launch date to December 1, 1989, to align with the holiday season and leverage Christmas sales.
- Offering a compelling launch lineup of games, including "Blazing Lazers," "The Legendary Axe," and various sports titles.
08:26 *💽 Introduction of Turbo CD and Software Strategy in 1990*
- Introduction of Turbo CD and Software Strategy in 1990,
- Delaying the launch of Turbo CD to focus on establishing the base console and expanding the game library.
- Expanding the software lineup with popular Japanese titles like "Liquid Kids" and "Ninja Gaiden."
- Implementing aggressive advertising campaigns to promote the Turbografx-16's capabilities and game offerings.
12:26 *📈 Market Strategy in 1991*
- Market Strategy in 1991,
- Emphasizing sports games and securing league licenses to appeal to a broader audience.
- Establishing partnerships with third-party developers like Electronic Arts to diversify the game library.
- Expanding the availability of Japanese-exclusive games and securing popular franchises for North American release.
17:14 *💼 Turbo Duo Launch and Market Expansion in 1992*
- Turbo Duo Launch and Market Expansion in 1992,
- Introducing the Turbo Duo console bundle with attractive pricing and bundled games to stimulate sales.
- Expanding the software lineup with notable releases like "Snatcher" and "Viewpoint" for the Turbo CD.
- Lowering the price of existing hardware to increase accessibility and promoting aggressive Christmas campaigns to boost sales.
18:26 *🎯 Future Market Strategies for 1993 and Beyond*
- Future Market Strategies for 1993 and Beyond,
- Focusing on securing high-quality software releases, including Japanese imports and third-party collaborations.
- Continuing to iterate and improve upon existing game franchises and hardware offerings.
- Expanding partnerships and aggressively pursuing popular game franchises to enhance the Turbografx-16's appeal and competitiveness in the market.
22:24 *💿 Focus on 1994 and Future Directions*
- Focus on 1994 and Future Directions,
- Planning for the final year of the Turbografx-16 in the US in 1994 with an emphasis on CD-ROM format and Japanese game imports.
- Introducing a variety of high-quality Japanese titles and arcade ports to cater to diverse consumer preferences.
- Anticipating the need to transition towards the next generation of gaming consoles in the near future.
23:31 *🌍 Potential European Release Strategy*
- Potential European Release Strategy,
- Considering a European release strategy by establishing distribution in key European markets and targeting early 1990 for launch.
- Emphasizing the uniqueness of Turbografx-16 games as alternatives to competitors' offerings in Europe.
- Leveraging advertising to promote exclusivity and differentiate the platform from competitors in the European market.
25:07 *🤔 Reflecting on Strategy and Future Opportunities*
- Reflecting on Strategy and Future Opportunities,
- Summarizing the proposed strategy, focusing on the importance of the right pack-in game, aggressive advertising, and licensing popular IPs.
- Acknowledging the potential of additional games like the Legendary Axe series and Newtopia to enhance the platform's appeal.
- Emphasizing the significance of establishing Fire Pro Wrestling and securing Konami games to differentiate from competitors and attract a wider audience.
This is one of a few instances where I cannot disagree with a single thing SLX mentioned in a video.
"One of a few"?
@@OhKayEl yes
I also often disagree with things he says in videos. Especially when ranking games.
Them Neo-Geo ports ain't fittin on Hu-Cards. Some of the tiny puzzlers and platformers, sure. But the fighters and beatemups need the CD storage space and upgraded RAM cards. Then, would SNK be willing to enable all this competition for their own competing, Neo-Geo CD console? 🤔
I never owned an original TurboGrafx -16 but I did buy the Mini version and among the other mini consoles I have, it's my 2nd favorite behind only the Sega Genesis Mini.
I love this "let's save" series!
You should seriously do one for every console
(or at least, every console that didn't do very well lol)
I have such a fantastic story about my adventures with the Turbografx. And some really bad decisions after it's run. Glad you gave it some attention.
Turbografx-16 is absolutely the one that deserves love and no one can deny that!
Especially Tengai Makyou series, who was able to rival with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest in Japan.
It was an example of a great product that was let down by the people selling it.
I loved my T-16 and my Turbo Duo, Still do
There was something about the Turbo Grafx-16 and I had to have it back in the day. Great memories on that system.
I remember wanting the tg16 over the genesis back in '89. My uncle surprised me with it for christmas that yr. I still remember all the games i had; keith courage, vigilante, blazing lazers, victory run, bloody wolf, splatter house, alien crush, china warrior and veigues tactical gladiator.
A south america launch like Sega did with Tectoy could be a good idea.
I think it was Tectoy that reached Sega for distributing the Master System in Brazil. There is a big reason most game companies avoided that market: ridiculous import taxes and a large population unable to afford such an expensive product.
I gotta say, this is one of the best videos I've seen you do in a long time. The last video I seen that were this good, was the videos you made talking about your childhood and how you went from the Atari to NES to SEGA Genesis and so on.... This was a fun video for a diehard PCE fan like myself. When I was a kid, I was one of the only kids who had a TurboGrafx 16 and it always bothered me why NEC didn't do more to show people how awesome the console really was!! So this video hits close to my heart and what could have been. 🤩👍❤️👍❤️👍
Before releasing Fighting Street, def gotta ask Capcom to go back and fix a bunch of things.
It's already an accurate port, so what was there to fix before its release in the US in 1989?
@@Tempora158 The difficulty in pulling off special moves.
@Marc_Araujo You are applying 2024 standards and expectations to a game that was designed in 1986.
No one knew the moves were unnecessarily difficult to do in Fighting Street because every fighting game before it had even worse controls. There is no fixing its bad controls short of the porting staff time traveling to the future year of 1991, acquire Street Fighter II's joystick polling algorithm that was written for a faster 16-bit CPU, bring it back to 1988, and reimplement it on a slower 8-bit CPU from 1987.
@@Tempora158 Isn't the point of this video to apply hindsight in order to try to "save" the console?
@@Marc_Araujo Everything Sega Lord X mentioned in the video all involved making smarter decisions on things that actually existed at the time. Your "make Fighting Street good" suggestion involves methods and thinking that haven't even come into existence yet. Street Fighter II turned out the way it did because it was built upon the mechanics of Final Fight, and it also didn't exist when the Fighting Street port was being done.
These videos are a lot of fun and I really enjoy watching them! I never got the chance to play one until a few years ago at a friend's house.
I do have one suggestion though - when you give the stats, could you compare them to another console on the market at the time? It would be good for us that aren't as savvy with the tech stats lol.
Where I live in Canada, one of the big problems for the TG16 was RadioShack was the only place that sold it and for an over inflated price compared to the Genesis (that you could buy anywhere) and even later the Super Nintendo! Had it been on NORMAL store shelves (which it was advertised in catalogues, but never seem to have inventory) for a modest price it might have sold better over here on the east coast.
I fondly remember walking past a Radio Shack in a shopping mall during the early 90’s and seeing these things being liquidated.
Make a video on why the snes was labeled for toddlers 🍼👶
Is a radio shack like blockbuster May I ask?
@@gracekim1998its a mix of a small electronics store and electronic parts shop. They were really pushing the Turbo Grafx there and had it on display at every shop as you passed them in the shopping mall. Almost always there was people around it playing the console. They only sold Turbo Grafx and nothing else. Great times!
That where and when I got my tg16, radio shack when it was like $80+ tax .
That would have been a stellar start up for tg16!! I still love this system, and I always love the controllers, they feel great when you use them.
let's do it!
@RGT85 wake up Nintendo boy, we got work to do!
Looking forward to this and I do wish switch would bring this back to the virtual console if it was possible. (Or the Switch online equivalent)
Wasn't expecting to see you branch into other brands.
Would like to see how you would change Nintendo 64 considering its history.
I’m from NY blessed to see and still have every NTSC console and tons of games from 1980-Now
Great decission My friend to talk about turbograft, that was awesome
What an amazing video! And just in time that I've got a pcengine as a gift from a friend from the other side of the planet!
I'm just getting to know the games following your video and pretending that all the things you narrate really happened and I'm just enjoying the games in th order they appear on the video ! Fantastic Job! Thank you once again !
I remember seeing the TurboGrafx 16 in department store catalogs back in the 90s and always wanting to have one. Other than that, I didn't see much advertising for it. This was a great video on how you would have done things differently; would love another one with you talking about how the next system from them would turn out (possible specs, games released, etc)!
they should have focused on Castlevania on Hucard and getting 3rd parties to step up
I completely agree, I love my TurboGrafx 16, first game I bought when I finally added the TurboGrafx 16 too my collection was the Iconic SPLATTER HOUSE
Interesting video, I like these thought experiments. That being said, I don't think your diversification of content would have grabbed me without some rpg attention.
The 1st console that I bought "myself" was the Genesis because Phantasy Star 2/3/4. The 2nd console that I bought was the PS1 because Final Fantasy 7/8/9/Tactics. The 3rd was the PS2 cause Final Fantasy 10 & 12...Guess I'm biased toward really good [mostly turn based] RPG's.
The NEC Turbografx-16 would have needed a killer RPG at that time(s) to compete for me. Either something really good & original, or an assortment of other [not exclusive to NEC] rpg stuff to pad the library.
Dragon Quest 1 & 2, Final Fantasy 1 [+anything else in the series as available] and Ultima IV [or even try for a license of Zelda 2 since it wasn't good anyway but still looks good on a resume for an IP to be included].
I know hindsight is 20/20 but yeah, these are great fun. Thank you! Always look forward to your presentations!
I like any video game console that has great gameplay, big sprites, sound and music that's good.
Dude! What an amazing video! So well done! Bravo 🙌
Legendary Axe would've been a better pack in IMHO. That game was awesome!
I missed the TG16 in its heyday. It wasn’t until about six years or so ago that I got my TG16, and that was the very first time I ever played one. It has quickly become one of my favorite consoles of the generation, with a ton of great games that are obscure, but mostly very good. I love it!
Unfortunately, I don't see how the Turbografx would ever have been truly successful in the North America due to 2 major factors: the lack of true killer-app / next-gen software on the base unit compared to its competitors, and the overall cost of ownership once you factor in the CD add on. Having a significant chunk of the system's library only accessible via the CD add on really hurt any chances of mass adoption in the west compared to the SNES and Genesis, which while the Sega CD was a "nice to have" at the time, it wasn't required to really enjoy the system's overall library.
One thing I would have done differently with the TG-16 is release it as early as possible in North America. I'd have done a "soft launch" in the fall of '88 in the US to get its foot in the door as the first of the "16-Bit" systems, riding the coat tales of the NES's skyrocketing popularity, and start an advertising blitz during the holidays into '89 to get people buzzing about it, and then pushing as much software as readily possible for it in the 2nd half of '89 as the Genesis is getting ready to launch. While I still think it would have ended up a distant 3rd compared to the SNES and Genesis's sales, this likely would have helped give it a longer lifespan and a healthier library here in NA.
I love the US TG-16 design mostly from nostalgia. If I was on your board of directors I would push a compromise of keeping the PC engine shell but using the black and orange color scheme which I think stands out and looks great.
Two controller ports is of course super smart. Nice video as always!
Imho the two times to strike would be early simultaneous with Japan launch to only compete against nes and sms, or release with Bonk which was a better system seller than Altered Beast on Genesis.
Your plans are great, I think this would have made this system MUCH more successful. I remember seeing the initial launch at Montgomery Wards in Texas and then going to the PX and BX in 90/91 in Germany and seeing the CD player and Final Zone II and Psychosis and wanting a TG-16, so bad. I didn’t get one until Christmas 93. But, my parents were able to get my brother and I the last Two Turbo Expresses at our local Toys R Us before they stopped carrying it. We mostly played on those until I got a duo in 94.
I love the TurboGrafx, I bought a new old stock one here in the UK and I am still blown away by the games on it. Definitely an underrated console and a missed opportunity outside of Japan.
Excellent video as usual. This actually made me a bit sad and long for what might have been on the TG-16.
"The Genesis has more buttons. A more powerful console should have more buttons" was what I remember thinking about the TG-16. That is what wrote it off in my young mind. (I realize that they both technically have the same number of buttons. I didn't say I was smart.)
In all seriousness, though, I think the only thing that would have saved the TG-16 in North America would have been if it launched a year earlier without the nonsense back-and-forth about the the redesign and marketing. And that would have required NEC having marketing sense, which they never did (even in Japan, I would add).
TG16 would have been a historic contender with these insightful changes. Great video
What a great, well thought out video. Thanks, SLX.
I had one of these as a kid, system, turbo booster, turbo tap, like 4 controllers and a decent amount of games. I only knew what this was cause my best friend's older brother borrowed one from his friend with bonk's adventure and I fell in love with it. Over the next year the owner of the local video rental place just randomly had one for sell and my mom got it for me for christmas. But that I think is why it failed....I lived in a small town, I was young and lived out in the sticks, we didnt have cable tv or internet at that time. Didnt go into town much so I was lucky if I got a video game magazine monthly. Just know one knew about them. Hell it wasnt until highschool I found another person that owned one which me and him made great friends cause we had someone to talk tg16 with finally lol. There was only one place locally that sold tg16 games and it was a goodyear tire shop, they had that little kiosk you could flip through and the game still had to be ordered.
Nice video. I think packing in Bonk's adventure and trying to get SNK games on the TG-16 would have shifted more eyeballs in their directions.
They should have hired you to do this, X knows his stuff and sounds good doing this!
I understand not wanting to change the hardware and I agree but there is one thing you can do and that is to move some of the chips from the CD unit to the base console. This would allow you to off-load some of the cost of the add-on onto the base console and make the add-on more affordable. If I had to pick a part of the CD unit hardware to move over it would be the memory, as that is used for saving games and there where card games that could use this memory for saving too. So you would be giving the base unit something that is still useful, while making the CD unit cheaper.
I bought my pc engine from the virgin megastore in London around 1988. They were selling scart modded imported ones along with a ton of Japanese games. From memory the console was £225 and the games about £30 each. The pack in game was a japanese language only action rpg that I never managed to get very far in due to the walls of text. Spent hours playing bloody wolf, the game I bought along with the console.
I fully agree that the console needed 2 controller ports as standard, that was one of the only downsides of the machine.
It was an aesthetically beautiful machine, still one of my fav console designs.
An amazing "What if..." video. I've gone through most of what you've presented here in my mind plenty of times over the years, wondering "What if NEC and the TG16 won the console wars back then?" Would they still be around today serving us up with the "TG-X", while having millions love Bonk as we do Mario today? Bravo sir.
As an old man, I was fully there! TG16 & Genesis came out when I was in college. I got the TG16 first, then couldn't stand it and went back and bought the Genesis a week later lol. I can't tell you how blown away we were in my frat house with the TG16 especially with Blazing Lazers.. and even Keith Courage gave us that next-gen feel. I accumulated about 40 TG16 games and some imports before I lost interest in the console.
Few things:
1) Software was indeed key. As a consumer, the TG16 had a "slow decline" where it started out so awesome.. but then games just started coming out slower and seemingly less quality. After only 2 years (right before the SNES came out) I was really looking for any new releases on the system and the stuff I ended up getting here in the US were things like Bravoman or Psychosis which were underwhelming at best. It's such a shame so many good games never made it overseas here. Anyway result was for me, once the SNES came out.. I barely looked at my TG16 anymore as the games already seemed dated and flat.
2) The CD add-on was just too expensive and seemed sudden/forced. I balked at the price and the lack of software for it. I liked Ys.. but I had already played a bunch on SMS. Eventually when barely any games came out for it here, not buying it seemed like the smart choice. I wonder if Rondo came out here whether I would have more strongly considered it.. but, it did not.
3) I was so excited about Street Fighter 2.. since I was lucky to go to Japan often back then I bought it excitedly along with a 6 button pad. Only to find when I got back home.. that the controller wouldn't fit in the TG16 lol! There wasn't much info about this kind of stuff back then.. anyway since it turns out playing SF2 with 2 buttons sucked. I never played the game much at all.. and that controller went into storage where I finally broke it out only recently after decades of storage once I got a Duo off ebay ;p
Keith Courage was always a weird choice for a pack-in game since it was a localized version of a game based on a anime that never came out in the West.
I love this series. And content!🎉 thanks SLX
That was a fun video! The TurboGraphx was really underrated.
I was born in 1988 and my earliest memories of gaming harken back to 1992, so I had no idea the TG-16 even existed until years later -- just like the venerable Master System. Looking back at it, it was a pretty cool little device that I wish had done better out here.
The TG 16 (PC Engine) was an awesome system that was definitely the Dreamcast of its generation that deserved better and was a victim of poor management and marketing.
I was the guy with the Tg 16 growing up.
me too.
I also was the only kid who had a TurboGrafx 16...
We should start a club? 😅
We had a TG-16 2.5 years before getting a Genesis. The longest 2.5 years of my life lol. No one else had one until this kid moved to our school in 6th grade and he had one. It was a shock. We ended up trading games and I played some awesome ones I had somehow missed like Splatterhouse and Bloody Wolf. Still got a Genesis a few months later tho lol.
Ah, yes. I theorize that innthis alternate timeline, we would be watching "NEC Lord X", and he'd be talking about how he would have saved SEGA's consoles back in the 90s whilst NEC was encouraged to keep making consoles. What a timeline THAT would be! XD
Rebranding of the sports titles is good but not worth much without better sports games. More localizations of the best JP games is of course a good move, as is changing the pack-in game. But a lot of this would do little to improve its commercial performance.
They needed to replace their PR department and made sure that their games were readily available in important stores, first and foremost (and not ignoring Europe would've been nice!).
Various games that could've made a difference and weren't "taken" by the competition:
1989: Final Fight, a proper Batman NES port instead of the maze game, STUN Runner, Chip's Challenge, Mr. Ghost/Yuureikun MSX, Golvellius remaster or a sequel, Aleste 2 MSX or Space Manbow MSX, Military Madness/Nectaris with a good anime or cartoon license attached to it, Willow ARC, an earlier Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari/River City Ransom port/remaster, a Project Firestart C64 remake?, Toki, North & South?
1990: Aliens ARC, Metal Gear 2, Blood Bros. or NAM-1975, Crystalis, Out Zone, Mercs 2- or 3-player, Loom (CD), Blue's Journey, a good Turrican port, Gargoyle's Quest, Wings AMI, Smash TV, Little Nemo or Nemo ARC, Gremlins 2, any Mega Man game, Cyber-Lip?, R-Type 2?
1991: Turrican II (so-so MD port), Xexex, Moonstone, Rogha Armor Force/Wolf Fang (no early ports), Scorched Earth/Scorched Tanks, Vroom, D/Generation, The Simpsons ARC, Space Quest IV (possibly a VGA-style remake of 3 too), Battle Isle, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts with a more reasonable Easy mode, Sunset Riders? - it needs *some* alternative to Contra, Quest for Glory VGA, Metal Storm, Final Fantasy Adventure/Seiken Densetsu
1992: Mortal Kombat is pretty much a must, Ultima VII (no accurate ports at the time), The Incredible Machine, Star Control II, Asterix ARC, Indiana Jones and the Fate Of Atlantis, Soul Blazer, King's Quest VI, Truxton II, X-Men ARC, Lionheart AMI, Agony, Sensible Soccer, Apidya, Pocky & Rocky, R.C. Pro-Am II, Flashback, Gargoyle's Quest II, Last Resort or Boogie Wings, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Oregon Trail Deluxe,