What makes you love the PC Engine so much?

[nodtveidt]

Mostly "other" reasons. I was very impressed by what I used to see in the Sears catalogue, and of course their crazy advertisements on TV. Of course, I'm referring to the TG16, but it's all the same thing really. Nowadays, I still prefer it, but for two additional reasons: #1, it is the most viable platform for retro console development, and #2, it has some of the most unique games ever developed, some in genres, subgenres, or hybrid-genres that have never been topped. And of course, I always loved redbook audio, and it was the real pioneer of CDROM console gaming, even if someone else made a hacky attempt to do it first.

[rag-time4]

I voted for shoot'em ups, redbook audio, and something not mentioned....

In my case, the something not mentioned was the port of Street Fighter / Fighting Street.

I loved the game when it first came out in the Arcades (my local Straw Hat Pizza had one right away, along with Double Dragon  )

When I saw that the TurboGrafx CD system at toys r' us had Street Fighter as one of its available games, I had to get one! I just had to!

Sadly, my parents wouldn't take the punge, so 13 years later I bought one of my own.

I never forgot about seeing Fighting Street in Toys' R us as a kid

[Michael Helgeson]

For me the shooters and all the nice arcade ports.

[vestcoat]

This is a loaded question--the TurboGrafx is a better system.  I wasn't going to pick anything but I went with the Sega ports because Outrun wasn't released in the US.

[Necromancer]

.... it is the most viable platform for retro console development ....

How so, Nöd?  What makes da Engine better for development than the SNES, Genesis, or whatever?  I only develop two things (jack and shit), so I'm not saying that you're wrong - I'm just curious.

[Nintega Turbine Trio-CBS]

I voted for:

1. HuCards (Way better than bulky cartridges)
2. Rarity (or should I say its obscurity Western wise)
3. The shmups

[Tablet]

Hmmm i like it for its shumps and its dinkyness 

[esteban]

I just dig it.

[Turbo D]

I think everyone digs it  I've introduced it to friends who never played it before and they are amazed   

[nodtveidt]

How so, Nöd?  What makes da Engine better for development than the SNES, Genesis, or whatever?  I only develop two things (jack and shit), so I'm not saying that you're wrong - I'm just curious.

Because you have the best chance of being able to have a PCE game produced in a real-world format. I'll break it down by the other consoles I've worked with though.

SNES: Unless you can manufacture cartridges, you're hosed here...stuck with ROMs, and that's just not a very fun thing to be stuck with.
Genesis: See SNES, and tack on lackluster graphics hardware.
Sega CD: At least you can easily produce media for this, but you also have a complicated system to work with, as well as aforementioned lackluster hardware.
Neo Geo: See SNES.
Playstation: Good luck having discs made.

I've never worked with the Neo Geo CD so I don't know how workable it is in this aspect. But if you're serious about having many people play your game, you have to have a way to get those games to others in a viable format, and ROMs just aren't the way to go...and neither is having a bunch of hacks or mod chips in the consoles either, that is NOT the professional way to do it.

[Necromancer]

Gotcha Nöd - it's more being able to distribute the game than it is the programming of the game.

[Kitsunexus]

OK Nödtveidt, you've confused me. According to my very limited knowledge on the subject, I think that the PCE uses ROM chips as well, and that they're most definitely different than the SNES kind, but what makes it so harder exactly? Are PCE ROM chips more plentiful or are they just easier to flash to the chip?

[Keranu]

Nod is referring to Turbo CDs. Not sure how easy it would be to make HuCards these days.

[Turbo D]

It would be easy, but they would be ugly; like that tototek crap 

[nodtveidt]

OK Nödtveidt, you've confused me. According to my very limited knowledge on the subject, I think that the PCE uses ROM chips as well, and that they're most definitely different than the SNES kind, but what makes it so harder exactly? Are PCE ROM chips more plentiful or are they just easier to flash to the chip?

As Keranu stated, I'm referring to CDROMs. Trying to make HuCards would put you in the same drag as making a game for the SNES. Unless you have the manufacturing ability to produce the cartridges, you're stuck with ROM files, which sucks. But that's fine; the CDROM format is superior anyways.