Invasion of the newbies

[Spector]

As for the Flash Cart, take a look at this.

It comes with free shipping so it's not as expensive as you think. And you have to admit, it looks brilliant with that R-Type design.  

OK, did i just miss something?  Why has no one been talking about this flash cart?  you can take roms of any hucard game and play them on a real system???  is this true?

No one talks about it in fear that all the newbs will jump on it, make a big fuss about it, and the end result is the company increases the price because of high demand.

No way, they aren't going to raise the price because someone's mentioned it on a PC Engine forum. Chad Schell's Cuttle Cart for the Atari 2600 had lots of publicity, but they never went up. The more interest the better, as they'll keep making them.

[FM-77]

He meant hu-cards not released in Japan. Not CDs.

Playing an American CD on a Japanese system is possible.

Playing an American hu-card on a Japanese system is not possible. That is why he asked.


Anyway, I agree with that article. Turbo Grafx 16 is the single most ridiculous name I have ever heard. Especially considering it isn't a 16-bit system. Oh, and the system looks like hell, too.

[Spector]

Regarding the Tototek Flash cards mentioned earlier. They are no comparison to this recent release. They were pretty dodgy and unprofessional, coming with no casing, just the PCB. Getting it to work was a nightmare. The tototek forum was full of people struggling to get it going. This new release is a much simpler USB device, and it holds twice as many games too.

[rolins]

As for the Flash Cart, take a look at this.

It comes with free shipping so it's not as expensive as you think. And you have to admit, it looks brilliant with that R-Type design.  

OK, did i just miss something?  Why has no one been talking about this flash cart?  you can take roms of any hucard game and play them on a real system???  is this true?

No one talks about it in fear that all the newbs will jump on it, make a big fuss about it, and the end result is the company increases the price because of high demand.

No way, they aren't going to raise the price because someone's mentioned it on a PC Engine forum. Chad Schell's Cuttle Cart for the Atari 2600 had lots of publicity, but they never went up. The more interest the better, as they'll keep making them.

Spreading the info on this forum might not, but if someone advertised on a  site that gets a lot of traffic, for example Slashdot, it just might.

Regarding the Tototek Flash cards mentioned earlier. They are no comparison to this recent release. They were pretty dodgy and unprofessional, coming with no casing, just the PCB. Getting it to work was a nightmare. The tototek forum was full of people struggling to get it going. This new release is a much simpler USB device, and it holds twice as many games too.

Tototek's pce flash card maybe of a lower grade compared to neoflash, but no way was it unprofessional. When their pce flashcard first came out, it was the best option for playing backup roms and it was better than using the MDG2.

As for the software it used, yes it was a pain but my biggest problem was getting the flash card to be recognized on winxp. After passing that hurdle, I never had problems getting it to work.

[vestcoat]

Anyway, I agree with that article. Turbo Grafx 16 is the single most ridiculous name I have ever heard. Especially considering it isn't a 16-bit system. Oh, and the system looks like hell, too.

Whateva!  
the name, the look of the system and the packaging are all awesome.  It sums up and epitomizes everything that was going on in the late 80's-early 90's.
Words like "Turbo" were being thrown around a lot back then along with a lot of surfer slang.  think of Rad Racer, Komami/Ultra, etc.
And spelling graphics with an X?  well, that was just a stroke of genius on NEC's part.     A marketing strategy Microsoft is coasting on years later.  Who wants to play dorky video games on some sort of "PC"?  Playing a "TurboGrafx" makes it sound like you're into some X-treme new sport.  Hell yeah.
As for the packaging, the guy on the box even looks like Zach from Saved by the Bell, i mean, comon.
And maybe the little white PC engine looked kind of cool (two decades ago), but all the old units i've seen are scuffed up and dirty looking these days, while the good ol' TG16 abides in a cool shade of blackness.

(Yes, i probably do like it more for it's camp value than anything else, but it definitely was a sign on the times.  Edit:  and seriously, how cool do you expect a system to be that came packaged with a game called Keith Courage...jesus christ

[FM-77]

Well, can you explain the "16" then? What does it mean? Were they trying to trick people to believe it was a 16-bit system? Huh? Huuuh?  

[esteban]

Anyway, I agree with that article. Turbo Grafx 16 is the single most ridiculous name I have ever heard. Especially considering it isn't a 16-bit system. Oh, and the system looks like hell, too.

Whateva!  
the name, the look of the system and the packaging are all awesome.  It sums up and epitomizes everything that was going on in the late 80's-early 90's.
Words like "Turbo" were being thrown around a lot back then along with a lot of surfer slang.  think of Rad Racer, Komami/Ultra, etc.
And spelling graphics with an X?  well, that was just a stroke of genius on NEC's part.     A marketing strategy Microsoft is coasting on years later.  Who wants to play dorky video games on some sort of "PC"?  Playing a "TurboGrafx" makes it sound like you're into some X-treme new sport.  Hell yeah.
As for the packaging, the guy on the box even looks like Zach from Saved by the Bell, i mean, comon.
And maybe the little white PC engine looked kind of cool (two decades ago), but all the old units i've seen are scuffed up and dirty looking these days, while the good ol' TG16 abides in a cool shade of blackness.

(Yes, i probably do like it more for it's camp value than anything else, but it definitely was a sign on the times.  Edit:  and seriously, how cool do you expect a system to be that came packaged with a game called Keith Courage...jesus christ

Ditto!!!

[esteban]

Well, can you explain the "16" then? What does it mean? Were they trying to trick people to believe it was a 16-bit system? Huh? Huuuh?  

Seldane, are you teasing us just for fun? First you summarilly diss HuCards (tons of great games), but then you go on to diss the aesthetics of the console and its name?

There is an old thread in which I extolled the T-16 and TG-CD aesthetic. I love both the North Amercian and Japanese designs. Appreciating aesthetics doesn't have to be a mutually exclusive exercise. You can love both for the beauties that they are. I'll have to find the old thread...

As for the name TG-16 -- You can justify the "16" because the graphics processor is 16-bit (indeed, all of NEC's marketing proclaimed "16-bit graphics"), although the core processor is 8-bit. TG-16 is a hybrid machine, really. It isn't truly 8-bit, it isn't truly 16-bit. Where does it belong? Personally, I feel it is closer to the 16-bit era and belongs there, regardless of its technical limitations.

But are we going to waste our time on dredging up all the techno-babble from ancient console wars? If so, I have the biggest offender: Sega's "blast processing" -- now that was pure marketing tripe.

[rolins]

Well, can you explain the "16" then? What does it mean? Were they trying to trick people to believe it was a 16-bit system? Huh? Huuuh?  

Of course! How else would NEC sell a 8-bit console when the video game market was dominated by 16-bit console.

It sure fooled me when the TG16 came out. The CPU maybe 8-bit but who cares. The system can display 16-bit graphics, and they're comparable or better than those produced on the genesis and snes.

I never really liked the design of the TG16 console, but I do agree with Vestcoat. Just the name Turbo Grafx was 10 times better than hearing PC-Engine.

[nodtveidt]

Of course, this was all at a time when all people cared about was "bits"...when it was never a significant factor to begin with.

[vestcoat]

this thread is hilarious

[FM-77]

Seldane, are you teasing us just for fun? First you summarilly diss HuCards (tons of great games), but then you go on to diss the aesthetics of the console and its name?

A little, yes.    But honestly, that whole hu-card thing was mostly because of ignorance. Like I mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm not much of a PCE boy (yet). I don't know much about its games and I got my first system a couple of months ago. Me and a friend used to play hu-cards thru emulation many years ago. That is why I even care about the system -- nostalgia.  

I love the PCE, definitely -- but I've always had a grudge against the American/European equivalent. I just don't like it.  

[Keranu]

Haha, Seldane said some things you shouldn't mention on a TG16 board.

Anyways you all know me, I love the TG16 design, even though it's dorky and I think the name "Turbo Grafx 16" is awesome stuff. Yes I admit the PC Engine looks cooler, but the TG16 has a better name .

HuCards are awesome. If you are more of a classic gamer, you'll especially like them because they focus on more simple gameplay, rather than more complex genres such as RPGs (that's what CD was for). HuCards are cute, work outstanding, and have great score games which only makes better competition with friends .

In a lot of the American TG16 ads, they mention the TG16 having 16 bit "graphic power", not processor. But as all the programmers here will tell you, bits should really never be compared. Though the TG16 technically has a 8-bit processor, it's way faster than the SNES' 16-bit processor and even a little faster than the Genesis/Mega Drive processor because of execution time, as the TG16/PCE programmers say.

Turbo Grafx 16 rulez! (Hah, and I had a Genesis back in the day)

[Spector]

HuCards are awesome. If you are more of a classic gamer, you'll especially like them because they focus on more simple gameplay, rather than more complex genres such as RPGs (that's what CD was for). HuCards are cute, work outstanding, and have great score games which only makes better competition with friends .

In a lot of the American TG16 ads, they mention the TG16 having 16 bit "graphic power", not processor. But as all the programmers here will tell you, bits should really never be compared. Though the TG16 technically has a 8-bit processor, it's way faster than the SNES' 16-bit processor and even a little faster than the Genesis/Mega Drive processor because of execution time, as the TG16/PCE programmers say.

I am more of a classic gamer, so yeah, the HuCards are probably more my thing than Cd-Rom, as RPGs were never really my bag. But I do know now that some good arcade-style games came out on CD-Rom too.

The thing that impressed me most about the PC Engine was the colour and resolution of the graphics. They looked so good in screenshots. Along with the Megadrive/Genesis and SNES, the PC Engine represented to me the pinnacle in pixellated graphics. That's why I want one!

[sunteam_paul]

I have to agree with Seldane about the distaste for the American equivalents - I always thought Turbografx-16 was a pretty horrible name. Even in those days I considered spelling anything with an 'x' or 'z' was pretty cheesy. Japanese all the way.