TG16 should have had 5 controller ports?

[HuMan]

Years ago I had a TG16, the lack of affordable games and CD hardware was a massive turnoff. At the time I stuck with TG16-centric communities and I often heard many complaints about it, like its needlessly large size, dumb back cover and the single controller port. Some said why not 2 controller ports? That never made sense to me since the system was always designed to use 1 controller port, then you add a multitap to get all 5 controllers.

To that end, I ask the PCEFX community here, should the oversized TG16 have had a multitap built in? If it had the original mini DIN connectors, there could easily be room for 5 controller ports on the front. Sure, it would have been more expensive, but imagine the marketing effort that would have been possible.

[Necromancer]

No.  I don't think the additional manufacturing cost would've translated into greater sales, and the cost of a tap never bothered me anyway.

I'd rather they just made it smaller, hewing as close to the PCE's size as possible while still meeting whatever rf interference shielding requirements.

[Black Tiger]

This has been discussed many times and the best solution would have been for the TurboPad packed in to have a second controller port.

[HuMan]

Huh, never thought of daisy-chaining. Would that have worked? Like on the 3DO?

[esteban]

TG-16 is beautiful.

No need to slim it down (big is beautiful, especially in America).



I'm serious.

I have wide feet and have always been annoyed with the state of *no options*when it comes to footwear.

NEC was thinking of folks like me when they created the *curiously elongated* (read: WIDE) TG-16.

[SignOfZeta]

 The only reason multitaps exist is to generate revenue, usually more than what was made from the system. Therefore building one into the system just doesn't compute. For humans it does, but not for corporations. They're always trying to get that razor theory to work. Nintendo made a conscious decision to move the company towards multiplayer (local) gaming and realized that if you gave them the tap for free (N64) they are more likely to start buying more (high margin) controllers and 3rd parties were more likely to support a tap if everyone had it. Sega built four into the DC, but they laid it on real thick with VMUs and Maraccas and Twin Sticks and whatever.

What's amusing is that you could easily fit a PCE and a tap in the TG-16's dumb shell. If anything, less "should have been done". The TG-16 was the only 16 bit system that was completely redesigned for export. Has anyone managed to explain why? Given it's similarity in design and name to the Super Grafx it seems likely that the TG-16 was designed in Japan...I guess just based on the assumption that we like shit huge? Not inaccurate but also irrelevant, I would argue. Was this just NEC's normal need to design too many things?

[esteban]

Dumb American: You can't have as much ENERGY and RAW POWER as an SMS or Genesis in a PCE-sized console.

I SRSLY believe this was of great concern...tiny box of weakness.

[Otaking]

I think it would of been a very good idea to have five pad ports built in.
Would of given the console a unique angle as THE multiplayer console of the era.

[Black Tiger]

Huh, never thought of daisy-chaining. Would that have worked? Like on the 3DO?

There are already PC Engine controllers that do.

[HuMan]

The TG-16 was the only 16 bit system that was completely redesigned for export. Has anyone managed to explain why? Given it's similarity in design and name to the Super Grafx it seems likely that the TG-16 was designed in Japan...I guess just based on the assumption that we like shit huge? Not inaccurate but also irrelevant, I would argue. Was this just NEC's normal need to design too many things?

Here's why.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/225466/stalled_engine_the_turbografx16_.php?print=1

I didn't know there were PC Engine controllers capable of daisy-chaining.

[Gentlegamer]

The only reason multitaps exist is to generate revenue, usually more than what was made from the system. Therefore building one into the system just doesn't compute. For humans it does, but not for corporations. They're always trying to get that razor theory to work. Nintendo made a conscious decision to move the company towards multiplayer (local) gaming and realized that if you gave them the tap for free (N64) they are more likely to start buying more (high margin) controllers and 3rd parties were more likely to support a tap if everyone had it. Sega built four into the DC, but they laid it on real thick with VMUs and Maraccas and Twin Sticks and whatever.

What's amusing is that you could easily fit a PCE and a tap in the TG-16's dumb shell. If anything, less "should have been done". The TG-16 was the only 16 bit system that was completely redesigned for export. Has anyone managed to explain why? Given it's similarity in design and name to the Super Grafx it seems likely that the TG-16 was designed in Japan...I guess just based on the assumption that we like shit huge? Not inaccurate but also irrelevant, I would argue. Was this just NEC's normal need to design too many things?

And then they the made the Turbo Booster is large as the system itself.

[esteban]

TurboBooster + TG-16 = sexy. Fact.

[HuMan]

It's hard to top the original PC Engine with no add-ons though. It's so tiny!

[SignOfZeta]

The TG-16 was the only 16 bit system that was completely redesigned for export. Has anyone managed to explain why? Given it's similarity in design and name to the Super Grafx it seems likely that the TG-16 was designed in Japan...I guess just based on the assumption that we like shit huge? Not inaccurate but also irrelevant, I would argue. Was this just NEC's normal need to design too many things?

Here's why.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/225466/stalled_engine_the_turbografx16_.php?print=1

I didn't know there were PC Engine controllers capable of daisy-chaining.

Interesting. I hadn't read that article until now. It explains a lot, and with references, which is super uncommon for just about any TG-16 internal info. I guess in the end "NEC tries too hard" may be correct.

To be fair, the NES was even more redesigned and it was a huge hit, so maybe that's where they got the idea from.

[HuMan]

The reason why the TG16 failed is pretty much lined out right in the article. They wasted 2 years over-designing the TG16, they produced far too many units for the launch (750,000) leaving no money for promotion, they poorly chose games to localize, put too much trust in low budget American-developed games and effectively stunted the TurboGrafx CD / Turbo Duo launches due to all those previous errors.