Pat & Ian video on TurboGrafx-16 Failure - What Could Have Saved It?

[technozombie]

It's true, if they had've released SF2 in the US, it would've been huge for the system. Fighting Street was an embarrassment when trying to sell the TG to friends. A Bonk pack in, definitely. Bad cover art, yup. It was definitely a time when these things mattered. However, like the 2nd weezer album, I'm almost glad that it remained underground. Made the system that much more important.

The most important thing they could have done was release the TG16 much quicker in the U.S. and allowed them to build a user base before the Genesis released. Even a 6 month window of being top dog would have made a difference.

[DarkKobold]

That's weird. We were just talking about this in another thread.

Btw, it still baffles me that the majority of people seem to think of this show as "video". Just so you know, it's also an audio-only podcast and seriously there's no way I could actually watch one of these all the way through. No wonder these guys are so hated. Stop torturing yourself!

It's funny that you say that because Ian seems to think you're his buddy. Check out this video he says it very near the beginning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJtkplmJtE8&feature=youtu.be

OMG, that is hilarious. The fact that retarded Sherlock and Ian are friends is comedic gold. They are made for each other.

[Arkhan]

Hey look, it's two dudes that don't know nearly as much as they think, talking about something they don't realize they're clueless about.

TL;DR: Hey look , a retro gaming podcast/video!



Seriously, saving the TG16 in USA would have been really easy.


1) f*ck the cardboard boxes.  Waste of money.
2) Don't touch any of the cover art.  Another waste of money.
3) Localize all the arcade games that have BASICALLY NO TEXT TO LOCALIZE.
4) pack-in that people can actually relate to.  Legendary Axe, for example, would've been a good idea.

Or, take it to the next level and pack in say, Vigilante and Altered Beast, as they were both popular arcade games at the time.


The simple fact that they failed to localize alot of really good action/arcade stuff is part of the reason it failed.   

[seieienbu]

Say what you will about Johnny Turbo, there were some pretty compelling commercials early on...

The only problem I have with them would likely be the number of them and possibly the areas coverage.  I recall seeing most of the ones I've viewed on youtube while I was a kid but I'm sure it didn't have the same number of commercials as Nintendo stuff had at around the same time.

Beyond that, coming out a year or so earlier does sound like it would have helped a lot.  Beating the Genesis to market by a substantial amount of time would likely have helped immensely.  As powerful as the TG16 was compared to the NES it could have started its own sort of ad campaign similar to the Nintendon't commercials that Sega was running and perhaps done much better overall.

Hilariously, by the time they started this sort of advertising it was 1992 and the SNES was already in stores.  Comparing New Adventure Island to NES Adventure Island hardly seems a winning move when Zelda 3 is out...

[poponon]

I was too young at the time to have an idea of what the video game market was like, but from what I read it seems like Street fighter 2 would have been a big deal. and I think it's common sense that they should have changed the pack in. My vote would have gone for legendary axe as the pack in.

As for pat and ian , I do enjoy their podcast quite a bit. Ian has good taste imo and is decently knowledgeable. Pat has a lot of passion and is a go getter  with the hobby.

[Necromancer]

It's true, if they had've released SF2 in the US, it would've been huge for the system.

Huge for the handful of people that owned the system already, perhaps, but it wouldn't have saved the system.  Even if it was released on the same day as the PCE version (6/12/93), it was far too late to make much difference to a firmly niche system with waning retail support.

Fighting Street was an embarrassment when trying to sell the TG to friends.

Maybe three+ years after it came out and everyone was playing Street Fighter 2, but it was a solid arcade port that nobody else had when it was new.

A Bonk pack in, definitely.

They did do that for a while.  Pat and Ian touched on it a bit when they said there was a Blazing Lazers pack-in version with a sticker stuck on the box;  I don't remember a Blazing Lazers version, probably because it never happened, but they definitely did do one for Bonk.

[DragonmasterDan]

Huge for the handful of people that owned the system already, perhaps, but it wouldn't have saved the system.  Even if it was released on the same day as the PCE version (6/12/93), it was far too late to make much difference to a firmly niche system with waning retail support.

The handful of people who owned the system and only Turbo, and wanted to shell out for six button controllers to get it a few months earlier than the SNES version of Turbo Champion Edition or Genesis version Special Champion Edition (which also required buying new controllers). By that time it was far too late and the SNES version of regular Street Fighter II had been out nearly a year.

It would be a killer app exclusive... if it was the first version released on a domestic home console. But the first version of champion edition would have been a stretch.

 

They did do that for a while.  Pat and Ian touched on it a bit when they said there was a Blazing Lazers pack-in version with a sticker stuck on the box;  I don't remember a Blazing Lazers version, probably because it never happened, but they definitely did do one for Bonk.

Yep, no Blazing Lazers sticker version that I remember. But those UK PAL units definitely came with Blazing Lazers.

[Otaking]

Regards Street Fighter II being released in the US it couldn't have come earlier than 1993 and that probably was too late to save the US system.
But people seem to forget and I remember clearly is that with the release of SF II on the PC Engine it meant you could play the full version of SF II on a handheld on the GT/LT!!!!! in mid 1993 this was absolutely huge, I can't get this strongly enough across, in this day and age it's hard to get your head around why that would be such a big deal, but it was.
I remember in 93 (in the UK) I'd just left school and started college and I brought in my GT with SFII and nobody could believe it, it blew everyones minds I showed it to. Take into account most people at the time only knew of the monochrome gameboy.

So if they had of released SF II in the US and I was in charge of marketing I would of massively played up and ran tons of ads saying that the Turbo Express (PCE GT) is the only handheld console in the world that can play the full version of SF II.

Here's a UK video from 93 showing Street Fighter II on a GT to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Skip to 15.04 in the video
.

[DragonmasterDan]

Regards Street Fighter II being released in the US it couldn't have come earlier than 1993 and that probably was too late to save the US system.
But people seem to forget and I remember clearly is that with the release of SF II on the PC Engine it meant you could play the full version of SF II on a handheld on the GT/LT!!!!!

Yeah, but with two buttons

[HuMan]

Somehow I don't believe every little kid back then honestly used all 6 buttons to their fullest. The teens probably, but PCE SFII on a handheld would still have been a huge deal.

I feel at this point I'm the only person on most forums that never watches anything from the gaming section of YouTube. These people have time and time again proven they only cause prices to inflate, something we don't need more of these days.

[NightWolve]

Btw, it still baffles me that the majority of people seem to think of this show as "video". Just so you know, it's also an audio-only podcast and seriously there's no way I could actually watch one of these all the way through. No wonder these guys are so hated. Stop torturing yourself!

Besides the thread title, you're also referring to my last post here in part ?? This "baffles" you ? If so, you read a bit much into a general use of "Youtube video." It was a video of theirs that I ran into via my SmartTV, that's all and I'm well aware it's a "televised" podcast show essentially.

The reason you want to produce a video for upload to Youtube is for maximum platform/device reach. Damn near everything has a Youtube app, even the crappiest 1st generation BluRay players have one that run on a doggedly slow Java-based Operating System before the Linux variants took hold (Android, WebOS, etc.). Web browser apps became common later, and are still harder to use than a Youtube app (unless you have a touchscreen phone that can work with your TV/device/etc), so getting to simple MP3 podcast links for audio-only is harder.

It's not hard to avoid "torturing" yourself when the ~dozen videos I've seen of theirs are 5-10 minutes in length. The subject just has to be interesting enough to hang on for that long and it was for say the hilarious RetroVGS debacle. My maximum has been say ~30 minutes for a Game Sack episode or say AVGN on rare occasion. I can go longer on other subject matter, but rarely. It's gotta be REALLY entertaining or interesting to stick with it.

It's funny that you say that because Ian seems to think you're his buddy. Check out this video he says it very near the beginning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJtkplmJtE8&feature=youtu.be

OMG, that is hilarious. The fact that retarded Sherlock and Ian are friends is comedic gold. They are made for each other.

Well, it appears that poor Ian may have misread their "buddy" status if Zeta is dissing both him and Pat as torturous to watch/listen to and validating why they're hated... Heh-heh. I know the feelin' on that one...

[jtucci31]

Unlike likeable youtubers such as Bithead1000, Spida1a, Happy Console Gamer etc. I don't particularly like Pat or Ian, they come accross as dicks TBH.

They really, absolutely do come off as dicks. They have no real chemistry together, Ian is always super defensive, as demonstrated in this clip. (starts at 3m30s if the time jump doesn't work)

That's such a good point. Pat seems to act like he never progressed past the age of a nine year old, and Ian rarely acts like he even enjoys being there let alone talking to him. Always just seems like Pat is really prying all he can get out of Ian in order to make a podcast be half of what his amazing Youtube channel is.

[MotherGunner]

this brings me back memories.

I vividly recall when the Turbo and the Genesis first came. the Turbo was everywhere, Sears had it, and a bunch of electronics stores (which are all gone now) had it.

Don't forget the little known "Turbo Zone" island store(s).  Before it ever became "Turbo Zone Direct."

I grew up around the one in Daly City, CA.  Serramonte Mall!

[NightWolve]

As for pat and ian , I do enjoy their podcast quite a bit. Ian has good taste imo and is decently knowledgeable. Pat has a lot of passion and is a go getter  with the hobby.

Yeah, for the ~dozen videos of theirs that I've watched, I also enjoyed their commentary (e.g. #RetroVGS, turbokon/jodi/steve's fake/bootleg HuCards, and a few PC Engine/TG-16 related ones). Perhaps I haven't seen enough to judge them as dicks as others are doing, but it's all about taste in the end. // Err, no pun intended there, heh.

[SignOfZeta]

That's weird. We were just talking about this in another thread.

Btw, it still baffles me that the majority of people seem to think of this show as "video". Just so you know, it's also an audio-only podcast and seriously there's no way I could actually watch one of these all the way through. No wonder these guys are so hated. Stop torturing yourself!

It's funny that you say that because Ian seems to think you're his buddy. Check out this video he says it very near the beginning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJtkplmJtE8&feature=youtu.be

You are correct. He is my buddy, we chat via other forums and SMS regularly, sometimes every day. I've known him for a lot longer than this show has been around. He knows I can't stand watching the show, that I prefer the audio version. I've discussed it with him and also on this forum multiple times. It's not a problem. We only occasionally talk about video games.

So excellent detective work. That's a real lid blower you dug up. I'm now forwarding an image of this post to him.