so in all honesty how does the pcengine compare?

[Keranu]

I agree with vestcoat and Joe. AMERICAN POWER! TURBO POWER !!

[Emerald Rocker]

Haha, that Wikipedia article about game generations is a joke.  I guess that's what happens when people try to group by release dates instead of by common sense.

[FM-77]

That's because Wikipedia is crap.  :-"

The moderators on that site are worse than he WWII nazis. Much worse. When they disagree with the facts, they change them to their own opinions. With an attitude.

[GUTS]

That's why you never give an internet nerd even the slightest bit of power, they abuse it to death.

[Keranu]

That's why you never give an internet nerd even the slightest bit of power, they abuse it to death.

Not me!  I just abuse the delete key on accident!

[Joe Redifer]

That's because Wikipedia is crap.  :-"

The moderators on that site are worse than he WWII nazis. Much worse. When they disagree with the facts, they change them to their own opinions. With an attitude.

But do they kill millions of Jews?  No, I think not. 

[Black Tiger]

That's because Wikipedia is crap.  :-"

The moderators on that site are worse than he WWII nazis. Much worse. When they disagree with the facts, they change them to their own opinions. With an attitude.

But do they kill millions of Jews?  No, I think not. 

I love how so many people use Nazi/Holocaust references whenever something trivial doesn't go their way. Like waiting in long lines, "it's like the Holocaust!" Or when a new rule is enacted in the workplace, "it's like Nazist Germany!"

I try to use those and other offensive references(like rape) whenever I can in real life to put things in perspective for some people.

That's why you never give an internet nerd even the slightest bit of power, they abuse it to death.

Not me!  I just abuse the delete key on accident!

Keranu = Judge Dredd 

[Keranu]

I'm your worst nightmare.

[Michael Helgeson]

"I am da laaw"

[esteban]

Haha, that Wikipedia article about game generations is a joke.  I guess that's what happens when people try to group by release dates instead of by common sense.

Absolutely in agreement with you.

Anyway, as folks here have noted, we really should be looking at generations. Also, we need to look at the national and transnational histories of consoles.

So, as Joe pointed out (hahahhahaa), PCE / TG-16 can comfortably reside in both the "8-bit" and "16-bit" generations. Here is how I broached the topic at Wikipedia. An anonymous person authored the section that begins with "My follow up"... and I was wondering if everything he / she said was correct?

Tangent: I think the Wiki article can be cleaned up a lot. I encourage folks here to scour the page and fix anything that is amiss.

That includes you, too, Seldane.

[Tatsujin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_consoles

I've been using that as a guide as far as 'generations' go.

Pretty sweet guide.  Check this out:

8-bit era/post-crash of '83 era (1983-1989)

# PC Engine (1987, Japan)

16-bit era (1989-1994)

# TurboGrafx-16 (1989)

Booyah!  We had to wait a couple years, but this proves the TG16 was a whole GENERATION of gaming above the puny PCE.   Looks like it's time for you import diehards to step out of the stone age and stop whining about cover art.  I knew they did something good when the US console was twice the size of it's predecessor.   

muahahahaha.. i was L0Ling loudly, when i spotted this out. what a great investigation chapeau

but may be the best is, and i also didn't know that the x68000 was only an 8-bitter

[kungfukid]

With regard Muse Hunter's original question, I don't really think of the PC Engine in comparison to Megadrive / SNES for some reason... the catalogue of games is totally different because there are a lot of really unique games for it! Most of the Megadrive and SNES games are fairly generic games in the sense that they were never really niche products. I just find it hard to compare the systems to be honest. What I'd say is that the PC Engine has a pretty big selection of great games, and some really good arcade conversions... If you want to compare a game that was out on all 3 systems, say SF2, the Megadrive version is probably the best, followed by the PCE and then the SNES, and the PCE is definitely superior in it's Wonderboy games to the Megadrive versions. If it's graphics you're worried about, you will not be dissapointed.

[Keranu]

If you want to compare a game that was out on all 3 systems, say SF2, the Megadrive version is probably the best, followed by the PCE and then the SNES, and the PCE is definitely superior in it's Wonderboy games to the Megadrive versions.

Hmm, I'm a bit opposite. I think the PCE version of Street Fighter II' (Championchip Edition) is better than the Genesis and SNES versions, however I consider the Wonderboy ports to be a closer call.

[kungfukid]

If you want to compare a game that was out on all 3 systems, say SF2, the Megadrive version is probably the best, followed by the PCE and then the SNES, and the PCE is definitely superior in it's Wonderboy games to the Megadrive versions.

Hmm, I'm a bit opposite. I think the PCE version of Street Fighter II' (Championchip Edition) is better than the Genesis and SNES versions, however I consider the Wonderboy ports to be a closer call.

I can understand that - the SF2 ports are all quite similar - that's just my own opinion. As for wonderboy - I would say the PCE is better, but the SMS is the master of wonderboy games!

[nodtveidt]

One thing that bugs me every time I see it is when people say that the PCE has two 16-bit graphics chips. What's even more irritating than that is when other people say that the 16 is just the addition of two 8-bit graphics chips. Both are incorrect as all hell. First of all, you have to actually know what you're talking about...these people are referring to the PPU, or picture processing unit, a term given to a circuit or collection of circuits responsible for outputting the display. When people talk about two chips in the PCE, they're virtually always saying it in a way that implies that the PCE is putting out two graphics displays...as in two PPUs. But anyone who's done their homework on the PCE's architecture knows that the two graphical workhorses in the PCE work in unison on different aspects of the display...one is responsible for the actual bitmapped data among other things (the VDC: Video Display Controller), and the other is responsible for the color data (the VCE: Video Color Encoder). The combination of these two chips forms the singular PPU inside the PCE...an efficient two-chip circuit collective.

The SuperGrafx though, as we all know, DOES in fact have two video controllers, so saying that IT has two 16-bit graphics chips inside it is technically correct.

As for the meat of the thread though...it really depends on what angle you look at the subject from. Are you a gamer or a developer? If you're a gamer, what kind of games do you like? Your view of the consoles will change depending on your tastes. If you're a developer, what aspect of development do you work with? If you're an artist, the PCE is going to give you an excellent choice of color usage that rivals the SNES only in overall freedom of design (the tradeoff between total palettes and color element range). If you're a programmer, what's your hardware familiarity? Old-school coders will have no problems adapting to the PCE or the SNES, since both are based in the 6502 processor, but the Megadrive used the less familiar 68k. How about a sound coder? You're best off on the SNES if you're doing sound effects, and on the PCE or Megadrive if you're doing music for CDROM-based games...obviously, the SNES' SPC700 sound processor has technical advantages over both its rivals for cart-based music though. As I have developed for all three consoles, I can speak on the development subject with experience behind it.