TURBOBOOSTER = SEXY, GODDAMMIT.

[esteban]

TurboBooster Wallpaper (Desktop / iPhone)

I know some of you folks don't think the TG-16 hardware is gorgeous, but it is.

This is my attempt to spread some love for the much-maligned TurboBooster.

BACK STORY: The impetus for this thread goes back many years. I have been a stalwart defender of the TG-16 aesthetics for a long time, but I have only recently added la caméra to my arsenal of righteous weapons to defeat FEKA. In fact, it was but two weeks after making this post. So, along with many others over the years, I have tatsujin and joe to thank.


Lazy folks can just look at the pictures. The rest of you can read my overly-wordy* polemic.



* Why be terse? Seriously. Why, I ask?

[Joe Redifer]

Awesome!

[Tatsujin]

[Arkhan]

i always thought the tg w. booster looked cool as hell.

i actually used to have the unit turned sideways and slid between the TV and shelf.  people were always like WHATS THAT LITTLE CARD READER YOU PLAY GAMES ON.


TG16: The first console to go vertical.

[Zeon]

This is a little off topic, but I never understood why/how people consider an inanimate object 'sexy'. I mean really, do people have a legitimate desire to screw a car/machine/video game system? Please don't answer that, I really don't want to know... 

Anyways as far as the aesthetics of the tg-16+booster vs oh say a pce/core grafx + tennokoe bank addon (the expansion port one, not the hucard), I've gotta say pce wins. Sorry man, the tg-16's t shaped design, and odd looking cover awkward enough alone (They aren't horrible, but pale in comparison to the pce), the booster and booster + add a whole extra dimension of ugly and being pointlessly huge. The tg-16 + booster just makes me think of a slow, disgusting, and bloated fatass with a tumor growing out of their side, whereas the pce + equivalent add-on makes me think of an agile, fit, and trim athletic type person that would run circles around said fatass. If the two got in a fight, the pce would win, no contest. One good punch to the gut, and the fatass tg-16 with booster would crumple into a heap on the ground, gasping for air.

I just don't see how anyone could choose the tg-16 with booster over the pce with tennokoe bank, unless they were just being rebellious, or trying to stir up some drama . I'm not saying the tg-16 is butt ugly looking (really by itself it's not bad at all, plenty of truly fugly systems out there), but man take an equivalent of the pce and look at em side by side, there's not really a comparison.

Btw nuts, awesome pic. It pretty much sums up the situation perfectly .

[SignOfZeta]

I love the shear mid-1960s Buick-esque hugeness of this shit. I mean, the PCE AV Booster is considerably larger than it has to be (the guts are relatively sparse compared to what you see inside the PCE) yet the PCE and the AV Booster combined are smaller than the Turbo Booster. Its f*cking hilarious.

Why just take up space when you can take up five times more space?

[TurbografxKid]

 
Hey, loved those pictures. They are great. But honestly I really can't compare the Turbo Grafx 16 to the PC Engine. That's family. What I have to compare  it to is the other systems that were competition at the time. To me, in the US, the complete design of the Turbo Grafx 16 system would win out over SNES and the Sega Genesis. And I always wanted the Turbo Booster, but never found it available anywhere. Awesome pics! 

[esteban]

tats: the sad truth is that, if we wanted to keep the proportions realistic, the flounder's top fin should be at least 35% larger! The flounder's TurboPad tail, though, is the highlight for me. Hilarious. I meant to tell you that before.


Joe: Hell yeah! You've been representing the TG-16 + TG-CD (in particular) for years now. KEEP THE FAITH. DON'T LET THE NAYSAYERS DRAG YOU DOWN. I'm gonna pull out my TG-CD and dust it off one of these days. I used to use it all the time.

zeon: I enjoyed reading your response. Your sentiments are shared by most people, and I hope to open your heart to at least consider the beauty of all TG-16 hardware. I concede that the TurboBooster makes this quite a challenge!

I love the shear mid-1960s Buick-esque hugeness of this shit. ...

Why just take up space when you can take up five times more space?

Precisely!

To me, in the US, the complete design of the Turbo Grafx 16 system would win out over SNES and the Sega Genesis.

Finally, someone who gets it. 

This is a little off topic, but I never understood why/how people consider an inanimate object 'sexy'. I mean really, do people have a legitimate desire to screw a car/machine/video game system?

I'm glad you brought this up, because I actually agree with you. It is kinda weird. That's why I officially declared that the TurboBooster (and TG-16) were svelte.

Anyways as far as the aesthetics of the tg-16+booster vs oh say a pce/core grafx + tennokoe bank addon (the expansion port one, not the hucard), I've gotta say pce wins.

Indeed, I totally understand. Hence the opening lines: "I do not deny the appeal of the Japanese PC-Engine console. It is gorgeous. Few would disagree." And, from the home page:

The Japanese PC-Engine was undeniably sexier than the TG-16... but did that necessarily mean that the North American console was an old crone?

The answer, of course, was a deafening, "NO!"

And here lies the heart of my polemic: we shouldn't look at the comparison as an "either/or" (mutually exclusive) proposition. The Japanese hardware is gorgeous.

But that does not mean that the North American hardware doesn't have a charm (sex appeal!) of its own?

In fact, I then take this argument to the NEXT LEVEL (as Genesis fans would appreciate) and boldly claim that the TG-16 is aesthetically superior to nearly all of its contemporaries (including the beloved SMS, NES, Genesis, SNES, etc.).

This is the outlandish claim that will raise the ire of some folks across various forums. But I'm going to stand by it.

Sorry man, the tg-16's t shaped design, and odd looking cover awkward enough alone ... The tg-16 + booster just makes me think of a slow, disgusting, and bloated fatass with a tumor growing out of their side...

My mission in life is to open your eyes to the beauty that lies in this "bloated fatass with a tumor."

[Arkhan]

the TG+CD takes up less space than a sega CD + TumorCD add on and still looks cooler

i always thought it looked sharper with its flatblack coloring, and hucard slot.  Everything else had everything sticking out of it.

[blueraven]

...sega CD + TumorCD add on and still looks cooler

 

[Grandmaster]

Some of you may wonder what inspires a healthy man to take pictures—on a gorgeous autumn day—of his 20 year-old video game console.

A few of my neighboors stole glances as I, clad in boxers and t-shirt only, tenderly snapped photos. Soon, I was lying flat on my stomach, experimenting with different angles and compositions. Dedicated to my craft and with full allegiance to my mission, I slithered on the deck, my body intimate with the composite wood planks.

 

well i can't say its ugly, but it does have its own unique appeal. the hucards make it a very distinct system which i think has a positive effect on the overall aesthetic property. i dont think i will understand why they re-designed it to be so big though. the whole idea of taking up more space because we can argument doesnt really make sense to me. i like the sega cdx and the model 2 snes. both were compact and maintained the original functions.

[Joe Redifer]

TG16: The first console to go vertical.

And it didn't even risk damaging the system like it does for the PS2, Xbox360, PS3 and Sega CD model 2.

[Arkhan]

thats because its AWESOME.




too bad you cant go vertical with the CD attached.   Though once you latch that motherbitch onto the TG16 its probably just as tall either way.

[Sparky]

Ya i love the booster on me tg16... its like it got a saweet breast implant and it sure gets noticed to me  f*cking sexy i think. 
size does matter 

[ceti alpha]

I'm not a huge fan of the design of the TG, but with the TG-CD it's pretty darn sexy. I also agree that the TGs contemporaries don't measure up to the TG, even without the CD unit.

Anyway, good to see esteban givin' some deserved shout outs to the TG.