Was there ever a turbo grafx arcade system?

[alexsduo]

So, I was thinking about it, and maybe one reason NEC failed commercially, was the lack of the arcade turbo grafx games...and I could not think of any.. I mean there was a sega space harrier, and someone I know said there was pac-land, but I have never seen one... I doubt there was any bonk in the arcades, maybe there were a few others? Was the Pac-land game a US TG that was just wired into the cabinet?  Anyone care to join in?

 Sega had a bunch of games that they developed or produced, and they had a decent presence.  I think nintendo had less of a presence, but still had the playchoice-10, and the tabletop play choice, the neo geo started in the arcade with the mvs, and the snes, I don't think had a arcade version.... playstation had some like the point blank series, ps2 with silent scope, and probably a bunch more that I can't remember...



 

[SignOfZeta]

Well, first of all...the PC Engine was, in many ways, a very successful system. It certainly kicked the Megadrive's ass, and support for the PC Engine outlasted every system that was for sale at its introduction, as well as a few younger than it.

Anyway, while there are a few janky PCE->JAMMA converters, there is no formally supported PCE-based arcade platform. I don't think this had any effect on...anything though. Console based arcade boards were pretty much unheard of before the Neo Geo/MVS and weren't truly successful in promoting both the JAMMA and the console until the System 11/PS, long past the PCE's glory days. The Play Choice 10...was little more than a vending machine.

Also, the PCE couldn't really keep up with the arcade state of the art in arcades for the time, IMO.

[esteban]

You can read this: TurboGrafx-16 Installation Guide and Service Manual for Coin Operation (pdf)


Here is an old thread discussing stuff: Old Thread

[ccovell]

Alexsduo, you're a bit under-informed, and your question is a bit unclear.  I guess you simply mean that with Nintendo and Sega's systems, both companies had arcade hits that they could port to their home systems, but NEC had none.  Well, of course, they didn't; NEC was never an arcade machine company.  That did, indeed, make the American public wary of the TG-16 when it first came out (I remember) because NEC was a virtual nobody.

But don't twist it with other topics: The PCE was a smash hit in Japan, and it was because of an arcade conversion: R-Type.  There were dozens of arcade hits that were ported to the PCE (and Turbo) by various companies, and since there were so many, I don't need to name them.  Pac-Land was a 1984 game by Namco, so obviously it didn't run on 1987 PCE hardware.  There was a Bonk arcade game released in the mid-90s by Kaneko; and at least one arcade original was developed on PCE hardware: Bloody Wolf, which used the PCE's CPU and graphics chip (but a custom sound chip), and was ported in 1990 to the home system.

So yeah, NEC wasn't an arcade company, but then again Nintendo and Sega weren't computer or home electronics companies, either.  Arcade ports were bolstered by 3rd-party companies, as they always were.

[KingDrool]

You guys are right, but - unless I'm completely missing the point - the question/theory he's posing is this:

In the late 80s/early 90s, when arcades were still somewhat relevant in the United States, many gamers learned about new games by popping a quarter in and trying them out.  It was how I learned about Double Dragon, TMNT, Contra, etc.  And when I found out I could play those games at home on an NES (through ports of varying quality), it made me excited about the NES.

Now, again, unless I'm missing his point completely, what he's saying is that in the United States, the Turbo didn't really have that advantage; or, at least, not as much as the other guys.  Sure, they had R-Type here, but beyond that and maybe a small handful of others, there wasn't much else in American arcades that gamers could play on the TurboGrafx-16.

Make sense?

[Necromancer]

So you're saying that the US library was small and weak?  Holy shit, that's genius!  Why didn't anyone else notice that before? 

It's a given that the US library sucked; not just in arcade ports but also in nearly every other category (everything but shmups, really).  The PCE, on the other hand, had many of the same ports found on the MD and SF, and not so coincidentally, it was actually competitive.

[exodus]

Also, nobody seems to have mentioned that there was an arcade version of bonk - B.C. Kid, released by Kaneco.

[alexsduo]

OK, so I didn't realize how much posts are scrutinized here, I thought this was a safe place!

Maybe I was not that clear, but I don't need hating, especially about things I did not say.... I guess the answer to my initial question is kind of.  There were some TG games released in arcades, but not neccesairly by NEC, or on NEC hardware, or they were just third party machines with TG16s inside wired up somehow, or were totally different and emulated whatever TG games , that were released in arcades in the US. 

My main point was that, I thought that the American arcades, back in the day, were a great way to preview games and get people excited, and in turn could and maybe did correlate to sales of hardware and software, based on the enjoyment people received.  This combined with the fact that I thought that NEC, or their licensees may have not gotten this commercial advantage, because of the lack of arcade (whether it be a dedicated TG conversion, or just ports of exclusive TG games).  I did not mention the PC engine, because I have never been to Japan, or played Japanese arcade games, or have any general knowledge of such things...

Esteban:  Thanks so much for that link, I really appreciate it! A really cool find....

jlued686:  Exactly my point, more eloquently .................

SignOfZeta:  If you read my post, I never said PC Engine, just NEC and turbo grafx, and that was what I was talking about, since I did not go to Japan, or get a PC engine until a few months ago... I also did not say the PCE was not unpopular, I was just talking about the commercial failure here in the US..  I guess I thought this was just assumed, when I said NEC, and then the turbo grafx arcade, I thought we were all on the same page, so you must have misunderstood what I said to include PCE. But then you did not mention anything about the TG16, nor is there any mention of the word turbo grafx or tg 16 in your posting, so I dunno...
 
ccovell:  You have insulted my honor.  I read a few posts where people respect you for your knowledge of arcade boards or other info.  That being said, I agree my post was maybe not that clear, but no need for hating... Please feel free to describe how I am under informed.

Once again, I did not mention the PCE, nor did I have any intention of discussing it, hence what I stated earlier.  Also this is posted in the "Pcenginefx.com > NEC TG-16/TE/TurboDuo > TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion >" not the PCE section, where talk of that stuff belongs... I did not see any arcade forum section, so forgive me if there is one...

You have to agree there were MAJOR differences between the PCE and TG, especially how well they sold, what they looked like, where they were released, and substituting one for the other, certainly does not work in this discussion.  You, mention the PCE and then the TG, and go back and forth.

The American public, if we can speak for all of them, may have been weary of a "third" console maker, but NEC was not "a virtual nobody", NEC had been selling electronics and consumer goods for almost 100 years, however they were certainly "unknown" in this specific segment...

And I am not sure I follow your "arcade machine company" vs. "non arcade machine company" discussion.

You stated: "both companies had arcade hits that they could port to their home systems, but NEC had none.  Well, of course, they didn't; NEC was never an arcade machine company"


I am not sure if you actually read my post, because I did not say that NEC was an arcade company, nor did I think I implied it.  In actuality, I mentioned that I thought the lack of arcade presence by NEC, was significant to their commercial failure in the US with the TG specifically.  I also did not say that NEC had "none" [no ports], just that there were few, and probably not the best games, and I did not ever see any...And I thought that Nintendo and Sega had bolstered sales from arcade gamers, trying to replicate the enjoyment that they had in the arcade, by buying the system and game for home use, and while getting a more cost-effective way of playing said games.  Not that they "made" arcade games...

If bonk 3 was released in the arcade with 2 player co-op, that would have sold a system or two...

You then say "I got it twisted" maybe by mixing up the TG and PCE... I also did not mention any PCE hits, as I was never discussing the PCE..

Furthermore, you seem to confirm my thesis statement, abeit on the PCE, instead of the TG16, in which I thought we were talking about....

 "The PCE was a smash hit in Japan, and it was because of an arcade conversion: R-Type." 

So, you are saying that the PCE had become really popular, and the reason was an arcade conversion...  This is the point I was making, that if the turbo grafx had a "smash [arcade] hit" instead of a few games which were released for arcade, which were not that great, and that were not very widespread, they would have at least had a fighting chance!  I think if the best TG games were released in the arcade, things would have been different..

I am sure there were dozens of PCE ports to arcade, but there were not that many for TG, and I spent a good amount of time in arcades, in the chicagoland (read highly populated with many thousands of cabs), area during this time, and I do not think I ever saw/played a TG arcade, and we had a TG, and bought it when it came out...

The pac-land game, in my opinion, seems pretty identical to the TG version.  But, I have not seen a pacland arcade or played it in person, just seen videos, so it could be totally different with way better graphics... Yes, the specs were much better in the TG, but the TG could have handled the 1.5 mhz game without issue.  I never saw bonk, pac-land, bloody wolf in any arcade ever, period, but you are probably going on about the PCE arcade machines, and not the TG system.. As much as I liked Pac-land, I would not call it a "smash hit"... Plus, I do not believe there was a bonk, or PC KID, for release in the US market, i.e. on a Turbo Grafx arcade system...

and lastly you said, "So yeah, NEC wasn't an arcade company, but then again Nintendo and Sega weren't computer or home electronics companies, either.  Arcade ports were bolstered by 3rd-party companies, as they always were"

Yeah, I know they weren't an arcade company, based on the fact I never saw an arcade machine produced by them, I have only heard about them... Nec could have made arcade machines, without being an arcade machine company..  Which, apparently, after reading the link by esteban, there is an argument, that NEC actually made, produced, or just licensed to a third party the turbo grafx arcade conversion cab for the TG... It looks pretty official, and if they did not make it, it looks like they condoned it...

If Nintendo was not a computer or home electronics company, what kind of company were they?  Were they a playing card company?  A taxi Company?  A love hotel company?  A TV network, A food company?  A toy company?  A light gun company, a video game company?  A handheld gaming company?

Same for Sega, what "kind of company" were they?  I am not saying any of these companies were any kind of specific company, I don't know whey you want to pigeonhole these companies into a specific kind of company. 

With licensing and third party publishing and releasing games, it is not critical to think of what company released what game and what "kind of company" they were... NEC could have released any game in their repertoire, or licensed it out, to be released on some kind of arcade hardware to try to sell home consoles.

I don't know whey it matters what "kind of company" they were/are, that seems unimportant, at least compared to this thread...


Peace,

OH btw, I seem to remember some games on Nick Arcade back in the day, in the VIDEO CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ParanoiaDragon]

I do know someone who saw & played the Bonk arcade game out here in the States, but, I really don't think it was very widespread.  I never saw Bloody Wolf nor Ninja Spirit nor Parasol Stars nor Splatterhouse in the arcades.......wish I had though!  Ofcoarse, there was Space Harrier, R-type, Cadash, Fantasy Zone, Ordyne, Pac-Land, Street Fighter, & probably a few others that I saw regularly in the arcades.  So there was deffinitly that arcade draw there for me personally.  I think, in regards to the Genesis, it was more about the sports games personally.  But, NEC, in regards to being a game company, was a total noobie, while Nintendo & Sega each had an 8-bit system under their belt, so, people were probably more comfortable seeing their names in the 16-bit generation, as opposed to NEC.

[alexsduo]

Space Harrier, fantasy zone, fighting street (you mean)?  were not exclusive to TG, so if you already had a way more established system,  master system, or genesis, it would be highly unlikely you would buy a TG just for those, you would have just got them for the console you already enjoyed... Nobody bought a TG for those titles for sure...

[ccovell]

Alex, I didn't mean to insult your honour, maybe just nit-pick at your unfocused original post in this thread.  'Cause with a muddled question the answers you get may be all over the place and so the topic may unravel.  I'm not the type to nit-pick for days and weeks on minutiae, so I'll stop here.

[nectarsis]

Just remember both Nintendo, and Sega were around LONG before arcade/console games...so yes they weren't always "video game companies" (ironically Nintendo was founded as a card company in late 1889) "playing cards"

[Necromancer]

Plus, I do not believe there was a bonk, or PC KID, for release in the US market, i.e. on a Turbo Grafx arcade system...

The arcade version of Bonk was indeed released in the US.  True, it wasn't on TG-16 hardware, but how is that relevant when the scores of arcade ports on the Genny and SNES were also running on dedicated arcade hardware unrelated to the home console?

If Nintendo was not a computer or home electronics company, what kind of company were they?  Were they a playing card company?  A taxi Company?  A love hotel company?  A TV network, A food company?  A toy company?  A light gun company, a video game company?  A handheld gaming company?

Same for Sega, what "kind of company" were they?  I am not saying any of these companies were any kind of specific company, I don't know whey you want to pigeonhole these companies into a specific kind of company. 

Don't be silly; what the companies did forty years prior is entirely irrelevant.  The fact of the matter is that during the life of the Turbo, nearly all of Nintendo and Sega's revenue came from the sale of consoles, peripherals, software, and licensing fees (and arcade goodies for Sega), so labeling them as something other than video game companies is just plain dumb.

With licensing and third party publishing and releasing games, it is not critical to think of what company released what game and what "kind of company" they were... NEC could have released any game in their repertoire, or licensed it out, to be released on some kind of arcade hardware to try to sell home consoles.

I don't see how starting up an entirely new and potentially unprofitable division just to help move consoles would have been a wise business choice.  What sold consoles back in the day was 'perfect' ports of existing arcade games, not the other way around.  Developing games for the lowest common denominator (i.e. - console) and then trying to port it to arcade machines would most likely result in rather lackluster games that paled in comparison to other arcade titles, making the console look weak and actually hurting sales.  How many arcade games originated on the Genny or SNES anyway?  Not many, I wot.

[SignOfZeta]

alexsduo: I can see by your overly sensitive nature and desire to write posts that are way too long to really reply to, that you will fit in very well here at the PCEngineFX forums!

The title of your post was "Was there ever a turbo grafx arcade system". The answer, more or less, is "no", and that was the point of my post. While there was a JAMMA converter, it only ran retail games. There was never anything like the MVS/AES or CPS1/CP Changer, nor was there anything like the Naomi/DC, PS/System11, or Chihiro/Xbox. That was my basic answer, and I'm sticking too it.

The rest of your massive reply seems to confuse the nature by which arcade games are made, the hardware they run on, and the difference between a game that originated in arcades and was ported to a completely different console (Pac Land, Space Harrier), and a game that is the same thing in both the arcade and console versions (King of Fighters). Since I'm an old man who grew up in arcades waiting for console versions of things I guess this stuff seems obvious to me. I assume you are much younger than I am.

As to the related question, NEC f*cked up in so many ways I don't think the arcade angle was even a factor.

[exodus]

alexsduo: I can see by your overly sensitive nature and desire to write posts that are way too long to really reply to, that you will fit in very well here at the PCEngineFX forums!

hey now, give him time to adapt!