Sega Master System games: Did it hurt the Turbo?

[turbogrfxfan]

ha ha ha ah

[nat]

In my area, nobody had heard of a Sega Master System but just about everyone knew what the TurboGrafx-16 was. f*ck, I didn't even learn what a SMS was until the waning days of the 16-bit era.

Those who owned TG-16s were actually viewed as "cool" by their peers, with "cool" parents that ignored the trends of the time and bought Turbos instead of a Genesis or NES. That was me, and a handful of others. Kids all around the neighborhood wanted to come over and play TG-16 games; a welcome break from the NES and Genesis monotony they were forced to endure at home. I remember many a hot, sticky summer afternoon with neighborhood kids gathered around my TV taking turns at "Air Zonk" while I sat and played Catacomb Abyss 3D on the computer.

So to answer the initial question.... no.

[turbogrfxfan]

Here in beautiful central New Jersey everyone had either a sms or nintendo but more had a nes.  I wanted a sms but my brother talked me out with mario, and kid icarus. During christmas of 89 i is when I got my turbo.  It was hard to choose over the genny but I think I went with the better choice.  never did anyone compare the sms to the turbob.  It was all about the 16 bit war against the genny. snes wasnt even a factor imo cause it wasnt even out yet.  When I saw r-type for the turbo, I was excited to get it cause I always wanted it and the sms.

[Arkhan]

My cousin mike had a SMS.  I loved it.  The first time I played it was post sega genesis days.

My aunt and uncle had a turbo.  they're awesome. they're the cool kind of relatives. Tattoos, motorcycles, concerts, TURBO GRAFXXXXXXXXXXXXX!



I had every system growing up.  I just wanted to play tons of games and didn't give a rats ass about trends or advertising.  I was like 4!

I may sound spoiled, but the reality of it is my grandma worked at sears and got discounts and access to stuff that sold out fast....and me and my sister who shared the game systems are her only grandkids, so she hooked us up good.

and then all my aunts/uncles were teens/early 20s at the time so they'd give me stuff when they got bored with it.   hand me down NES's and Square RPGs, f*ck yeah!

[Mishran]

Hey all, new member. Love the TG16 and been occasionally checking out these forums for a couple years now, but been doing it more frequent recently so I decided to join up.

On topic, I just can't believe how pathetically passionate people can be when it comes to game systems. When I was younger I saw many friendships break because of people buying that "other system". One person stops talking to another because he got the SMS instead of the NES. This person beats up that person for buying a TG16 instead of the Genesis. I too was lucky enough to have cool family and had most every console growing up. I was sort of an outcast in school though since everyone considered me a traitor to their cause. But now I'm older and only past gen system I still own is my trusty turbo collection.

BTW, where is the best place to post gaming questions about specific games here? Getting stuck on a certain level, trouble beating a boss character, etc.

[termis]

On topic, I just can't believe how pathetically passionate people can be when it comes to game systems. When I was younger I saw many friendships break because of people buying that "other system". One person stops talking to another because he got the SMS instead of the NES. This person beats up that person for buying a TG16 instead of the Genesis.

Man, that's some serious folks you hung around.  Even as a typical NES kid back in the days, I remember being fond of the few SMS owners I knew after realizing some of my favorite games had better looking ports on the SMS (i.e. Double Dragon, After Burner), and seeing Phantasy Star was mindblowing back in 1988.  I eventually "got" the SMS by getting the power base converter (still have it ).

Anyway, welcome aboard.

And back to original topic, nah, I can't see how SMS had any effect, either positive or negative on the Turbo, but I didn't get the TG until its waning years (92... or so IIRC).

[DragonmasterDan]

Man, that's some serious folks you hung around.  Even as a typical NES kid back in the days, I remember being fond of the few SMS owners I knew after realizing some of my favorite games had better looking ports on the SMS (i.e. Double Dragon, After Burner), and seeing Phantasy Star was mindblowing back in 1988.  I eventually "got" the SMS by getting the power base converter (still have it ).

Anyway, welcome aboard.

And back to original topic, nah, I can't see how SMS had any effect, either positive or negative on the Turbo, but I didn't get the TG until its waning years (92... or so IIRC).

I knew a total of two people growing up who had an SMS. One was fairly wealthy and also had a NES. The other was quite the reverse and was dirt poor and had the SMS 2 which was 50.00 (the price of a first party NES cart) in 1990.

Added in edit: Seeing the SMS was a novelty, practically no one owned them. I'd see them in stores a bit, and I remember the commercials but actually being able to play one was rare. The Atari 7800 was even less common, I remember the "More Games at about half the price" commercials vividly, and I remember seeing the system for sale at Service Merchandise and a few other stores. But I knew no one who owned the 7800.

I knew a lot of people who had TGs, but that's partly because I grew up within a nearly single digit mile radius from NEC USA headquarters who apparently did a much more thorough job of marketing the system in my area.

[turbogrfxfan]

I dunno why people keep comparing the turbo to the sms???  Maybe the east coast was different but back in the day it was either the nes or sms..    the turbob wasnt even a factor..  for me at the time.  nintendo didnt have its snes out so it was the genny and turbo in compitetion with each otheras the next generation.  imo the sms lost to nintendo and it was a decision on buying the turbo or genny.  It makes no sense for someone to think of buying a sms when the genny was in compiption w/ the turbo.  Was anyone alive when this all went down?

[DragonmasterDan]

I dunno why people keep comparing the turbo to the sms???  Maybe the east coast was different but back in the day it was either the nes or sms..    the turbob wasnt even a factor..  for me at the time.  nintendo didnt have its snes out so it was the genny and turbo in compitetion with each otheras the next generation.  imo the sms lost to nintendo and it was a decision on buying the turbo or genny.  It makes no sense for someone to think of buying a sms when the genny was in compiption w/ the turbo.  Was anyone alive when this all went down?

The SMS comparisons are due to a fair number of games shared in their library, Ys, R-Type, Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone.

The Turbo I always think of as competing with the Gen and not the SMS.

By 1989 when the Turbo came out the SMS was relegated to niche status in the US as Sega's second tier system to the Genesis.

[vestcoat]

I dunno why people keep comparing the turbo to the sms???  Maybe the east coast was different but back in the day it was either the nes or sms..    the turbob wasnt even a factor..  for me at the time.  nintendo didnt have its snes out so it was the genny and turbo in compitetion with each otheras the next generation.  imo the sms lost to nintendo and it was a decision on buying the turbo or genny.  It makes no sense for someone to think of buying a sms when the genny was in compiption w/ the turbo.

Besides the games we've talked about, the TG16 and SMS have a surprising amount in common that makes them worthy of comparison.  Unlike their competitors, they're both unusual in that they don't fit neatly into the categories of "console generations" that has been widely adopted in recent years.  Wikipedia and Gamefaqs might list them as forth- and third-generation consoles respectfully, but things aren't black and white and they co-existed for most of the same years.  The Mark III came out in '85 and the PCE followed two years later in '87, a year before the Mega Drive.  North American stores started cleaning out their SMS carts in '92 and the Turbo stock hit the bargain bins only a year later in '93.  The PCE was fairly well supported in Japan through 95, the SMS in Brazil through '97.  CD-ROM upgrades aside, it could also be argued that the capabilities of their hardware are a little closer than other "8-bit" and "16-bit" systems:  the SMS was technically superior to other third-generation systems while the TG16 was unique in the forth generation in that it had an 8-bit core processor.  The SCD games definitely have that "16-bit" feel, but, IMO, those early PCE titles seem a little closer to high-quality SMS/NES caliber. 

Anyway, the discussion hasn't been whether the SMS arose from the verge of death in '91 and stole potential Turbo buyers, but whether the reappearance of games already made popular on the SMS (lol, there's an oxymoron) "impacted sales and overall perception" of the TurboGrafx.

Was anyone alive when this all went down?

Hell yeah!

[vestcoat]

Here's a list of games.  Let me know if I missed anything.

Games released in the U.S. on both the SMS and TG16
Fantasy Zone
Wonderboy/New Adventure Island (significant differences)
R-Type
Space Harrier
Vigilante
Ys Book I

Games on both the SMS and PCE
The Addams Family (different games sharing name only)
Afterburner
Altered Beast
Chase HQ
Cloud Master
Columns
Forgotten Worlds
Ghouls and Ghosts
Golden Axe
Klax
Lemmings
Ninja Gaiden (different games sharing name only)
Operation Wolf
Outrun
Populous
Prince of Persia
Rainbow Isles
S.C.I.
Shadow of the Beast
Shinobi
Space Invaders
Street Fighter II
Strider
Thunder Blade
Wonderboy in Monsterland
Wonderboy in Monster World/Dynastic Hero
Wonderboy III/Dragon's Curse

[Arkhan]

The SMS is awesome.

I dunno why it gets alot of flak.

but it still doesnt compare to the PCE , like at all.

The same games also exist on the MSX for the most part (and others that are PCE+MSX, but not SMS), and that cant touch the PCE either.

[Tatsujin]

The SMS was the best real 8-Bit console (8-Bit league player). Sure it won't compare to the PCE, since PCE was a 16-Bit league player.

Those are two different worlds.

[Black Tiger]

Here's a list of games.  Let me know if I missed anything.

Games released in the U.S. on both the SMS and TG16
Fantasy Zone
Wonderboy/New Adventure Island
R-Type
Space Harrier
Vigilante
Ys Book I

Games on both the SMS and PCE (All regions)
The Addams Family
Afterburner
Altered Beast
Chase HQ
Cloud Master
Columns
Forgotten Worlds
Ghouls and Ghosts
Golden Axe
Klax
Lemmings
Ninja Gaiden
Operation Wolf
Outrun
Populous
Prince of Persia
Rainbow Isles
S.C.I.
Shadow of the Beast
Shinobi
Space Invaders
Street Fighter II
Strider
Thunder Blade
Wonderboy in Monsterland
Wonderboy in Monster World/Dynastic Hero
Wonderboy III/Dragon's Curse

Addams Family, New Adventure Island and Ninja Gaiden are completely different games. Not sure how the all-regions breaks down, but not all of those games were released in all regions or only the U.S. Those are still all names or brands that crossed between SMS and TG-16, but the Genesis/MD probably has more shared names/brands with the SMS, especially as far as games that are more or less supposed to be the same.

[vestcoat]

Yeah, I didn't know how to phrase it for the 2nd list referring to games that may not have been released in the same regions.  I'll edit out "all regions" and factor in your comments.