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 original image courtesy of The Dump "The Entertainment SuperSystem" NEC's TurboGrafx-16 suffered from a case of extreme bad timing and marketing. Released in 1989, just before the Sega Genesis, the Turbo was too little, to late. The Turbo had two things going against it. First, NEC was new to the gaming industry, going up against arcade veteran Sega, who was releasing their second home console. Second, the Turbo's hardware was inferior to that of the Genesis. Although NEC touted the Turbo as being a 16-bit system, the CPU was actually an 8-bit processor. The only 16-bit chip was the graphics processor, which actually was capable of displaying more on-screen colors than a Genesis. But as demonstrated with the SMS, it takes more than hardware to make or break a system. The Turbo could have been a contender, if it wasnt for NEC's missteps. For one thing, the console could have been released earlier than it was, so it could've had a much bigger lead on the Genesis. The Japanese version was released two years earlier than the Genesis, which gave NEC plenty of time to release it in the states, instead of having to deal with the direct competition from Sega. Also, NEC failed to bring many of the best titles over to America, resulting in a drought of quality titles, and a shelfload of crap. Despite all this, the Turbo was the first home console to have a CD-ROM addition, and the first console to have a portable version of itself. Besides that, however, the Turbo really had nothing else to offer. After a few years, NEC turned over the Turbo to Hudson, who became Turbo Technologies, Inc. They re-released the Turbo in a new casing with the CD-ROM attached, added a memory enhancement card (Super CD-ROM), lowered the cost, and called it the TurboDuo. Unfortunately, as with most console re-releases, the Duo failed to redeem the failed platform. Although the Turbo never reached a solid fan base, it wasnt considered dead until the release of the Super Nintendo in 1991.
The TurboStick- Released at the same time as the console, the black and orange joystick included individual adjustable turbo fire, and a slow motion switch. A very nice and stable design. The TurboBooster- An accessory that should never have had to be made. The TurboBooster connected to the back of your Turbo console, allowing your system to be connected via video and audio inputs. This was the only way you could take advantage of the stereo sound. Other consoles released after the Turbo (including the Genesis) included video and audio output on the back of the main console, without having to buy a $30 add-on. The TurboTap- Much like the NES satellite, this accessory allowed four simultaneous players on certain games. Unlike the satellite (or any other four-player device), this was the only way to have more than one player at a time. For some odd reason, the Turbo console only had one joystick input on the front. Another required purchase for Turbo owners. The TurboGrafx-CD- The first home CD-ROM system, the TurboCD never reached its full potential. The majority of the games released for it were titles that could have easily been released on a HuCard, except for the enhanced CD-quality music. There were a few full-motion video (FMV) games released, but nothing too remarkable. Some of the better ones were; It Came From the Desert, Sherlock Holmes (the pack-in game), Lords of the Rising Sun, and Ys Book I & II. Because of the lackluster titles and the high price, the TurboCD wasnt very successful. The TurboExpress- The first portable version of a home console, the TurboExpress resembled a thick, all-black version of Nintendos GameBoy, with rapid-fire buttons and a color screen. The Turbo was easily made portable because of the small, thin HuCard game format (identical to the SMS cards). The TurboExpress could have done well as a stand-alone portable alternative for people who didn't own a Turbo, if it wasnt for the extremely high $250 price tag. In fact, this system could have been more successful than the Turbo itself! The TurboVision- This handy device hooked on the the right side of the TurboExpress and allowed you to use it as a portable color TV.
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