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Konami's delayed TurboGrafx-16 mini arrives in the US May 22nd
After missing its initial release date, the TurboGrafx-16 mini will launch in North America on May 22nd.
8BitDo is making a wireless controller for the TurboGrafx-16 mini
When Konami's TurboGrafx-16 mini becomes available sometime later this year, you'll be able to buy a wireless controller for the retro console courtesy of 8BitDo.
Konami’s TurboGrafx-16 mini has been delayed due to coronavirus
The TurboGrafx-16 is the latest system from the late '80s and early '90s to get a mini console revival and join the likes of the Nintendo NES Classic Edition and Sega Genesis Mini. Fans will have to wait, though, as production has been delayed indefinitely for both the western TurboGrafx-16 mini and the Japanese PC Engine Core Grafx mini consoles -- and you know why.
TurboGrafx-16 mini arrives next March with nearly 50 games
Konami's attempt to ride the retro console bandwagon, the TurboGrafx-16 mini, now has a release date and a rather hefty game list. The company has revealed that the mini will be available exclusively through Amazon on March 19th, 2020, with pre-orders starting July 15th. While the designs will vary depending on which region you hail from, you'll have access to just shy of 50 games (there are a few duplicates, despite Konami's claims) split between the US' TurboGrafx lineup and Japan's PC Engine catalog.
Konami's TurboGrafx-16 mini is ready to ride the retro-gaming wave
Need a sign that the retro gaming console market just won't come to an end? At E3 Konami just announced the TurboGrafx-16 mini, marking a return for the console that debuted in the US alongside the Sega Genesis in 1989, but never quite enjoyed the support or sales of its competitors. There's no price or release date yet for this bit of late 80s / early 90s nostalgia, but when it is released it will include the requisite suite of throwback games including: R-Type New Adventure Island Ninja Spirit Ys Book I & II Dungeon Explorer Alien Crush Other titles have yet to be revealed (where's Bonk's Revenge?) , and outside of North America the box will have different names just like it did way back when. In Europe it's called the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini, and in Japan, where the system originally launched in 1987, it's just the PC Engine Mini. It's unlikely we'll see anything as groundbreaking as the original TurboGrafx-16's CD-ROM add-on -- a first for consoles at the time -- but it's good to see the name in circulation again all the same.
Your Vita is a TurboExpress*
Welcome to Living in the Past, a weekly column about what's new in old games. Now get off our lawn. Last year, Hudson snuck a selection of Turbografx-16 games onto the PlayStation Store, playable on both PS3 and PSP. It's a very small selection in North America at just ten games (this is the first caveat of many I'll mention), but it includes some of the best on the platform, like Bonk's Adventure, Alien Crush, Neutopia, and not China Warrior.I feel it's my duty to periodically remind people of the availability of Turbografx-16 games, so now that there's another platform that can play them, namely the PlayStation Vita, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity. These downloads work on both home systems (PS3) and portable systems (PSP and Vita), allowing you to experience the cutting-edge cross-compatibility that these games enjoyed over 20 years ago between the Turbografx-16 and the TurboExpress handheld.I guess I should bring up all the other caveats before we get too excited.
PSP firmware 6.3 adds folders for NeoGeo and PC Engine games
Firmware version 6.3 is out and as Fist Full of Potions points out, something's rotten in Denmark -- or very sweet, depending on how you feel about Japanese consoles of yesteryear. The update allows you to "group content" by putting your games into specific folders corresponding to platform, but also curiously adds empty folders for the NeoGeo and PC Engine -- otherwise known as the TurboGrafx-16. This update could be the precursor to an announcement for the PC Engine Archives extending their reach beyond Japan or it could simply be an overlooked byproduct of the update. Either way, we've contacted Sony for comment and will let you know what we find out.
SuperGrafx game to be added to Japanese PSN
In addition to PSOne games and made-for-PSN games, the Japanese PlayStation Store features a modest selection of games from NEC/Hudson's PC Engine system, in its "PC Engine Archives." In a massive update, Sony is adding 1/7 of the games from another NEC console, the SuperGrafx. Okay, so it's just one game. Next week, Hudson's After Burner-style shooter Battle Ace will be available on the PlayStation Store next week, along with Victory Run, a racing game for the original PC Engine. Strangely enough, the Wii Virtual Console is also host to a single SuperGrafx title in Japan, but it's a different one: Capcom's Ghouls & Ghosts. Of course, both the Virtual Console and the PlayStation Store are devoid of SuperGrafx games outside of Japan.
Dracula X rated by OFLC
[Castlevania Dungeon] No, the world's most famous vampire wasn't judged unsuitable for families. Rather, it's a long-awaited hint of a localized Virtual Console release for Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. The legendary PC Engine Castlevania game came out in Japan in April 2008, but never made it to the Virtual Console elsewhere. Now, the Australian OFLC ratings board has classified the game, listing Nintendo as the publisher. The impact of this development may be dulled somewhat by the game's availability in both original and remade form on the PSP Dracula X Chronicles disc, but we would enjoy the opportunity to play this game without first purchasing another system, and then unlocking the game somewhere in its remake. [Via GoNintendo]
Modder invents portable Turbografx-16, again
Modder "Bacteria" took a PSOne LCD screen and made something truly wonderful with it: a portable Turbografx-16 system called the "IntoGrafx" that can play both Japanese and American games. It features the standard two-button controller, with turbo switches, and a 5.4" screen. It's a nice compromise between the two existing Turbografx-16 handhelds, combining the TurboExpress/PC Engine GT's portability with the PC Engine LT's more usable screen size. Also, it's red.Bacteria has posted detailed build notes for this, in case you'd like to tackle this project yourself. If you're not technically inclined, however, you can always just play PC Engine and TG16 games on your PSP.[Via Engadget]
Japan's PlayStation Network offering PC Engine games
The Japanese PlayStation Store features a ridiculously huge selection of old PlayStation games, especially compared to the paltry selection on the American store. Now, it's getting old games that weren't even on the PlayStation, in what appears to be a tentative step toward a Sony Virtual Console.Sony announced that four PC Engine (Turbografx-16) games will be available on the Store today: Bomberman '94, New Adventure Island, Sengoku Mahjong, and Devil's Crush, each for 600 yen, roughly the same price these games command on the Wii's Virtual Console.The PC Engine Game Archives will be playable on PSP and PS3, which means we'll be able to take Devil's Crush on the go for the first time since the TurboExpress -- thus elevating the PSP to the best system since the TurboExpress.
TurboGrafx-16 emulation hits the iPhone
Finally, the ultimate dream of all iPhone owners has come to pass: TurboGrafx-16 emulation. Thanks once again to the massive talents at ZodTTD, Apple's phone has gotten another piece of the emulator puzzle in the form of Temper4iphone, a fully functioning recreation of everyone's favorite under-performing game console. The app can play both TurboGrafx and PC-Engine games, as well as CD-based ROMs. Right now the software is only available to beta testers (and donation-makers), though it's expected to hit wide release soon. Check the video after the break and see for yourself.[Via Joystiq]
temper4iPhone emulates Turbografx-16 on the iPhone
The guys at Touch Arcade are at it again -- this time, ZodTTD has ported temper, a TurboGrafx-16 emulator, to the iPhone, and as you can see above, this means something amazing: Bonk on the touchscreen. Sounds like the audio has a few little glitches, but seems like the controls and graphics are working as well as could be asked -- even in the slower Landscape mode (with the controls overlaid on the graphics), he says it was pulling about 50FPS.There's even an emulator for the TurboGrafx-16 CD PC Engine, as long as you do a little tweaking (and nab the bios from somewhere that may or may not be legal -- same for the ROMs). temper4iPhone is still in beta, and just like all of these other emulators and jailbreak apps, we have no clue at all whether we'll ever get the chance to see them on the (rapidly approaching) App Store. Still, it's awesome to see -- we've definitely come a long way from the NES emulator way back when.[Via MacBytes.com]
Snatcher Pilot Disk ported, fantastic
Fresh off its abridged port of visual novel Fate/Stay Night: Trial Edition, Multiple: Option has posted another homebrew adaptation of a text-heavy game, Snatcher Pilot Disk.This release is based on the PC-Engine demo of Hideo Kojima and Konami's acclaimed adventure title, but uses still images from the Sega CD version. Though there isn't much players can do to deviate from the game's very linear progression, the cyberpunk plot and voice acting keep Snatcher Pilot DS interesting. For those of you who demand interactivity beyond selecting text options, there's also a fun bug-blasting segment towards the end.Unfortunately, this "pilot" comprises only the first act of the full Snatcher game, taking players through the J.U.N.K.E.R. headquarters and factory scene (Multiple: Option does not plan to port the complete game). Still, it's an entertaining, 10-minute experience worth playing through. [Via PAlib]
PC Engine devotees arrested in Japan
"What, this?" A pilgrimage to the world's gaming mecca turns sour for a trio of German Swiss otaku who are arrested in Akihabara after posting PC Engine flyers (directing readers to the group's fansite) onto a construction site wall.[Via insert credit]
See before you buy: Japan edition
We were happy when Nintendo of America finally put up some preview videos so people could at least get a look at Virtual Console games before throwing their Wii Points into a hole. Now, Nintendo of Japan has done the same! You'll be able to preview new Virtual Console games long before they come to the US. In many cases, you can just uselessly torture yourself by watching videos of games like Shin Megami Tensei and Mario's Super Picross that will never be released over here! And if there's anything we enjoy, it's uselessly torturing ourselves.[Thanks, creamsugar!]
Hudson celebrates the 20th anniversary of the PC Engine
2007 is the twentieth anniversary of the PC Engine (the Japanese Turbografx-16) and Hudson, who co-created the console with NEC, is honoring the little console and its little HuCards in two ways this year: By releasing lots of awesome games on the Virtual Console, and By featuring a multipart PC Engine retrospective on their home page We're so happy to see the Wii bringing the PC Engine back into the limelight. It brought us a lot of games that deserve a second look, and deserve to be played by a new audience. Please, tip your hat to NEC and Hudson's masterpiece. Go check out the first part of the article, and then check out some Turbo games on the VC if you haven't already!
[E]mulate seven consoles in one homebrew application
Sorry for the lack of updates. Joystiq & engadget hit the scene at NYC's Wii launch party (coverage continues throughout the next few days). At the after-party at my place, we were horrified to see how pathetic the selection of Virtual Console games were (Where the heck is my Gunstar Heroes? When do Mario RPG and Super Metroid come out?). I'm glad to pay my hard-earned dollar on retro games, but damn it--I can't do that if they're not being offered right now!Interestingly, if I so chose to embrace the Dark Side, I could use [e]mulator, from homebrew developer "e". This application includes emulators for a wide variety of systems: Wonderswan, Lynx, PC Engine, Neo Geo Pocket, Game Gear, Game Boy, and Famicom (NES). If one is so inclined, they can visit the site, download the file, and use a program like WinRAR to extract the files. Don't worry, there's a very Engrish read-me that should theoretically walk you through the process.[Via PSP-Vault]
