Messages

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Old Turbo questions]

I bought a Genesis (model 1, Altered Beast pack-in) brand new in 1990, and it did not come with an AV cable.

RF output on the Turbo (or SNES) isn't that bad. Any output I've tried on the Genesis (both model 1 and model 2) has been shitty though. Not sure what the deal is with the Genesis, maybe RGB looks good, but RF and composite video look terrible.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / PCE latecomers]

Quest of Jongmaster is listed as Jong Shin Densetsu. Dead of the Brain is listed as...Dead of the Brain 1 & 2. They're both there.

[General Gaming / WTB: Genesis 2 hook-ups]

Sega-Parts used to be fairly cheap for some stuff, and yes they did discover eBay awhile back. They used to sell Saturn Bomberman brand new for $30 (which is a good deal). Then one day I noticed they were selling a few things on eBay. Next thing you know they pretty much stopped selling a lot of things from their website (and what's left is jacked up, like Bomberman). To get an idea of what they used to be like, I bought a brand new in box Power Base Converter from them about five years ago for ten bucks.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Old Turbo questions]

I rented Turbo games from a place called Floppy Joe's in College Station, Texas. I don't know if they were a chain or a mom-n-pop. Their main deal seemed to be "renting" PC software (apps and games). Not sure how they got away with that, so I'm leaning towards mom-n-pop versus a chain, since I think a chain of stores "renting" PC software would have attracted the attention of a few software publishers.

They did have an outstanding selection of video games for rent though. When no one else would touch Sega Master System or Turbo games, this place carried them.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Old Turbo questions]

1) Were Turbo games ever available for rent anywhere? The town I grew up in had about five places that rented video games and none of them ever had even one TG16 game. The one other Turbo gamer in town and I figured this was due to those warnings on the inside of manuals that said "The duplication, copying or renting of this software is strictly prohibited."

Yes. I've shared this story before, but there was a video game rental place near where I grew up that rented Turbo games along with SMS games and PC games. They carried pretty much the entire Turbo catalog, including CD games, up until around 92 when they kind of stopped buying new Turbo releases. They even rented out the CD attachments; that was my first exposure to the CD games before I bought my own CD attachment.

2) Were any Turbochips sold in the case with the old orange label that just had a sticky spot on the inside to hold the slip instead of the plastic arm? I received a Time Cruise in a case like this from an ebay seller and the orange label is ripped off so I can't tell what game the case was for. Did Keith Courage come like this or something? I can't remember.

Keith Courage did not have the plastic arm IIRC. I'm almost positive all the other HuCards came with the arm. I can't remember any without it, although I'm not digging thru my collection to verify.

[PC-FX Discussion / What does EGM think of the PC-FX?]

This used to be a PC-FX thread, right?

[Feedback / Ignore option?]

I'm not familiar with forum software, but is there an ignore feature in the current software? And if not, Aaron if you were planning to change to some other software as has been mentioned in some other threads, would you consider an ignore option?

[PC-FX Discussion / What does EGM think of the PC-FX?]

I don't disagree with EGM's assessment of the FX. It's a disappointing console to me, both in its capabilities and the software library, whether taken on its own or in comparison to its predecessor. What bothers me about the EGM article are details like the "undersized" comment that Keranu mentioned. That sort of thing makes me wonder if the author has ever even used an FX. I don't care if people dislike something if they can back up their statements, but in most of the gaming forums I frequent there's a tendency for people to "pile on" games, systems, etc. that are considered bad, with many comments coming from people who seem to have never even played the game/system in question.

This reminds me of the "Jaguar controller is worst ever" article from awhile back. Again, that makes me wonder if the author ever used a Jaguar pad, or if he just read about "how crappy the Jag was" in a bunch of gaming forums and decided to put it at the top of his list. I mean c'mon, there's plenty of controllers worse than the Jag pad.

Another point, can anyone provide list prices for the launch of the PSX, Saturn, and FX? I'm curious about his overpriced comment. I remember the Saturn usually being slightly more expensive than the PSX in Japan, and the FX seemed to run a little more than a JP Saturn at import shops at the time, but I don't recall the FX pricing being that out of line with the other 32-bit systems. When I bought mine from NCS, it cost me about $250 IIRC, while JP Saturns were around $200. I don't remember what the pricing was in yen though; lower demand for FXs compared to Saturns could have explained that price difference via importers.

[General Gaming / Lik Sang]

I'm not making any predictions because I have no clue what will happen. Seriously, I am waiting until at least fall 2007 or sometime in 2008 before making a decision on what next-gen console to get. By then, prices will be down, software and hardware will be plentiful (and more reliable if history is any indication). Most importantly, by that time it should be relatively clear who is going to "win" (however you define that, whether it's marketshare or just simply the software support). As long as you have software to keep you busy until then (and I do, PS2 alone will keep me going another year) then waiting to see how things pan out is the wisest move IMO.

All that jibber-jabber aside, trying to compare current systems to past console histories never seems to pan out. Of late, the favorite comparison seems to be PS3 is N64, 360 is Dreamcast, and Wii is DS. Of course, those comparisons really reveal more about the one doing the comparison and where their loyalties lie. For all the similarities you can draw between various console launches, you can also find all sorts of differences. Take steve's point about the Genesis being an bonafide success compared to the 360's lukewarm (depending on your POV) history so far. One thing to keep in mind though (and so many people seem to forget this) is that the Genesis was not a roaring success out of the gate. It outsold the Turbo of course, but both systems were still minor players compared to the NES, which had its best year during 1990. The Genesis didn't start to build up steam until Sonic and the SNES came out. The SNES outsold Genesis that Christmas of 91, and it wasn't until 92 that the Genesis really started taking the lead. It's kind of hard to say the 360 won't be a success comparable to the Genesis when the 360 is still somewhere around 90-91 in the Genesis timeline.

[PC-FX Discussion / What does EGM think of the PC-FX?]

Can we turn this thread into what we think of EGM? In their own words..."sucked hard"

[General Gaming / Your Daily Dose of Gaming.]

Just finished a bunch of games.

Tales of Symphonia GC - the worst story and characters I have seen in an RPG in a very long time. Gameplay is decent, I like the combat system and there's lots of other neat ideas in the game, but the story is so awful it drags the entire game down.

Killer 7 GC - terrific visual style, horrible on-rails gameplay. Glad I rented.

Star Fox Assault - oh what the hell happened here...Star Fox 64 was one of my favorite N64 games, but Nintendo had to go and loan out the franchise to Namco. When this was announced long ago I think the word was that the Ace Combat team was doing it. Sounded good, but then this abomination comes out. The Arwing segments are good...but you spend most of your time on foot or in the Landmaster, which is crap (especially the on foot parts). Again, glad I rented this instead of buying.

The Bouncer - yeah, feel free to laugh. I wanted to judge this one for myself and it was indeed a poor game. Terrific real-time cutscenes and a good engine overall considering when it came out, but terrible story and mediocre gameplay. I don't expect beat-em-ups to last hours and hours, but this one can be cleared in slightly over an hour, of which 80% is cutscenes rather than gameplay. Rental again.

Klonoa Lunatea's Veil - I thought I'd like this one more than I did since it reviewed highly. I played one of the GBA games a few years back and wasn't impressed. The PS2 game has similar gameplay. I normally like 2.5D platformers, and this one is certainly very pretty, but the gameplay is just boring. The worst thing is that Namco stuffed a story between every level that slows everything down tremendously. And the characters all talk in a chirping pseudo-language that you can't skip... Yep, another rental.

Lot of clunkers for me lately. I really hope Final Fantasy XII turns out well. I haven't anticipated a game as much as that one in a long time.

[General Gaming / Lik Sang]

Lets dig this thread up in about two years.

[General Gaming / WTB: Genesis 2 hook-ups]

I recently bought a bare Genesis 2 deck as well (absolutely flawless cosmetic condition, which is the main reason I went ahead and got it). The best deal I could find on eBay for accessories was from a seller named gameliquidation. He sells AC adapters, stereo AV cables, and control pads individually, but it's better to buy them bundled. Usually he seems to sell an AC adapter, stereo AV cable, and two six-button pads for $14.95 and $19.95 BIN. Hardly anyone bids on them so you should be able to get them for $14.95. Shipping was $8.25. Not sure if you'd feel ripped off by that or not. He ships them stuffed into a padded envelope first class mail, which isn't the greatest, but it's unlikely the goods will be damaged (not like a fragile cardboard game box or jewel case).

The AC adapter was Performance brand, the AV cable was Recoton, and the control pads were Sega branded (but they looked like the Majesco rereleases of the pads, not the original Sega ones). At the time, that was the best deal I could find for those accessories on eBay, including shipping.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / WTB any cheap SNK Arcade CDs]

Play-Asia has Fatal Fury 2 brand new for $4.90. Shipping is $2.60.

Click me.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Looking to sell PCFX and games]

The Package you are looking at is a PCFX Console with 4 GAMES!!  The four games are Power League V (Excellent Condition), Team Innocent (Excellent Condition), Sparkling Feather (Excellent Condition), and Anime Freak Vol. 4(Excellent Condition). + (Extra's- Must contact for information about Extra's!!)  All games include MINT disks, all manuals, and cases!

CD-Rs eh?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Last Alert]

Last Alert was the very first Turbo CD I ever bought. When I got the attachment, the store I bought it from didn't have Ys Book I & II (which is what I really wanted) in stock, so I got Last Alert instead. I remember being quite excited to show off the cinemas and voice acting, and I called my older sister over to watch on my first playthrough. She was not impressed.

I had played Ys before by renting a Turbo CD unit, so the voice acting in Last Alert was...shockingly bad in comparison even back then. As the years have passed I've grown to love how bad the voice is, although it's rare to run into other gamers (in RL) who "get" my fascination with the voice acting in this game, let alone even heard of it.

[General Gaming / 3DO Recommendations?]

Learn to read Michael. I mentioned the 3DO along with the PC-FX in the sense that many of both systems' games were ported to other systems (PSX and Saturn) that also happened to have much larger and better libraries. I wasn't comparing the library of the 3DO to the PC-FX.

[General Gaming / 3DO Recommendations?]

Star Control II is the only reason I own a 3DO. If you want a JRPG, there's Lucienne's Quest. It isn't very good. It was ported to Saturn, although I forget what the name was (Sword & Scorcery?) That's actually one of the main reasons I seldom recommend systems like 3DO or PC-FX to people when they ask. Most of the library got ported to systems with much better libraries of games.

But you already have a 3DO so...Star Control II! I don't think that was ever ported to another console system. There's a free remake that incorporates the 3DO extras including the music/voice that you can download and try out before shelling out bucks for the 3DO version.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / the lost games!]

Contra's a good call. I'd also like to see ports of Ninja Gaiden II and III. And   a better port of Ninja Gaiden. How about the Thunderforce series? Final Fight? The PCE is woefully short of great beat-em-ups.

A PCE Shadowrun game on CD would have been awesome too. Always wanted to sample the Compile Mega CD Shadowrun.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / TGS06: PS3 to get TurboGrafx games]

Nobody, I hope.  I wouldn't pay that.  A pay per game schema just won't work.  I don't see it working any other way than signing up for a service that provides these games for download.  Pretty much the way XBox Live Arcade works.

OD

But...that's not the way XBLA works. Demos can be downloaded for free, but XBLA is pay-per-game.

Anyway, I'm sure Nintendo will be highly successful with this service. Plenty of people paid $20 for the NES Classics series on GBA.

[Off-Topic / 1993 Zelda Comic complete PDF]

That's the one from Nintendo Power right? Pretty decent (especially for a NP comic). Certainly better than the Super Mario Bros. comic they were running concurrently. I remember as a teenager resenting those comics in NP since I'd rather they devoted the pages to game coverage, but when I went back as an adult I enjoyed reading them (well, I enjoyed the Zelda comic, still didn't like the Mario one).

If you want true classic game comics...you must see The Adventures of Atarian from Atarian magazine. Pure cheese and borderline racist with the bucktoothed Japanese villians led by Ninja-endo.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Sega Brings back Wonder Boy on Jap PS2]

I agree with Seldane on Ys. I've always thought the gameplay was pretty clunky. The story/setting/presentation were what made Ys special.

Another thread on nostalgia versus genuine enjoyment and appreciation of older games would be interesting. I've certainly been thinking a lot about that subject lately with the next generation of consoles arriving.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / TGS06: PS3 to get TurboGrafx games]

The Turbo-CD had a price drop from $400 to $350, first via a coupon rebate and then a new MSRP. Then the price dropped to $300. I'm not sure if there were any price drops between that point and the $150 drop right before the Duo. And I'm pretty sure the Turbo itself debuted around $200. I'd have to dig around for the receipt, but I remember the price being just under $200 at Wal-Mart when I bought mine (and Wal-Mart didn't really jack up prices any). The Genesis was the one that was $189-$190. The Turbo went $200 -> $150-160 (Bonk set) -> $130 (still Bonk set) -> $100 -> $70. The way the prices worked out you could essentially buy the the equivelent of the Duo (Turbo, CD, System Card 3.0 and games) separately for about the same price as the  Duo.

I'm still skeptical about the Wii playing Turbo CDs. Would be awesome of course, but it doesn't make any business sense. I think Nintendo/Hudson would rather sell you a game again than let you play what you already have.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Military Madness!]

Actually, OGRE isn't related to the Ogre Battles series in any way. And I don't recall Ogre Battle taking place on a hexagonal map (been years since I played it)?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Sega Brings back Wonder Boy on Jap PS2]

The latest Sega Ages releases are great. I don't remember when Sega started doing them (maybe Phantasy Star Generation 2?), but the ones I've bought have been fine. The GH Treasure Box was superb. It had the original games, not remakes, and a ton of bonus stuff. I'd love to have a Monster World collection done in the same style.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / TGS06: PS3 to get TurboGrafx games]

Allowing people to play original CDs sounds a little bizarre from a business point of view. I mean they make no money by allowing you to do that.

And while this does reek of Sony copying Virtual Console...remember that Sega had a PC Engine/MegaDrive download service for the Dreamcast.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Military Madness!]

Well, the story in MM is largely throwaway. You can ignore it if you wish and just concentrate on the maps, whereas in AW the story is a lot more obtrusive.

I always  preferred MM over AW due to the hex-based design and Zone of Control. Those two things alone make a big difference in gameplay.

Has anyone here ever played the game OGRE? It's an hex-based wargame that was converted into a computer game. I loved playing that on my Atari 800, and when MM came out it reminded me a lot of OGRE. In OGRE, the forces were lopsided (one player controlled a huge battletank, the other side had a bunch of much weaker units), but the futuristic setting and hex-based design were kind of like MM.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Bonk/Turbo Sticker sheet]

Dang, I forgot about that poster. My favorite part is the dinosaur, haha.

Anyone remember the coupon booklet that NEC sent out? I got one fall of 89, it was packed with coupons for everything. Games, accessories, and systems. Mostly just $5.00 off stuff, but there were tons. I never used any before they expired though (that rental store again). They also sent out another little booklet of the same size that had all the releases they were going to do through the end of 89. It was formatted a lot nicer than the later bi-annual catalogs that they did. That's the only source I have for early release dates (other than my memory of games showing up in stores).

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Sega Brings back Wonder Boy on Jap PS2]

The Sega Ages series seems dedicated to  ruining the Golden Age of gaming, and their most recent additions are no exception to the rule.

Fixed.

Have you even played any of the Sega Ages releases? Since Sega started doing some of the development themselves instead of D3, the Sega Ages series has turned out quite nicely. I've bought the Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box, the Phantasy Star 2 remake, and Panzer Dragoon, Dynamite Deka, and Dragon Force. All of these were excellent.

Anyway, if Sega gives Monster World the same treatment they gave Gunstar Heroes, I'm definitely picking it up. The GH Treasure Box was awesome.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Bonk/Turbo Sticker sheet]

People will buy anything. Anyway, good luck Keranu. For anyone that's interested, NEC sent out those stickers along with other promotional material to people who registered their systems and were on their mailing list.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Military Madness!]

Cheat codes? Do you mean the passwords to access the missions, or are there other cheat codes? Anyway, I cleared all 32 missions before seeing the mission passwords for the first time (I think in TurboPlay magazine). Fantastic game and it was very satisfying to finally beat that last mission, which is quite unfair in the number of enemies you have to fight. However, the AI in MM is pretty limited, and once you get used to it the game becomes fairly easy. Keep your units together for Area of Effect bonuses, force the enemy into chokepoints, pound them with ranged units while they're approaching your front line, and destroy units in a single round so they can't retreat to a factory for repair. Also, by forcing the enemy into a chokepoint with say only 2 or 3 hexes to engage your front line, you can rotate fresh units into the line after each round of combat while withdrawing damaged units to factories. The computer AI isn't very good at using this strategy, so on the maps where you are heavily outnumbered you can use this defensive strategy to wear down their numbers before going on the offensive later.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / i'm really pissed off]

That's happening all over eBay. I've noticed the same phenomenon with Saturn games. Owners of eBay stores are the most frequent bidders on "normal" auctions, which they then turn around and try to resell at a 50-100% markup with BIN. Seems like the majority of game listings are by eBay stores now rather than individuals selling off their games.

[General Gaming / "why did I sell that!?"]

I'm curious Bonknuts...how did you end up paying $230 for Macross 2036?

Anyway, I've sold a few things over the years that I regretted later. Beginning with my original NES and about a dozen games. I sold them to afford the Turbografx-16. Now I don't regret buying the Turbo, but I wish I could have done it in some other way than giving up my NES.

Around 1999 I sold off some Saturn games that later got rather valuable (Astra Superstars and Phantasy Star Collection are two that I can remember). I was able to buy them back a few years later, but not nearly in as nice condition as the ones I sold.

The biggest regret I have is selling off almost my entire Nintendo 64 collection a couple years ago when I went through one of those "oh, I'm too old for videogames, why do I waste time/space with all this crap" phases. I had a collection of about thirty games, all purchased new by me and absolutely pristine (I'm very, very picky about taking care of my stuff, and everything I've bought since the mid-80s has been kept in mint condition). But as I said I was going through one of those silly (in retrospect) "I need to grow up" phases, and I sold all of them except for Ogre Battle 64 and Paper Mario, which I kept because I had not finished them yet. Even though I abhor the N64 controller and the blurry N64 graphics haven't aged well, I miss some of those games terribly. I've scanned eBay occasionally with the idea of buying some of them back, but I know I'm unlikely to ever get them in the same condition as the ones I sold off. The chance to play games like F-Zero X and Starfox 64 again is about the only reason I'm slightly interested in the Wii (for the VC).

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / WOW - Cosmic Fantasy 2]

After all the mud that has been slung about the SNES in this retarded thread already, you're opening up another can of worms with that one.

I never said anything bad about the SNES (at least not in this thread). I love every old video game system, but I tend to complain about them at times.  

You misunderstood me. I happen to like the SNES as well, but bringing up framerates along with the SNES is bound to inspire the SNES haters in this thread. After all, slowdown in many games was a real weakness of the SNES.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / WOW - Cosmic Fantasy 2]

I think framerate is extremely important. The most important factor of all, actually.

If the scrolling isn't COMPLETELY ultra-smooth, I can't play the game. That's why I prefer old consoles like MD, PCE, SNES, etc - always perfect framerate (from what I've played, anyway).

After all the mud that has been slung about the SNES in this retarded thread already, you're opening up another can of worms with that one.

Anyway, I can think of a few more DC games that used Win CE, almost all ports of Windows games. IIRC, the only reason Sega Rally 2 used CE was at the time Sega's own development libraries didn't have any working netcode (and Sega Rally 2 was playable online in Japan).

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / PC Engine shuttle controller/6 button controllers?]

Where are the 3rd party controllers? Seriously. I've only ever seen 3 controllers for the PCE (and none for the turbo) that weren't made by NEC itself. Why?  

I've seen some third party controllers for the Turbo. At least from two different companies, although I can't recall their names now (Beeshu? I think that was one).

[General Gaming / PC Engine vs. Turbo Grafx-16]

The Turbo box is cool. It even has a handle. I used to use the Turbo box to carry the system over to my friends' houses before I got the CD player and its carrying case.

I love the late 80s Turbo branding. Neon orange, yellow, and black. Acid wash jeans and Converse shoes. Yeah man, the Turbo was cool! It dated very (very) quickly however. I was kind of sad that NEC dropped their early branding so quickly. "The Higher Energy Video Game System" and "There's still time to prepare your nervous system". Those were the early Turbo taglines. My favorites Turbo ads were the Super Mario exploding heads.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help Needed]

The lady having it stated that both of her sons are now in college in another state so she was selling off their stuff to reclaim their former bedrooms while they're away. I'd really hate to be her when they come back for a visit.

Wow. I remember packing away all my game stuff when I went to college (Turbo and SNES collections, pretty extensive even back then). Didn't dig it back out and play anything until my senior year. I would have had a heart attack if my parents had sold everything off in a yard sale.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / WOW - Cosmic Fantasy 2]

I had to double-check the opening post again to remember what this thread was about. Sheesh, Aaron should just open a console advocacy forum so you guys can keep this sort of thing centralized.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / WOW - Cosmic Fantasy 2]

I haven't played CF2 since it came out but...I remember being not terribly impressed by it. The cinemas and voice were nice, but the battle system was very, very slow. All those little loads (like spooling attack sounds off the CD) didn't help either.

One thing I do remember is getting stuck at one point in the game and writing a letter to Working Designs about it. Yeah, I used to do that in the old days because lots of devs/pubs actually answered their mail back then. Anyway, someone from WD called me up and told me how to get past the part I was stuck at. That built up some goodwill between me and WD, but that evaporated years later when I had the audacity to ask Vic Ireland about the translation of some parts of Alundra and he blasted me for it in a very nasty email.

[General Gaming / What would you have done differently?]

I'm still trying to figure out if steve's post was in jest or not. More successful and niche seem contradictory. Some of those suggestions seem like a recipe for making the Turbo even more obscure than it was.

Funny you mention car RPGs. I've been thinking of creating a "CARPG" website to highlight some of these games. I've played a lot of them over the years for some reason. From Autoduel through more recent games like Car Battler Joe and Pro Racer Driver. Lately I've been messing around with Code R and Zero 4 Champ Doozy J Type R (now that's a mouthful!) on Saturn. Only the Japanese could mix a racing game with a dating sim. They're interesting nonetheless. Been debating whether to get Wangan Trial Love. My proposed CARPG site wouldn't be complete without it...yet, I've heard it's crap and the "Pack-In-Soft" on the front cover scares me. Is Pack-In-Soft the demon spawn of Pack-In-Video? I'm afraid to find out, even if the game is dirt cheap.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Mahong]

I do. As a kid, when my dad was still in the army and we lived on base, my mother and a bunch of other military wives used to get together and play mahjong a lot. You've never heard a racket quite like four Korean women playing mahjong. When I got a little older and understood the rules, I used to play it with some of the other kids on base.

I don't care much for computer mahjong though. Playing against computer AI is just dull, and besides most of the computer games seem to be the battle mahjong style where it's just you versus a single AI opponent. If you're going to play that you might as well pick up a strip mahjong game. I played a couple of the Super Real Mahjong games before, they're okay.

[General Gaming / What would you have done differently?]

This place rented both HuCards and CDs. They carried pretty much the entire Turbo library up until 92 or so. They also rented out Sega Master System software, which was unusual too. And they rented out consoles, including the CD player. That was my first exposure to the CD attachment, before I was able to buy one.

I never noticed the "rental prohibited" line in the manuals before. I just checked a couple of games, both early (Legendary Axe) and late (Parasol Stars) and it's in both. Weird because I'm pretty sure Nintendo had already lost their case against Blockbuster by that time (where they were able to get BB to stop including manuals with rentals, but weren't able to stop the actual renting of software). Sticking the verbiage in there doesn't make it illegal; maybe, the lawsuit was still ongoing and NEC wanted to cover themselves either way? Everyone and their dog was renting games by that point though (hell, even supermarkets).

[General Gaming / What would you have done differently?]

I must have lived in a really weird area, because not only was the Turbografx-16 sold at Wal-Mart (that's where I bought mine), Turbo games were available at rental, and the Turbo was actually advertised on TV here.   The TV stations were I saw most Turbo ads were in the Houston area BTW. Usually syndicated stations and the commercials aired in the afternoon in the time block where TV stations used to have shows aimed at kids after school (back when they still gave a damn about kids, now it's all stuff like Judge Judy and The Tyra Banks Show). The commercials were about as common as Genesis commercials were, at least in 1989-1990. NEC also (rarely) advertised on prime-time network TV. One in particular I remember is that they showed some commercials during the miniseries Stephen King's It, which was broadcast on ABC in 1990. That was actually kind of a strange choice on NEC's part, I remember being really surprised when a Turbo commercial popped up during that broadcast. You'd think they would advertise Splatterhouse during a show like that, but the commercial was mainly for Bloody Wolf.  

[General Gaming / What would you have done differently?]

1. Get it out the door earlier. The software selection would have been a lot smaller, but a year headstart on the Genesis would have helped.

2. Much more aggressive third party licensing. I've touched on this before, but NEC had almost no third parties the entire life of the Turbo.

3. Better Western software support. This ties into the third party situation, but what little Western software NEC funded arrrived too late (most of it arrived in 91 and 92, by which time it was over for the Turbo in the US). Better sports games in particular would have helped.

Most people will probably say marketing, but I think NEC's marketing was okay. Sure, the box art was horrible, but so was most of the box art for NES and Genesis games. The ads, both print and on TV were okay and about on par with Genesis ads, at least until Sega started the "Nintendon't" stuff. People often forget that the Genesis wasn't exactly a huge hit right out the gate either. It didn't really start taking off until 91 when Sonic arrived, and the SNES came out which really kickstarted the 16-bit era. By 92 the Turbo was pretty much done for as far as being a mainstream success. The SNES and Genesis were obviously locking up the 16-bit market, which is why I think NEC bailed and formed TTi. And TTi was nothing but niche from the beginning.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Best baseball game]

Dude...Pack-In-Video. That should be enough warning for you to run far, far away.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Best baseball game]

World Class Baseball is the first Power League game.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Lament]

I figured The West Exit was gone since his eBay store is no longer valid. He's been showing up occasionally on eBay listing a few dozen games at a time. I guess he's clearing out the last of his stock. I bought a couple PC Engine games off him. Decent prices with Buy It Now.

I was kind of hoping things like the Virtual Console would kill demand for older Turbo stuff just because I'm selfish and would like to see prices drop. All I can say about some of the Turbo prices I've seen lately is...I'm so glad I bought pretty much all the Turbo games I wanted a long time ago when they were readily available and cheap. Prices for stuff like Dynastic Hero, Beyond Shadowgate, M&MIII, Magical Chase, etc. are kind of ridiculous. Sometimes I wonder what really drives the prices on some of these. I mean, they can't be that rare. All of those games were available from TZD through at least the late 90s for $40-50 or less. Hell, even prices for Ys Book I & II are going up. WTF is up with that? That game isn't even remotely rare, I mean it was only the most popular Turbo CD along with being a pack-in with the Duo. TZD was selling those new as recently as two or three years ago for $30.

One thing I've done in the past few years is stock up on hardware while I can still get it new. Whether it's from TZD or places like Game Express, I've bought all the taps, controllers, cables, light guns, and other crap I would ever need for the Turbo and Saturn (my two favorite systems). Speaking of Saturn, Game Express used to have a pretty good selection of domestic titles, but they're almost cleaned out now. Funny that most domestic Saturn games used to be worthless except for a couple of RPGs and late releases, but I guess collectors are finally running out of imports and such to buy. Anyone know what the deal is with the US release of Winning Post for Saturn? Prices on that game have really skyrocketed lately. It has to be collectors because...it's a horse racing game for gods sake. I bought that game brand new for $5 five years ago. I'm really tempted to sell because I mean c'mon...horse racing!? But I'm kind of waiting to see exactly how high prices will go on it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Best baseball game]

Yes, licensing along with a heavy emphasis on "realism" and TV-style presentation have ruined baseball video games. Baseball is one of my favorite sports, but I don't give a shit about having real ML players, teams, stadiums, and such. I just want to play a good game of baseball. Fantasy style baseball, either with over-the-top arcade action, or elements like robot players are cool too.

The only baseball games I've played on the Turbo have been the Power League series. World Class Baseball remains one of my favorite games, even though the later Power League updates are better. I put so much time into World Class back in the day, it's ridiculous. BTW, I wonder whatever happened to TV Sports Baseball? I probably wouldn't have liked it much (the TV style again), and I wasn't too impressed with how TV Sports Football played, but we really didn't get enough localized baseball games. I think Tengen was rumored to be developing RBI Baseball for the Turbo too at one point (or rather translating and publishing Pro Yakyu World Stadium).

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Old VHS Turbo-grafx promo tape]

PARTY TIME!!!  EXCELLENT!!

Dear god I miss those times circa-1990. I'm serious. That's pure cheese, yet somehow I can feel the coolness of the times. Video needs more parachute pants and "Can't Touch This" music.