Retro|Spective 218: Hardware

[Asura]

What are/were your memories of the PC Engine Shuttle version of the console?

No memories, but "ew".

[Neon Ignition]

Hand on heart - I can only think of one console revision which was an improvement on its predecessor - and it wasn't PS1

[Asura]

Hand on heart - I can only think of one console revision which was an improvement on its predecessor - and it wasn't PS1

Ooooh, there's a tricky one, as the PSOne is the one I'd say. What was it?

[Baseley09]

Xbox One S?

[Neon Ignition]

PS3 Slim
Then they sicked out the Super Slim and ruined it

[Neon Ignition]

Hardware 13 - NEC TurboGrafx 16
Another day, another redesign of the system with the western model now taking centre stage. Taking a wider form than its Japanese counterpart it shares a similar footprint with other revisions that would follow



What are/were your thoughts and memories of the Western version of the console?

[wakka]

They had some very strange ideas in the early 90s about what would be appealing to American console buyers. Mostly the main goal seemed to be to make it a lot uglier.

There's nothing excessively offensive about the TG16 design but, just, why? The original PCE and Core Grafx look a whole lot better. Maybe they felt that it might look less powerful than the SNES and MD since it was physically much smaller.

One thing I do like though is the branding. 'PC Engine' is sort of a confusing sounding name in English so I think a rebrand was the right move. And the 'Turbo' thing is cool. TurboPads, TurboChips. I like it.

[Yakumo]

Hardware 13 - NEC TurboGrafx 16
Another day, another redesign of the system with the western model now taking centre stage. Taking a wider form than its Japanese counterpart it shares a similar footprint with other revisions that would follow]

The Western PC Engine is such a waste of space and pointless design.
For a start, the original small size of the PC Engine was one of the key features of how awsome it was.
The US version needs a whopping big plastic lump stuck to the back as well, making it even larger than it needs to be. Who on earth thought that was a good design? Then add a CD drive to it and you have one very poorly designed system.
Its a major step back in design language in my opinion. But then again, that's kind of typical with American design.
At least the ultra rare euro model had a nicer colour and design font.

While I'm ranting, I'm so annoyed they added "16" to the console's name. I know why they did it but now we have all the idiots claiming it's a 16 bit console when it's an 8 bit.

[Neon Ignition]

Hardware 14 - NEC Pioneer LaserActive
This console was an LD Rom based console that offered PC Engine HuCard add-on support. Very few of the system were ever sold with little more than a dozen games ever recieving an LD release making it a poor inroad to PC Engine gaming.





What are/were your thoughts and/or memories of the LaserActive console design and general quality?

[Baseley09]

I've had laseractive and, although the idea is dead cool, it's not a good laserdisc player, nor is it an effective way to play PC Engine or Megadrive, the composite output is pretty ropey if memory serves.

There are highlights, Triad Stone is one of the best Dragons Lair clones ever made, though its available on other formats in worsened quality.

It's still a rad system, get both packs and the 3d headset (never had this) and its quite the set up.

[Neon Ignition]

Hardware 15 - NEC Sharp X1 Twin
The dual mode system could boot in both PC and PC Engine modes, with this model being the last one produced of the X1 range in Japan. It sold in low numbers but remained on the market for several years regardless.




What are/were your thoughts and/or memories of the NEC Sharp X1 Twin console design and general quality?

[Neon Ignition]

Hardware 16 - NEC PC Engine LT
It's only fitting that the sixteenth entry remains for this platform, a platform that is still giving us new unit designs to oogle. The latest is a flip top PC Engine console featuring a 4 inch screen, incredibly chunky when folded up. Due to its design it was prohibitively expensive at launch, costing around $610. It featured a TV tuner but despite its built in screen couldn't be used as a portable as it didn't support batteries and had to run off mains. It sold in incredibly low numbers as a result.




What are/were your thoughts and/or memories of the NEC PC Engine LT console design and general quality?

[egparadigm]

It's like the PSOne, if every nice design element of that was made bad

Like the missing link between Atari Jaguar, PSOne and Original Xbox.

[egparadigm]

Hardware 14 - NEC Pioneer LaserActive
This console was an LD Rom based console that offered PC Engine HuCard add-on support. Very few of the system were ever sold with little more than a dozen games ever recieving an LD release making it a poor inroad to PC Engine gaming.





What are/were your thoughts and/or memories of the LaserActive console design and general quality?

Laser Active is the sexiest curio there is, IMHO. Especially with all those MD, PCE add ons 🤘

[Neon Ignition]

Hardware 17 - Haitai Vistar 16 PC Engine
This version of the system brings the TG-16 tour to an end and is an unofficial verison of the system which has been long rumoured to be made from unsold stock of the official machine. This region free machine is heavily based on the US version of the console and once again sold in low numbers.



Did you ever experience this version and did the makers manage to out-design the official machine?