Known as the TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem in the USA and known in Japan as the PC Engine, is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989.

The lack of the success in the US sealed the fate of the machine being produced for the European market, and when it was cancelled all stock was sold to the import company Telegames, who also had a few shop outlets in the country.

Units were still available until about 10 years ago, being sold on auction sites for around £20, the price has risen steeply in recent years as appreciation for the machine has gained momentum.

This is the European machine built for the PAL tv format, it had no native games released outside of the pack in release of Blazing Lazers (Gunhed in Japan), but is fully compatible with those released in the US and Canada. It is not compatible with PC Engine games from Japan, but converters are available, although expensive.

The design of the console is identical to the US machine, apart from the colour, this version is grey and not black.

As well as the console box. an accessory pack was provided with it, this was to be region specific, so the correct PSU and leaflets were shipped with the console. The box for the actual machine contained just the console and the pack in game.

The Turbografx is very different from the PC Engine in looks, it is twice as large, and has an L shaped circuit board, which means the connector for the CD ROM system comes out the back, no peripheral was ever produced for the European machine, the US one did, but it is extremely rare to find today.

The front of the machine contains the card slot, and the power switch. The rear of the unit has a large plastic cover, which when removed reveals the expansion port, and to the left of this is where the power cable plugs in.

On the left side of the unit is where the AV socket is located, and produces one of the finest composite pictures from a console.

Manufacturer: NEC
Date: 30th October 1987

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH20981. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.