8-Bit TurboExpress
Last updated: Tuesday, August 4, 2009
NEC released the TurboExpress in 1991 hoping to claim it’s share of the portable gaming market even though the market was saturated with Nintendo’s Game Boy, Atari’s Lynx, and Sega’s Game Gear. What set the TurboExpress apart from the other aforementioned handhelds is that it was essentially a portable version of the NEC TurboGrafx-16. It supported all of the TurboGrafx-16 HuCard games that were on the market already. This was very attractive for gamers because there was already an established library for the new system.
The one thing going against it at it’s launch was that it was priced at $300. This was more than any of the consoles at the time (well not the Neo Geo or 3DO) and one of the main factors of why the system didn’t succeed. Even after a price drop to $199 they still couldn’t get gamers interested in the unit. The TurboExpress and it’s big brother, the TurboGrafx-16, both dropped out of sight by the end of 1993.
This is really sad as there were lots of great games that you could play on it. The TurboGrafx-16 had some of the best action and shooters around and they held up remarkably well on the small screen. I do recommend picking up some rechargeable batteries as this unit sucks them dry in about 3 hours.
This system is highly recommended to anyone who owned the TurboGrafx-16 since they don’t have to purchase any more games. It is a solid unit and what better way to pass the time on those long car trips than playing some Neutopia or Bonk?
You may also like...
No related posts
