Konami probably had one of the best announcements during E3 frecently, after revealing the TurboGrafx-16 Mini (known as the PC Engine Mini in Japan and the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini in Europe).
While the Mini console’s price and release date were not announced, the company revealed six games for the US and European editions of the plug-and-play HDMI system. The tittles were R-Type; New Adventure Island; Ninja Spirit; Ys Book I & II; Dungeon Explorer and Alien Crush. More games will probably be announced in the future. Other versions of the console already have different games announced. As an example, the PC Engine Mini will include Castlevania classic Dracula X: Rondo of Blood.
The original PC Engine was designed by Hudson and manufactured by NEC. After its release in Japan in 1987, the US-focused TurboGrafx-16 followed in 1989. While the PC Engine did pretty well in Japan, the TurboGrafx-16 failed on making an impact when it was released in the US.
Konami was one of the biggest supporters of the platform. Recently, Konami acquired Hudson, which means the mini console will probably be equipped with up-to-date software. It’s still not known how many games there will be in total, as well as its price or release date. Konami said all those things will be announced soon.
The Japanese edition has some well-known games announced so far, including classics like Super Star Soldier, PC Kid (a.k.a. Bonk’s Adventure), and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. There’s still no word whether these games will be released in other regions. Japan and Europe will be getting a different design for the Mini console’s case, which was modeled after the squarish PC Engine. US customers will get a larger, rectangular shaped TurboGrafx design instead.
Konami assures all of the system’s versions will have basic functions like quick saves, virtual simulated CRT scanlines, and the classic 4:3 aspect ratio display. There will also be an optional multitap that will allow for up to five players to be playing simultaneously.
The latest plug-and-play HDMI retro system follows a trend of miniature versions of other consoles like the NES, Super NES, PlayStation, and Neo Geo. There’s also a licensed Genesis Mini coming later in September. Many of the games on those systems have been re-released for different platforms over the years. Contrarily to this, TurboGrafx games have only been re-released for the Wii and Wii U.
Konami acquired the TurboGrafx/PC Engine brand in 2011 after purchasing Hudson Soft. The original system was designed in the late ’80s by Hudson itself.
