In part 1 of ‘PAX AUS 2013 Classic Consoles In All Their Glory’, we covered the Intellivision-II (1982) to the Amiga 500 (1987). In this installment we will start with the PC Engine (1987) and end with Atari’s final console, the Jaguar (1993).
![PC-Engine [left]](https://i0.wp.com/www.ausretrogamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PC-Engine-%2B-PC-Engine-Duo-R.jpg?resize=550%2C413)
- TurboGrafx-16, originally known in Japan as the ‘PC Engine’, is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan in October 1987, and in North America in August 1989.
- Discontinued: 1994.
- Media: HuCard (Turbo Chip in North America): A thin, card-like game medium, about the size of a credit card; and CD-ROM (only with the CD-ROM² add-on): The PC Engine CD was the first home video game console to offer a CD-ROM accessory.
- New games were released for the PC Engine up until 1999.
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The Sega Mega Drive was released by Sega in 1988 in Japan, 1989 in North America, and in Europe and other regions in 1990. The name “Genesis” was used in North America because Sega had been unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name there.
- Successor to the Sega Master System.
- Discontinued: 1997.
- Units sold: Estimated from 37.4 to over 41.9 million.
- Media: ROM cartridge.
- Best selling game: Sonic the Hedgehog (15 million).
- List of Sega Mega Drive games
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The Neo Geo AES console was released by SNK in January 1990 in Japan and in North America and Europe in 1991.
- Discontinued: 2004.
- Compared to other contemporary home consoles, Neo Geo’s graphics and sound were largely superior.
- Media: ROM cartridge.
- The Neo Geo was the first home game console to feature a removable memory card for saved games.
- There is a thriving collector’s scene for the Neo Geo home systems, it common for Neo Geo consoles and cartridges to fetch extremely high prices on eBay, particularly English versions of cartridges as these were produced in lower quantities. A handful of the rarest Neo Geo games can sell for well over $1,000 on eBay. The most valuable game is Kizuna Encounter.
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The GX4000 was released in Europe in September 1990 and represented Amstrad‘s first and only attempt at entering the console market. The console failed to gain popularity, selling 15,000 units in total. Within a few weeks of the initial launch, the system could be bought at discounted prices, and by July 1991 some stores were selling it for as little as £29.99. It was discontinued in 1991.
- Only 27 games were produced and distributed for the GX4000. Notable titles were the pack-in title: Burnin’ Rubber as well as RoboCop 2, Pang, Plotting, Navy Seals and Switchblade.
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The PC Engine Duo R, released in Japan in 1993, was a combination PC Engine + CD ROM system + System 3.0 card. Compared to the PC Engine Duo (released in 1991), the Duo R had a more streamlined case style which was white/beige (the original Duo case was dark grey).
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The CD32 was released by Commodore in September 1993; however, bankruptcy of Commodore International in April 1994 caused it to be discontinued only months after its debut.
- List of Games on the Amiga CD32.
- Approximately 100 000 were sold in Europe.
- Media: CD-ROM.
- Using 3rd-party devices, it is possible to upgrade the CD32 with keyboard, floppy drive, hard drive and mouse, turning it into an Amiga 1200 personal computer.
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (often called the Panasonic 3DO) was released in North America by The 3DO Company in October 1993, and in Japan and Europe 1994.
- The system was conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins.
- Instead of The 3DO Company producing the console themselves, they licensed other manufacturers to produce them. Panasonic produced the first models in 1993, and further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and GoldStar (now LG).
- Discontinued: December 31, 1996.
- Units sold: 2 million.
- Media: CD-ROM.
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The NES-101 model of the Nintendo Entertainment System is a compact, top-loading redesign of the original Nintendo Entertainment System control deck and game controllers released by Nintendo in 1993.
- The NES-101 controller, due to its shape, is often nicknamed the “dogbone” or “doggie” controller.
- Retail availability: October 1993 – March 1994.
- Media: ROM cartridge (“Game Pak”).
- Predecessor: Nintendo Entertainment System NES-001.
- Successor: Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
- The most obvious change from the NES-001 was the removal of the cartridge-loading system that caused trouble in maintenance and game-swapping. The NES-101 returned to the standard top-loading method, used by almost all cartridge systems before and since for its ease and reliability.
- Reference: Wikipedia
- The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in November 1993 in New York City and San Francisco, and the rest of the country in early 1994. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004.
- Although it was marketed as the first 64-bit gaming system, the Jaguar proved to be a commercial failure and prompted Atari to leave the home video game console market. Despite its commercial failure, the Jaguar has a dedicated fan base that produces homebrew games for it.
- Discontinued: 1996.
- Media: ROM cartridge, CD-ROM (Add-On).
- Units sold: 250,000 or fewer.
- List of Atari Jaguar games.
- Reference: Wikipedia
Stay tuned for the final part of this trilogy!
Classic Consoles supplied by: ausretrogamer, Retrospekt, Retro Domination and Retro Gaming Australia
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[…] we will start from 1982 with the Intellivision II and continue to October 1987 with the Amiga 500. Part 2 and 3 to follow […]