1up.com: Saving the System - TurboGrafx-16

Arkhan Asylum · 11/29/2011, 02:50 PM

I like NES box art after MegaMan 2.

Alot of it was pretty awesome.

Ultima Exodus, Legacy of the Wizard, Contra... it was all pretty sweet.

Jackal ruled too

geise · 11/29/2011, 03:07 PM

When I think shitty box art Astal and Guardian Heroes come to mind. I have always bought games based off of the game screen shots or from actually playing it. The TG-16's problem was it didn't have any great platformers or arcade ports, minus a few handful. Only a couple good arcade ports of shooters no one really played outside of Japan. Shooters were becoming a dying breed on the home consoles back then. Around 92 everyone was wanting fighting games. I was beginning to be in a minority still craving shooters. RPG's weren't the big thing yet in the states. It was just a bad time in the US for the system. The mindset of gamers was totally different back then. Now everyone is like "Oh, I never had a Turbo back in the day, I'm gonna check it out!" People wanted the arcade experience at home. The Genesis had a good amount of games that were decent ports of the arcade counter parts. The SNES also had some popular arcade ports.

SignOfZeta · 11/29/2011, 03:45 PM

I think we should have a parallel discussion to this one that is about the US Saturn. I'm pretty sure that the TG16 was basically just totally doomed from the start, but I'm not sure about the Saturn.

jlued686 · 11/29/2011, 03:52 PM

I agree. The more I think about the whole situation with NEC launching the Turbo up against a firmly entrenched NES and a focused Genesis, the more I tend to think they were fucked from the beginning. Granted, they could have fared slightly better if they had made a few different decisions. But I don't think 1st or even 2nd place was possible. They certainly could've made a more respectable showing to keep the momentum up for the next generation, but it's not as though they would've followed it up with the PC-FX in the States. That thing would've certainly been DOA here.

The Saturn, though? That machine could have been great here with just a few tweaks and by doing a better job of localizing games. I love that thing. The Turbo, Dreamcast, and Saturn are my three favorite consoles ever.

spenoza · 11/29/2011, 04:58 PM

The Saturn situation is similar, I agree, but that system wasn't doomed from the start for the US market like the TG. The Dreamcast is a whole other beast. It was a success in the US, and could have continued to be had it not fared so badly in Japan.

SignOfZeta · 11/29/2011, 05:02 PM

The worst thing about the US Saturn was Sega basically releasing nothing for an entire year near the end. This was Bernie's idea...somehow it was supposed to prepare people's minds for loving the DC. I bought many imports during that time, great stuff.

Joe Redifer · 11/29/2011, 05:43 PM

QuoteI need to say this too: regardless of whether the box art was better in Japan (and I think in many cases this is debatable), I really don't think that had any measurable impact on TG16 sales. Have you guys ever really not bought a game because of awful box art?

Anyone who wants a particular game, I don't think the box art is going to stop them, no. And I agree it didn't have a measurable impact, but that kind of thing is hard to measure. What it might have done in a few cases here and there is damage one's perception of the system overall as they saw the games on store shelves. They see the awesome, never awful artwork of the Genesis and SNES games and the always awful art of the TG-16 (embellishing, yes) and maybe they think the system is more "kiddy" or whatever. This helps them to decide to buy a different system either then or down the road. I can't say that this is directly responsible for the systems overall lackluster performance, but it may have had an impact on some people. But I don't think it stopped anyone who already wanted the system from buying it.

SignOfZeta · 11/29/2011, 06:56 PM

There is no question whatsoever that GOOD artwork DID sell games for the PC Engine. Flavor of the month character designers could make or break games back then. Yuna, Startling Odessey. Hell, somebody bought Energy and it wasn't because they had ever played the fucking thing. It had to have been the box. I would actually say that a huge part of the PCE apeal was the killer box art.

Hell, I STILL buy PCE games just because of the box, and through the magic that is wholesale piracy I can sample everything before I buy. Similarly I will buy and re-buy specific versions of movies, books, etc just to get the cooler packaging from specific releases.

Of course not everyone sees it this way, but many people here only buy US games, and only buy them out of nostalgia. They actually think shitty covers are awesome. My brain doesn't work that way.

BigusSchmuck · 11/29/2011, 07:15 PM

QuoteDeadly Towers, anyone? lol

Am I the only one who enjoyed that game? I guess people didn't like the god awful music (yet strangely catchy) or the fact that you die so quickly from falling off those towers.

Arkhan Asylum · 11/29/2011, 07:32 PM

Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 11/29/2011, 07:15 PM
QuoteDeadly Towers, anyone? lol
Am I the only one who enjoyed that game? I guess people didn't like the god awful music (yet strangely catchy) or the fact that you die so quickly from falling off those towers.

I just thought the game itself was pretty dumb and it didn't have the atmosphere I hoped for from a game called Deadly Towers. I expected something gritty.

BigusSchmuck · 11/29/2011, 08:41 PM

QuoteI just thought the game itself was pretty dumb and it didn't have the atmosphere I hoped for from a game called Deadly Towers. I expected something gritty.

Just for that remark I'll make it my personal mission to port it over to the PC-Engine! Joking of course, but um yeah box art from that era is either really cool looking or just plain kiddy. I will say this though, the cover art on Iron Sword featuring Fabio didn't make me want to play that game as a kid unless of course it included the goose that hit him on that fated roller coaster ride (no wonder why flying creatures that looked strangely like geese did so much damage to you in that game)!

Arkhan Asylum · 11/29/2011, 09:11 PM

Ironsword sucked anyways though...

jperryss · 11/29/2011, 09:28 PM

Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 11/29/2011, 07:15 PM
QuoteDeadly Towers, anyone? lol
Am I the only one who enjoyed that game? I guess people didn't like the god awful music (yet strangely catchy) or the fact that you die so quickly from falling off those towers.

I liked it as a kid, even finished it legitimately on a few occasions.

Arkhan Asylum · 11/30/2011, 12:06 AM

I don't think the game is bad, I just think the cover is misleading as all hell. and the title makes it worse.

As it stands, the game is alright. Kind of dopey. But, its ok.

guyjin · 11/30/2011, 09:33 PM

Quote from: Sadler on 11/29/2011, 11:42 AMI need to say this too: regardless of whether the box art was better in Japan (and I think in many cases this is debatable), I really don't think that had any measurable impact on TG16 sales. Have you guys ever really not bought a game because of awful box art?

No, but when I was a kid I often made decisions about what game to rent based largely on box art; and since I never bought games without renting them first I would never buy it.

edit: well, almost never. I did occasionally buy games sight unseen from garage sales and the like, and in those cases I mostly based my choices on the cart art. Got The Guardian Legend for the NES back in the day that way.

Arkhan Asylum · 12/01/2011, 08:38 AM

I got Legacy of the Wizard based off the sticker on the cart when I was around 8. It cost 1$ at a used shop.

best 1$ ever spent.