Where exactly does this fall??

[nectarsis]

We all know that first came the PC Engine/Turbo grafx, then the PC-FX.   Yet what exactly is the Super Grafx?  It wasn't really the PCE2, and the FX filled the "next-gen" system role.  I mean the Super Grafx wasn't a next gen leap, wasn't supported thru new games almost at all.  SO what was the real purpose of it?  Was it supposed to be the PCE2, and just got scaled back due to the impending FX? Or did Hudson/NEC figure that enough R&D $, and time had been invested just to prematurely push it out the door?

[Tatsujin]

to challenge the announced SFC at that time. stock up some existing pce hardware (for true parallax and double sized sprites..), voila you had the SGFX.

[Ceti Alpha]

I've always considered the SGX to be a PCE2.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

I'd say it was meant to be PCEngineEngine, or PCE² if you will.  They fixed some of the deficiencies that the PCE had when compared to the MD and SF, but probably didn't see the need to out muscle 'em on every front (namely the SF's rotation, scaling, color capabilities, and sound chip), as the PCE was still selling well.

[Ceti Alpha]

I'd say it was meant to be PCEngineEngine, or PCE² if you will.  They fixed some of the deficiencies that the PCE had when compared to the MD and SF, but probably didn't see the need to out muscle 'em on every front (namely the SF's rotation, scaling, color capabilities, and sound chip), as the PCE was still selling well.

As glad as I am NEC released the SGX, it was obviously unnecessary in strictly business terms. That being said, I'll most certainly be purchasing one of those sexy beasts as soon as possible. 

[WoodyXP]

Has anyone ever opened one of these up?  The thing is huge compared to the
PCE.  I wonder if the size was necessary.

[ccovell]

Not necessary at all -- the board is larger of course (1 layer compared to the PCE's 2) but there's a lot of empty space inside.  Oh -- and the bolts are fake too. 

[Tatsujin]

Oh -- and the bolts are fake too. 

TEH SHOCK

[Joe Redifer]

I spent so much time with my metric Allen Wrench set (or Hex Key, whatever you want to call them) trying to loosen those damn bolts.  They stripped very easily and NEVER turned!  I was pissed!  Now I'll never get the SuperGrafx open.

Anyway, the SuperGrafx is kind of like a stand-alone 32X, so to speak.... but not really.  Does that help?  Also you'll notice that Japan was hyper-jealous of the superior TurboGrafx-16 name compared to the name "PC Engine" which was hated by all.  It is because of that which made NEC add "Grafx" to all of their non-CD consoles.  Hyper-jealousy, I tell ya!

[Turbo D]

I'm with Joe on this one; Japan was hyper jealous of the TurboGrafx-16.

[Ceti Alpha]

I'm with Joe on this one; Japan was hyper jealous of the TurboGrafx-16.

So say we all. 

[Nazi NecroPhile]

I spent so much time with my metric Allen Wrench set (or Hex Key, whatever you want to call them) trying to loosen those damn bolts.  They stripped very easily and NEVER turned!  I was pissed!  Now I'll never get the SuperGrafx open.

Duh, they're SAE. 

It is because of that which made NEC add "Grafx" to all of their non-CD consoles.  Hyper-jealousy, I tell ya!

Had they applied such logic to all of their consoles, the PC-FX would've been called the HyperGrafx.  Consequently, it wouldn't have been a failure and we'd all be gaming on the HG3 now instead of the PS3/360/Wii shit boxes.  Pandas would also be plentiful and no longer on the endangered species lists.

[Joe Redifer]

I concur that is why the PC-FX failed even worse and more embarrassingly than the Jaguar, but I said "non CD consoles".  Look at my comment you quoted and you'll see!!!!

[nat]

The SuperGrafx was a waste of NEC's resources, on all fronts. It was obviously unnecessary-- many of it's hardware improvements the base TurboGrafx/PCE was able to emulate in software with the same end result to the gamer. After the SFC's announcement, NEC got their shit stirred and worried they'd lose their market share. Their concern lasted approximately 3.5 minutes, once they realized the base TG/PCE (which was cheaper) still sold just as well, they discontinued the misguided SGX project. It would have been nice if the TurboGrafx had the SuperGrafx's capabilities in hardware from the get-go, but it didn't, and still put up a fantastic fight against the SFC and Genesis. The SuperGrafx came and went in the blink of an eye in the video gaming world and wouldn't even be worth a second thought if it wasn't for great ports that won't run on the standard system like Ghouls 'n Ghosts and the fantastic all-original game Aldynes.

[Sensei]

There is really nothing else to compare it to.  No one else has done something like that.  The reason of course is that it was a bad idea in the first place.  The only thing like it was (as someone above said) the 32X which also flopped horribly.

Still, I love mine.

[WoodyXP]

Word life.. I like the 32X analogy.  They were both pimp, but out of reach for most consumers.  If I bought a PCE
in 1987 for $220 I wouldn't want to be spending $380 on a SuperGrafx three years later.  That just wouldn't be
practical.

[Tatsujin]

the really and only advantage of the SGFX was the real dual layer scrolling, which had to have be done on the PCE either via h-sync scrolling but which only allowes to scroll in different speed on horizontal scanlines (no object overlapping), therefore it isn't a real parallax scrolling of its definition, or via used sprites (huge sprites). good programmer could use a lot of above tricks to simulate excellent multilayer scrolling (winds of thunder, dracula x, magical chase etc.), but which also had sometimes some sprite flickers as a result.
but for many other not such experienced team it was kinda shuttered or they where to lazy to use the advatage of such tricks.
that why almost any cheap MD games came with parallax scrolling, while the pce don't.

[Joe Redifer]

SG also had double the sprites, I believe, as well as more RAM to handle them(???).  Too bad it didn't have a quicker CPU to tr00ly take advantage of what it had.  Also it did not have an optical out so it could not support Dolby Digital AC3 even though it wasn't invented yet.  That's why people didn't buy the SG.

[TurboXray]

 Double the sprites isn't as important than double the number of sprites per scanline - 32 sprites or 512 pixels before flicker. That's awesome. Better than the SFC limit which is better than the MD in comparison. That makes the SGX's 512x240 res mode very viable compared to the PCE. The extra BG layer is great in that not just for more complex scrolls, but like on the MD and SFC bosses can be made of a single BG layer - allowing for huge multi-screen bosses and combined with the new sprite scanline limit - some impressive stuff can be made. The second video processor (VDC) of the SGX means double the VRAM - less VRAM updates and less decompression on the fly. The extra system ram is very much useful for hucard (for decompressing graphics and keeping a buffer for them), though not as much so for SCDs. The SGX also has a method of allowing up to 112khz sample audio playback with little CPU resource (a side effect on the PCE prevents this).

 None of the games come close to showing off what the SGX can do. It's a shame they didn't include the two extra chips of the SGX (and it's audio revision) into the Duo, since it came out before.

[Ceti Alpha]

Double the sprites isn't as important than double the number of sprites per scanline - 32 sprites or 512 pixels before flicker. That's awesome. Better than the SFC limit which is better than the MD in comparison. That makes the SGX's 512x240 res mode very viable compared to the PCE. The extra BG layer is great in that not just for more complex scrolls, but like on the MD and SFC bosses can be made of a single BG layer - allowing for huge multi-screen bosses and combined with the new sprite scanline limit - some impressive stuff can be made. The second video processor (VDC) of the SGX means double the VRAM - less VRAM updates and less decompression on the fly. The extra system ram is very much useful for hucard (for decompressing graphics and keeping a buffer for them), though not as much so for SCDs. The SGX also has a method of allowing up to 112khz sample audio playback with little CPU resource (a side effect on the PCE prevents this).

 None of the games come close to showing off what the SGX can do. It's a shame they didn't include the two extra chips of the SGX (and it's audio revision) into the Duo, since it came out before.

Yes, that is a shame.

[Tatsujin]

It's a shame they didn't include the two extra chips of the SGX (and it's audio revision) into the Duo, since it came out before.

may be the hardware costs would have become too expensive?

[WoodyXP]

the hardware costs would have become too expensive?

That's what I was thinking... the DUO started off at like $550.  An SGX DUO would have
been ridiculously priced.. maybe even beyond Neo Geo territory.  It would have been damn
sick though.