Greetings and Salutations (Added scans of my last items)

[IvanBeavkov]

I have made a couple of posts here already but I thought it was time to properly introduce myself.

I remember when I got my TG-16 in the spring of 92, I had been waiting for a while to save up enough money to get it. A friend of mine got one in early 91 and I remember pouring over the flyers and booklets and drooling at all of the games. It felt like forever till I could save up enough to buy one. Then I finally saved enough and I ordered it from a Telegames catalog. After another long wait the package finally came. I opened it up and there was a TG-16, Legendary Axe, and absolute no packing. I don't know why but this image is very vivid in my mind. They didn't put any packing in there at all, not a single peanut or shred of newspaper. Luckily nothing was broken. Oh and these little plastic cards were in there as well.

/9rpo8w.jpg

Anyway I played Keith Courage and Legendary Axe a ton and had a lot of fun with both games (yes even Keith Courage). A couple of months later I got Dungeon Explorer, such a fantastic game. I beat it with 3 or 4 of the characters, but with the rest I remember getting stuck on the same boss.

I didn't truly fall in love with the system till that winter. After Christmas I got the Turbo-CD and Ys Book I & II. From the beginning of the opening cinematic I knew this game was something special. I don't even know how many times I have played this game through. This was the point that I felt the Turbo was something special.

Well that is my story of how I came to love the Turbo.

I hope I can contribute to this community in some small way since all of the great info here has helped me repair and upgrade my Duo when it started to die last year. Since I fixed my Duo I have really been getting into it again and buying more games for it. The Turbo is truly a great system.

Edit:
Here is the link to all 56 pages of the Club Turbo Vol 1 catalog as high quality PNG files (well minus page 53 and 54 that I took out to subscribe to TurboPlay magazine).
https://goo.gl/photos/fstB8KjS6cqGU4bT7

Here is a link to high quality PNG files of all of the other images I posted.
https://goo.gl/photos/hXnCnj4z3FxTVtk9A

Edit 2:
High quality PNG files of the TZD catalogs can be found here:
https://goo.gl/photos/9XuxwZKFWCh7WcwR7

Edit 3:
Go here for high res scans of the Club Duo Vol 1 & 2 catalogs.
https://goo.gl/photos/pfyixCQYh1VKFRkt9

[esteban]

Welcome, comrade

Dungeon Explorer chiptunes = L'awesome

Shame on you for not falling in love with TG-16 after playing Bloody Wolf, you bastard.

Sorry. I might have been too harsh.

/9rpo8w.jpg

Those cards are awesome!

PLEASE: Scan each one for me (tg-16.com) and Nulltard (DoxPhile) because we are trying to have a digital archive of awesome stuff. Scanning info here: https://archives.tg-16.com/help_us.htm#scanning

How big/small are those cards? What's on the back?

CONJECTURE: If those cards are larger than a credit card (~bigger than a CD booklet), those cards were probably for retail stores...I don't see any holes punched in them, so they weren't in a binder (for customer perusal). So, I am guessing they would have been mounted on a wall (Toys-R-Us) or placed on a shelf. Customers could decide what game to buy, then grab a ticket (Toys-R-Us) or ask a sales clerk to purchase the game.

Anyway, welcome ;)

[johnnykonami]

Shame on you for not falling in love with TG-16 after playing Bloody Wolf, you bastard.

Welcome aboard, Ivan!

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Welcome aboard!

Those cards look kinda like the kiosk ones, except those have holes (like este said).  They're pretty cool, wherever they came from. 

[IvanBeavkov]

Here is a link to the images in PNG format at 300dpi.
https://goo.gl/photos/hXnCnj4z3FxTVtk9A

They are 2 5/8 inches wide by 2 15/16 inches tall.

One has Ys on one side and Bloody Wolf on the other. (I have 2 of these cards).
The other one has Devil's Crush and Dragon's Curse.

I have never seen these cards anywhere else and I thought there were a neat extra that was thrown into the box.

I'll look at the other papers I got from back and the day. I got some letters from TTI, one hand written. I used to write to them asking questions, even bought some replacement manuals directly from them.

Edit added additional info:

Here is a flyer and a letter you guys might find interesting.

TurboDuo Intelligent Link

High Res PNG Link: https://goo.gl/photos/PVVcwrREgJqpzzU66


Letter from TTi talking about upcoming releases. Note the PS at the bottom.

High Res PNG Link: https://goo.gl/photos/GdMK1GN4QrsLeTJK7

[esteban]

Here is a link to the images in PNG format at 300dpi.
https://goo.gl/photos/hXnCnj4z3FxTVtk9A

They are 2 5/8 inches wide by 2 15/16 inches tall.

One has Ys on one side and Bloody Wolf on the other. (I have 2 of these cards).
The other one has Devil's Crush and Dragon's Curse.

I have never seen these cards anywhere else and I thought there were a neat extra that was thrown into the box.

I'll look at the other papers I got from back and the day. I got some letters from TTI, one hand written. I used to write to them asking questions, even bought some replacement manuals directly from them.

What?!?! Those are supremely interesting.

So friggin' tiny!

What purpose could they possibly serve? Perhaps a miniature mock-up of a kiosk with miniaturized cards?

IDK, but they are ridiculously small.



BACK ON TOPIQUE:
Yes, please share any other documents/correspondence from TTi

Thanks again.

[IvanBeavkov]

Here is the hand written letter I got. I believe I was asking if they had the Map & Further Information booklet for Lords of the Riding Sun and if it was possible to get a new back case insert for Ys Book I & II. I bought it used and (MF) wrote their initials in black sharpie on the yellow stripe on the back.

They didn't have the booklet, but sent me a photo copy of it, and they sent me an empty CD jewel case. I think they misunderstood what I was asking about.


High Res PNG link: https://goo.gl/photos/HM53ivaDrS6wuvbG6

esteban also check out my edit in the above post.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

That's a nice level of personal customer service. 

[sirhcman]

Thanks for sharing!

Is that name Scott Budley?  Now we must stalk and pry for more info!

Looks like Bradley to me.

[csgx1]

Welcome!  Interesting and unique stuff you got there.  Thanks for sharing.

[Bardoly]

Welcome to Pcenginefx!

[IvanBeavkov]

Here are some pics of the little cards next to the games for scale. I've also got some other stuff to share, hopefully I can get some time next week to scan them.

/15s3dio.jpg

/70c669.jpg

[LostFlunky]

Thanks for sharing!

Is that name Scott Budley?  Now we must stalk and pry for more info!

Scatt Bradley - sounds promising...

[esteban]

Here are some pics of the little cards next to the games for scale. I've also got some other stuff to share, hopefully I can get some time next week to scan them.

/15s3dio.jpg

/70c669.jpg

Very nice!

If only all the new folks could take photos like this!

[IvanBeavkov]

Here is an interesting newsletter they sent me. I don't know why I got it since it is a retail newsletter. I wrote them a lot back in the day probably every other month for a while asking questions and such. So I guess they were running out of things to send me. I have never done that with any other company. That Just goes to show how awesome the Turbo was.

Link to high quality PNG files.
https://goo.gl/photos/hXnCnj4z3FxTVtk9A

Anyway here it is the TTI Retail News Vol 1.

[IvanBeavkov]

Here is a catalog they sent me Club Turbo Vol 1. It is interesting to see the things in here that didn't come out or had their name changed.




Hmmmm... World Class Baseball II, I don't remember that.


Or these helpful mini advice boxes. I would never have know catching all of the power up items would make Aero Blasters easier.



Here is the link to all 56 pages as high quality PNG files (well minus page 53 and 54 that I took out to subscribe to TurboPlay magazine).
https://goo.gl/photos/fstB8KjS6cqGU4bT7

[Nazi NecroPhile]

$250 for a Duo and Lords!  Hot damn, that woulda been a sweet deal back in the day.

I wish I'd known about the rebate coupon's expiration date extension.  I could've cashed in a couple more on x-mas gifts and whatnot instead of just the pair I managed to 'spend'.

[Psycho Punch]

I like the selection of games used for the first 4 pages of the game catalog... 

edit: TV Sports Baseball looked great from the screenshots in the catalog... wish someone would find it and release the ROM in the wild.

[munchiaz]

welcome, and thanks for sharing all the great info and pictures.

[MotherGunner]

Did your Dragon's curse come in a white tray like that?

[RNSpeed]

Interesting indeed. Thanks for sharing.

[IvanBeavkov]

Did your Dragon's curse come in a white tray like that?

No it didn't, I got it game and manual only. I bought replacement HuCard sleeves from Seymor Onion and took the extra HuCard jewel case insert from Street Fighter II. I put the insert in a new jewel case and replaced the one from SFII with a white CD tray. So now Dragon's Curse has a nice case to live in instead of flopping all around.

I am still working on a nice insert to print out to put in the case though.

[MotherGunner]

Did your Dragon's curse come in a white tray like that?

No it didn't, I got it game and manual only. I bought replacement HuCard sleeves from Seymor Onion and took the extra HuCard jewel case insert from Street Fighter II. I put the insert in a new jewel case and replaced the one from SFII with a white CD tray. So now Dragon's Curse has a nice case to live in instead of flopping all around.

I am still working on a nice insert to print out to put in the case though.

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=18661.0

[IvanBeavkov]

Did your Dragon's curse come in a white tray like that?

No it didn't, I got it game and manual only. I bought replacement HuCard sleeves from Seymor Onion and took the extra HuCard jewel case insert from Street Fighter II. I put the insert in a new jewel case and replaced the one from SFII with a white CD tray. So now Dragon's Curse has a nice case to live in instead of flopping all around.

I am still working on a nice insert to print out to put in the case though.

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=18661.0

I have seen those, while they are awesome they are also expensive, which is expected for a custom 3D printed case. Personally I can't justify spending over $20 $5 on a case when i can buy regular CD jewel cases for ~$0.50 a piece.

Also, I am enjoying making an insert for that back of the case, and I'm trying to put as much of the info that is found on the back of the cardboard box as I can on the insert. Of course considering I can't find an image of the back of the box for Dragon's Curse that is making it a little difficult. I'm basing the formatting off of other game boxes and took the story text from the back of one of the master system versions and tweaked it to fit the Turbo version's story.

Edit: Fixed price reading comprehension. Still a little to much for me though.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I like the selection of games used for the first 4 pages of the game catalog... 

edit: TV Sports Baseball looked great from the screenshots in the catalog... wish someone would find it and release the ROM in the wild.

I think that this game was World Class Baseball II, which is just the translated Power League II or III.  You can pick those up for relatively cheap.

[Psycho Punch]

I like the selection of games used for the first 4 pages of the game catalog... 

edit: TV Sports Baseball looked great from the screenshots in the catalog... wish someone would find it and release the ROM in the wild.

I think that this game was World Class Baseball II, which is just the translated Power League II or III.  You can pick those up for relatively cheap.

No, I really mean TV Sports Baseball, it's one of the pages in Ivan's album with all the pages of the catalog.

[Alt-Nintega]

great to see that there is still fresh material out there and new things to find out about the turbo. epic thread. thanks for posting.

[esteban]

I love everything you posted, Ivan.

The TTi Retail News #1 newsletter is something I had never seen before!

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I like the selection of games used for the first 4 pages of the game catalog... 

edit: TV Sports Baseball looked great from the screenshots in the catalog... wish someone would find it and release the ROM in the wild.

I think that this game was World Class Baseball II, which is just the translated Power League II or III.  You can pick those up for relatively cheap.

No, I really mean TV Sports Baseball, it's one of the pages in Ivan's album with all the pages of the catalog.

Ah, my bad.  I misunderstood.  I too would've liked to see the TV Sports Franchise continue. I think it would be cool to see the progression of TV Sports games from '91-'93 if they would have sold better.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

There should've been a TV Sport Curling.  Sweep, dammit.  SWEEEEEEP!

[esteban]

TV SPORTS Bowling.

[SuperPlay]

Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing

[Gentlegamer]

I wonder if those cards could be up res'd enough to make little posters.

[esteban]

I wonder if those cards could be up res'd enough to make little posters.

They are so tiny, and they are basically the cover art (which is available at a larger size)...so they are fun, but do not offer any unique artwork or unique layout/design.

[IvanBeavkov]

Here are some more scans of random stuff I got.

I added all of the new scans to this link:
https://goo.gl/photos/hXnCnj4z3FxTVtk9A

Get your facts about the Turbo Technologies Super CD!
WOW TTI has 100% of the market in CD-ROM based home video games!!!!!!!!!! Until October 1992.


The Turbo is a custom race car and Sega is a generic dump truck!


Research and Development
Street Fighter II and the Duo R are being considered for a US release.


Here are Coming Attractions flyers they sent me.

After learning more of the history of the Turbo, especially from the Gamastura article (Stalled engine: The TurboGrafx-16 turns 25) looking at the progression of these now just feels sad.

Turbo Force #3 - January 1993
This is just a photocopy of page 28 from that issue of TurboForce but I remember being excited when I saw it. Dungeon Explorer II, Cosmic Fantasy 3 and Military Madness 2!!!

You can find a better scan of this page at the tg-16 archives.
https://archives.tg-16.com/TURBOFORCE/TF-03-28.jpg

March 1993
Just a couple months later, hmmmm.... where did Military Madness 2 go? Oh, what's this? Macross/Robotech?!?!? YESS!!


May 1993
Hey, where did Cosmic Fantasy 3 go??? Hmmmm... things keep dropping off.


June 1993
Hey now, Robotech is gone, and the list keeps getting smaller.


September 1993
5 games....... and all of the chip games are gone.


1994
Sigh,


1993 must have been a depressing year to work at TTI.

[IvanBeavkov]

I found a map for the Addams Family that I made. I think making the map made the game more fun. Once I figured out where everything was the game was not so difficult. The controls are still clunky though.

[esteban]

IVAN!

I love all of this stuff. 

I have to quickly document and do something with it today before it gets caught in my backlog (endless list of work, that I do for fun )

Damn! I have so much to do...this, plus the UK gaming scans (CVG), + other stuff...damn!

Nomination for Noob of the Year has been submitted.

Good luck! And thanks for all the scans!

Seriously!

[IvanBeavkov]

IVAN!

I love all of this stuff. 

I have to quickly document and do something with it today before it gets caught in my backlog (endless list of work, that I do for fun )

Damn! I have so much to do...this, plus the UK gaming scans (CVG), + other stuff...damn!

Nomination for Noob of the Year has been submitted.

Good luck! And thanks for all the scans!

Seriously!

I'm just happy to be able to share these, and I'm glad you guys appreciate them.

esteban,
Glad to keep you busy, I should scan my 10 different TZD sales flyers next. 

Don't worry I will take me a while to scan them all. I do have a bunch more stuff to scan though, and I will keep posting the stuff as I get the chance.

[IvanBeavkov]

Here is a cool TTi flyer I have enjoy.

Once again I added all of these new scans to this link:
https://goo.gl/photos/hXnCnj4z3FxTVtk9A

[esteban]

Friggin' Sweet.

[Phase]

Nice scans!
This caught my eye lol WTF kind of advice is this?



The anime girl page is really cool, Something about the screen shots kinda bother me
maybe they should have just had Macross screen shots on the front there or some text with game titles or something
Its like what game is the babe in TTI? lol just nitpicking 

[esteban]

Nice scans!
This caught my eye lol WTF kind of advice is this?


The anime girl page is really cool, Something about the screen shots kinda bother me
maybe they should have just had Macross screen shots on the front there or some text with game titles or something
Its like what game is the babe in TTI? lol just nitpicking 

Holy crap!  Good catch: "some weapons are useless..." BULLSHITE. All weapons are fun in BL and can become pretty awesome.

Also, you can beat BL even if you get degraded to pea shooter  frequently. It is actually quite forgiving.

[IvanBeavkov]

Nice scans!
This caught my eye lol WTF kind of advice is this?


The anime girl page is really cool, Something about the screen shots kinda bother me
maybe they should have just had Macross screen shots on the front there or some text with game titles or something
Its like what game is the babe in TTI? lol just nitpicking 

I think most of the mini advice boxes are hilarious. It makes me wonder what the process was of coming up with them. Did someone actually play each game before writing them, or did they just look at screen shots and a description?

[Opethian]

I never use the IV weapon even fully powered its not that great
full power III or 8way w/ homing is the way to go

[esteban]

I never use the IV weapon even fully powered its not that great
full power III or 8way w/ homing is the way to go

I respect that everyone has their preferences.

For example, I really think that weapon II (wave deflector?) is pretty lame (not as much fun to use as the others, but I use it for variety...it's fun to switch weapons).

IV can be lame, too, but combine it with "F" and you get that awesome comet launching out! That's pretty kool.

IV is for the folks who need to be comforted with a security blanket (Ring Blaster?)

WITHOUT THE COMET, IV is lame.

But, I'm glad II and IV exist, because I still like variety and changing things up.

I think most of the mini advice boxes are hilarious. It makes me wonder what the process was of coming up with them. Did someone actually play each game before writing them, or did they just look at screen shots and a description?

I think someone made up most of them. Maybe a few tips were gleaned from an instruction manual/magazine review, but, to be honest, it doesn't appear as if that basic level of effort was expended.

WE GOTTA HAVE MINI-ADVICE FOR EVERY GAME, GODDAMMIT. Deadline in two hours.

[IvanBeavkov]

I think most of the mini advice boxes are hilarious. It makes me wonder what the process was of coming up with them. Did someone actually play each game before writing them, or did they just look at screen shots and a description?

I think someone made up most of them. Maybe a few tips were gleaned from an instruction manual/magazine review, but, to be honest, it doesn't appear as if that basic level of effort was expended.

WE GOTTA HAVE MINI-ADVICE FOR EVERY GAME, GODDAMMIT. Deadline in two hours.

Ya, it was probably something that boringly simple.

[esteban]

TTI Retail News Vol 1.
/53lbbp.jpg
NOTES:
* Although officially launched on October 10, 1992...it wasn't until May 1993 that DUO was widely available (retail stores nationwide is what the flyer suggests?)

* The DUO itself was supposed to be advertised during major shows on major networks--I watched all of these shows live, back in the day, and I don't remember seeing a *single* DUO advertisement (I lived in NYC market):

FOX (Channel 5 NYC)
In Living Color
The Simpsons
COPS
Married with Children
Comic Strip Live

NBC (Channel 4 NYC)
The Tonight Show
Cheers
SNL
Late Night with David Letterman (he was still at NBC when this flyer was made)

MTV
ESPN
CNN
TNT
DISCOVERY




QUESTION: Was TTi simply trying to convince retailers that DUO was relevant? That DUO would be aggressively marketed? I honestly don't think TTi really had the money to pay for any expensive advertising, let alone an expensive marketing blitz of the most popular shows/most popular networks circa 1993....do any of you remember seeing any ads?

Print ads are easy to verify.

Broadcast/cable TV ads are harder to pin down.

However, even if the NYC market was far too expensive, perhaps FOX/NBC in Paris, Texas was within TTi's budget?

We do know that TTi was quick to announce many games (such as Robotech/Macross) in promotional material simply to generate interest in the DUO platform...so this would not have been the first time they intentionally manipulated retailers/customers...

[CrackTiger]

I got my Duo from Radio Shack Canada in 1992.

Super CD games arrived months earlier.

[IvanBeavkov]

Here is another TTi flyer this one was a tri-fold.

Once again I added all of these new scans to this link:
https://goo.gl/photos/hXnCnj4z3FxTVtk9A

Oh, and I am working on scanning all of TZD flyers I got. I'm hoping I can post them soon.

These first 3 are the "outside" of the flyer from left to right.



These 3 are the "inside".

[reno5]

Very interesting post. Keep the scan coming.