PC Engine Duo
TurboDuo with gamepad
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| Manufacturer | NEC Home Electronics, Hudson Soft |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fourth generation era |
| Release date | |
| Retail availability | 1991–1995 |
| Introductory price | US$299.99 (equivalent to $527.49 in 2016) |
| Discontinued | December 1995 |
| Media | TurboChip, CD-ROM |
| CPU | HuC6280 @ 1.79 MHz or 7.16 MHz |
| Memory | 8KB work RAM, 64KB video RAM, 192KB additional memory (System 3.0) |
| Display | 256 × 224, 512 × 224, 512 × 240 screen resolutions. 512 available colors, 481 on-screen colors |
| Sound | 6 PSG audio channels |
| Input | Gamepad |
| Predecessor |
TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine) TurboGrafx-CD |
| Successor | PC-FX |
The TurboDuo is a fourth-generation video game console developed by NEC Home Electronics and Hudson Soft for the North American market. The TurboDuo, released in October 1992, is the North American version of the PC Engine Duo, Japanese game console released in September 1991.
In the United States, the TurboDuo was marketed by Turbo Technologies, Inc. (or TTI) of Los Angeles, a joint venture of NEC Home Electronics and Hudson Soft. It was established to market NEC consoles in North America after NEC Home Electronics USA failed to effectively market the platform satisfactorily.
The TurboDuo integrates the capabilities of the TurboGrafx-16 and its CD-ROM drive (the TurboGrafx-CD) into a single, redesigned unit with an updated BIOS and 192 KB of additional RAM. TTI also offered the Super System Card via mail order, which provided the original TurboGrafx-CD with the 192 KB RAM upgrade.
The RAM increase and BIOS update afford the TurboDuo and PC Engine Duo compatibility with all CD-ROM² and Super CD-ROM² titles (Japanese and North American). Like the TurboGrafx-CD, the TurboDuo can read Compact Disc Digital Audio and CD+G discs. The TurboDuo, however, cannot read PC Engine HuCards without modification or an adapter. With a HuCard adapter and an Arcade Card Duo, the TurboDuo can also read Arcade CD-ROM² games (which were sold only in Japan).
When the PC Engine Duo launched in Japan on September 21, 1991, it retailed for ¥59,800. The product garnered a Good Design Award.
NEC later revised the design of the console to reduce both manufacturing costs and the sale price. This new version, the PC Engine Duo R (PCエンジンDuo-R Pī Shī Enjin Duo Āru?), went to market on March 25, 1993 with a retail price of ¥39,800. The Duo R omits the 3.5 mm phone connector for headphones, and the locking switch for the lid of the Duo's top-loading CD-ROM drive. The Duo R has an off-white, differently shaped chassis.
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Wikipedia