Memory
64KB
- Main RAM
- 64 KB
- ADPCM sample RAM
- 64 KB
- Backup RAM (saves)
- 2 KB
- Super System Card / Super CD-ROM² buffer RAM (total)
- 256 KB
- Arcade Card RAM
- 2 MB
PC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD
Also known as CD-ROM² System · TurboGrafx-CD · Super CD-ROM²
- NEC
- Add-on
- Fourth generation
70 PC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD games, all playable free in your browser.
NEC released the CD-ROM² add-on for the PC Engine in Japan on December 4, 1988, and the North American TurboGrafx-CD followed in November 1989 at $399.99 without a bundled game. The unit combined a CD-ROM drive, an interface unit that linked it to the console and powered both, and a System Card inserted in the HuCard slot to start CD games. It made the PC Engine the first video game console to use CD-ROM as a storage medium, giving developers extra storage, CD audio and ADPCM samples.
- First released · Japan
- 1988
- Units sold
- 1.9M
- Games in the library · all playable
- 70
TIMELINE
Released in 1988
- JPJapan
- NANorth America
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1989 | 2 |
| 1990 | 8 |
| 1991 | 7 |
| 1992 | 21 |
| 1993 | 16 |
| 1994 | 10 |
| 1995 | 2 |
| 1996 | 3 |
| 1997 | 1 |
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Sales
1.9million
- Scope
- Japan, CD-ROM² add-ons and PC Engine Duo consoles combined (as of 1996-03)
Media
CD-ROM
Launch price
$399.99
- North America
- $399.99
Family line
- This system
- PC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD
- After
- PC-FX
THE STORY
About the PCE CD
NEC extended the format several times. The Super CD-ROM² standard of 1991 updated the BIOS to version 3.0 and raised buffer RAM from 64 KB to 256 KB; it arrived built into the PC Engine Duo (September 1991, sold as the TurboDuo in North America from 1992), as the Super System Card for existing drives and as an all-in-one Super CD-ROM² unit. The Arcade Card of 1994, released only in Japan, raised RAM to 2 MB for ports of Neo Geo fighting games and original Arcade CD-ROM² titles.
The CD-ROM drive sold 60,000 units in its first five months in Japan, and by March 1996 CD-ROM² units and Duo consoles together had reached 1.92 million in Japan. The last licensed PC Engine release, Dead of the Brain Part 1 & 2, came out on Super CD-ROM² in June 1999.
- Made the PC Engine the first video game console to use CD-ROM as a storage medium (1988).
- The Super System Card (1991) updated the BIOS to version 3.0 and raised buffer RAM from 64 KB to 256 KB.
- The 1994 Arcade Card raised RAM to 2 MB, enabling ports of Neo Geo games such as Fatal Fury 2 and Art of Fighting.
- The PC Engine Duo / TurboDuo integrated the console, CD drive and Super System Card in one unit.
- The last licensed PC Engine game, Dead of the Brain Part 1 & 2, was released on Super CD-ROM² on June 3, 1999.
THE LIBRARY
70 PCE CD games on Back2OldGames
70
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1989–1997
<p class="lib-span">46 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
19 games with a known number of players.
THE GAMES
The PCE CD library
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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