Whether you owned an NEC Turbo Express or are simply interested in learning about different retro gaming systems, simply continue reading to discover a few fun facts about the Turbo Express.
5 Fun facts about the NEC Turbo Express:
The NEC Turbo Express was an early handheld video game console:
Before GameBoys and the Nintendo DS became popular, NEC rebased the Turbo Express which was a portable handheld video game console which debuted in 1990. On it’s debut the Turbo Express was sold in the USA as well as in Japan. However in Japan it was marketed and sold as the PC Engine GT.
It originally cost $249.99:
On its release date the NEC Turbo Express was priced at $249.99 in the United States and retailed for 44,800 yen.
On its release it’s specs were impressive:
When it was first released the Turbo Express boasted a back lit 2.6 inch LCD screen and a TV tuner. At the time one of their main competitors Nintendo, still did not offer a model which boasted an LCD screen. In fact, Nintendo wouldn’t feature an LCD in one of their portable handheld gaming devices until they released the GameBoy Light in 1998.
It’s battery life was approximately three hours:
Gamers would be able to play with their Turbo Express for three consecutive hours before they’d need to recharge or replace their AA batteries. At the time the Turbo Express had a longer battery life than the Sega Nomad, which lasted between two to three hours. However, the Turbo Express couldn’t compete with the battery life of the Game Gear which could last for four to five hours at a time.
As it wasn’t cost effective for gamers to keep recharging their AA batteries every three hours, most gamers who owned a NEC Turbo Express would invest in purchasing an adapter. Which would allow them to keep playing their favorite games, while their Turbo Express was plugged in to their adapter.
It launched TurboLink a feature which would allow two players to play together:
One of the Turbo Express’ most popular features was TurboLink which allowed players to play one of several games with one of their friends. As an example, two players could play Falcon together, a two player flight simulator.
Unfortunately the Turbo Express had a short lived life span as it simply couldn’t compete with its competitors such as Nintendo and Atari. Both of which had already amassed cult followings.
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