[garciansmith]

I wouldn't call the PC Engine unsuccessful. Sure it did poorly in the US, but it did well in Japan, even outsold the Mega Drive (Genesis). That's definitely part of the reason it had quite a few good games by Japanese companies.

[tombert]

Yeah, that's why I specified that it's relative. I honestly hadn't even heard of the Turbografx until I was a teenager, but I had a Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.

[Tiktaalik]

It's a real tragedy for North American gamers because it seems like we were robbed of a lot of truly amazing games for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx due to mistakes on the business side of things.

The PC Engine, released in 1987, was an incredible success in Japan, rivalling the Famicom, as its graphical effects blew the socks off Famicom players. I imagine it would have done the same in North America if it had released in 1987 or 1988 but sadly it somehow took until late August 1989 for it to be released! Years late!!!! By this point the NES was firmly established and the same month, the truly 16 bit Genesis would be released. Turbografx didn't stand a chance.