The SuperGrafx: What happened?

[Lorfarius]

Been watching a video of the few games that were released for the SG as well reading the Wikipedia page but there doesn't seem to be any detailed explanation of what actually happened to the system. Why did it fail and why was it never programmed for besides the 5 or 6 games it did receive?

[BlackandBlue]

Been watching a video of the few games that were released for the SG as well reading the Wikipedia page but there doesn't seem to be any detailed explanation of what actually happened to the system. Why did it fail and why was it never programmed for besides the 5 or 6 games it did receive?

I'm pretty sure it failed since it was not a real step-up from the regular PC-engine platform.  Plus, I hear the games were very expensive when released.  It was supposed to be a 16-bit successor to the PC-engine (which was really an 8-bit console with some tricks), but I believe the only changes were more RAM and a separate video processor.  So, it was barely an upgrade.  Most games released were by Hudson Soft anyway. 

Besides, the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and Super Nintendo were released around the same time, which were both 16-bit consoles.  The software companies flocked to them since they were '16-bit' and figured they would make more money from the new consoles, then a recycled PC-Engine.  So, they scrapped it and continued with the DUO line. 

This is what I make of it, so if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

[Tatsujin]

as you may imagine, we had this same talk now for quite few times and very in the details here, just can't find the threads on the short

easy said, the Super Grafx was a redundant PCE realization, means of almost double the existing hardware, to bring even more sprites on screen and real 2-layer scrolling.

[Tom]

It provided double the sprite power, double the background layer (which exponentially creates more complex parallax scrolls), doubled the VRAM, quadrupaled the system ram. But in the end, fans were happy with what the PCE already offered I guess. The Megadrive offered some of the upgrades that the SGX did, and look how poorly it did in Japan. PCE was pretty popular without those extra features (and without having customers fork over more $$$ for a small perceived upgrade).

 But what really killed the SGX, was Hudson/NEC not including the compatibility into the Duo in 1991.

[Black Tiger]

Back when the SuperGrafx launched and even all the way through the PC Engine's lifespan, the PCE still wasn't pushed anywhere near its potential. Since it could already compete graphically with the MD & SFC and since games sold well even when they weren't visual masterpieces, there wasn't a need for the SGX.

[ccovell]

I'd like to add that despite Hudson's brilliance in developing hardware/software, NEC was a poor choice for a manufacturer... they were a quintessential "bubble-era" Japanese company, in that they released useless upgrade after useless upgrade, at high prices, assuming the public would want everything they made.  NEC of America sold the TurboGrafx under a similar mindset, until it was too late.

Here again are the reactions by select software companies to the SuperGrafx's announcement: http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/sgxreactions.html

[Necromancer]

The SG was developed for NEC to better compete with the Mega Drive.  As has already been noted, the PCE ended up being able to compete on its own and remain profitible, so the SG served no purpose and was abandoned.

But what really killed the SGX, was Hudson/NEC not including the compatibility into the Duo in 1991.

It would've been awesome if they had included SG compatibility, though I wonder how much more it would've cost and whether or not it would've made a big difference in sales. 

[spenoza]

It would've been awesome if they had included SG compatibility, though I wonder how much more it would've cost and whether or not it would've made a big difference in sales. 

It also would have been interesting to see SGX-compatible Super and Arcade CD games.

[Lorfarius]

Thanks for the responses all  I think what surprises me the most is just how little support it did receive. I'd have at least expected a bigger number of games which makes me wonder if that was one of its biggest failing. No developer support whatsoever.

[awack]

One thing is for sure(what i think atleast), Hudson/Nec didnt see it as an entirely different machine to replace the regular pc engine over night, it could play the standard pce games, you could hook it up to a scd addon or a cd rom2 with an adapter and so on, they didnt stop developing games for the older models and most importantly, what was it called....pc engine...core grafx pc engine.....core grafx 2 pc engine.....shuttlegrafx pc engine ....... supergrafx pc engine, it says it on the console and box, PC ENGINE.

If there were more games made for it, i believe they would have phased the regular pce out and gave the Duo the ability to play SG games.

[Tom]

Thanks for the responses all  I think what surprises me the most is just how little support it did receive. I'd have at least expected a bigger number of games which makes me wonder if that was one of its biggest failing. No developer support whatsoever.

 I know. EVEN Hudson, who put out a ton of software for the PCE, didn't really support it. I've seen less popular systems get more software <_<

[ParanoiaDragon]

Did the MD really not do well in Japan?

[Joe Redifer]

It did not.  Needed more anime-type stuff.  Japan loves that nonsense for some reason.

[Tom]

Needed more anime-type stuff.

 There weren't enough dating sims on the MegaCD, so naturally they hated the Megadrive as well 

[Otaking]

I agree with the Japanese gamers I was never a big Megadrive fan.