GRcade

When?
The console releases on March 19, 2020
Pre-orders will go live on 15th July for Amazon Prime members only

Where?
The console is available exclusively through Amazon in ALL regions.
If you see it for pre-order anywhere else then beware as this will almost certainly be either false, or someone who'll have pre-ordered from Amazon and is re-selling.

Games included
Note that the Western versions contain the US and Japanese games, though the Japanese games are untranslated. There is at least one Japan exclusive game, Tokimeki Memorial which is a dating sim (Rip Karl's TurboGrafx pre-order) but other than that the game list appears to be the same in all regions

US:

Alien Crush
Blazing Lasers
Bomberman '93
Bonk's Revenge
Cadash
Chew-Man-Fu
Dungeon Explorer
J.J. & Jeff
Lords of Thunder
Military Madness
Moto Roader
Neutopia
Neutopia II
New Adventure Island
Ninja Spirit
Parasol Stars
Power Golf
R-Type
Soldier Blade
Space Harrier
Victory Run
Ys Book I & II


JP:

Akumajō Dracula X Chi No Rondo (Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood)
Aldynes
Appare! Gateball
Bomberman ‘94
Bomberman Panic Bomber
Chō Aniki
Daimakaimura (Ghouls ‘N’ Ghosts)
Dungeon Explorer
Fantasy Zone
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire
Gradius (Nemesis)
Gradius II – Gofer No Yabō (Nemesis II)
Jaseiken Necromancer
Nectaris (Military Madness)
Neutopia
Neutopia II
Ninja Ryūkenden (Ninja Gaiden)
PC-Genjin (Bonk's Adventure)
Salamander
Snatcher
Star Parodier (Fantasy Star Soldier)
Super Darius
Super Momotarō Dentetsu II
Super Star Soldier
The Kung Fu (China Warrior)
Ys I & II

Yes there is some overlap, so that means you get both the English and Japanese version of some games.


Multi tap accessory also confirmed for 5 player Dungeon Explorer.


There are different names for different regions
TurboGrafx-16 Mini in NA
PC Engine Core Grafx Mini in Europe
PC Engine Mini in Japan

Also looks different in each region,








I wonder if the original Metal Gear will be on it too, or if the spat with Kojima will stop that.

I kind of like the US console the best, but the European pad is better looking.
The Japanese one just looks gooseberry fool all round though.

Konami wins E3

The original Metal Gear didn't appear on PC Engine Laga. It was on MSX.

Mildly interested. PC Engine is a great system if you like shooters, which is where it's got arguably the most diverse line-up of the 16bit systems.

suzzopher wrote:Konami wins E3

The original Metal Gear didn't appear on PC Engine Laga. It was on MSX.

Ohhh yeah. I always forget about the MSX

Cheeky Devlin wrote:Mildly interested. PC Engine is a great system if you like shooters, which is where it's got arguably the most diverse line-up of the 16bit systems.

Some great platformers too, and Ninja Spirits is a fantastic Ninja Gaiden clone.

Hope they put Fighting Street and Street Fighter II on this.

Ah! Now this is something I'm keen to take a closer look at! The PC Engine was raved about by game mags back in the late 80s and early 90s. Although it is (mainly) an 8-bit machine, its performance was terrific and games often looked and played better than on 16-bit competitors.

Alas the console never gained an official release here in the UK. Frankly, I'm keen on this mini just to play Alien Crush and R-Type, both highly regarded in their PCE iterations.

Lagamorph wrote:I kind of like the US console the best...

... .

Lagamorph wrote:...The Japanese one just looks gooseberry fool all round though.

... . My word, Laga. That is a hell of a hot take! . But, hey, eye of the beholder and all that.

I'm a bit surprised that there can be a "mini" version of the PC Engine as the original console was tiny, anyway!

Lagamorph wrote:PC Engine Core Grafx Mini in Europe

Now that name just rolls off of the tongue.

jawafour wrote:Ah! Now this is something I'm keen to take a closer look at! The PC Engine was raved about by game mags back in the late 80s and early 90s. Although it is (mainly) an 8-bit machine, its performance was terrific and games often looked and played better than on 16-bit competitors.

Alas the console never gained an official release here in the UK. Frankly, I'm keen on this mini just to play Alien Crush and R-Type, both highly regarded in their PCE iterations.

Lagamorph wrote:I kind of like the US console the best...

... .

Lagamorph wrote:...The Japanese one just looks gooseberry fool all round though.

... . My word, Laga. That is a hell of a hot take! . But, hey, eye of the beholder and all that.

I'm a bit surprised that there can be a "mini" version of the PC Engine as the original console was tiny, anyway!

Think I agree with him. US > EU > JP.

Normally when it comes to consoles US gets the version hit by the ugly stick (when there a different versions.)

The US one is U G L Y

suzzopher wrote:The US one is U G L Y

At least it isn't strawberry floating beige

dude nice

They must be at the point where manufacturers can bash these mini consoles out for peanuts because I cannot imagine this selling especially well - there just isn't the same volume of nostalgia for the brand.

If Sony can struggle to shift a PlayStation Classic I don't know how Konami are expecting this to fly off the shelves!

Also the US edition looks strawberry float ugly. EU is the winner.

Jenuall wrote:They must be at the point where manufacturers can bash these mini consoles out for peanuts because I cannot imagine this selling especially well - there just isn't the same volume of nostalgia for the brand.

If Sony can struggle to shift a PlayStation Classic I don't know how Konami are expecting this to fly off the shelves!

Also the US edition looks strawberry float ugly. EU is the winner.

The PS Classic suffered from a disappointing games line up that didn't cash-in on the nostalgia, combined with a lot of negative press surrounding the emulation itself. It didn't help that they pulled an Atari ET and manufactured more of the things than even a good product was likely to sell in the launch window.

I doubt Konami are expecting it to fly off the shelves, just to do well enough to be worth the effort.

Lagamorph wrote:

Jenuall wrote:They must be at the point where manufacturers can bash these mini consoles out for peanuts because I cannot imagine this selling especially well - there just isn't the same volume of nostalgia for the brand.

If Sony can struggle to shift a PlayStation Classic I don't know how Konami are expecting this to fly off the shelves!

Also the US edition looks strawberry float ugly. EU is the winner.

The PS Classic suffered from a disappointing games line up that didn't cash-in on the nostalgia, combined with a lot of negative press surrounding the emulation itself. It didn't help that they pulled an Atari ET and manufactured more of the things than even a good product was likely to sell in the launch window.

I doubt Konami are expecting it to fly off the shelves, just to do well enough to be worth the effort.

Yes we know that the PS Classic had issues, but these things are generally targeting a consumer who is less in touch with gaming today, many of whom were probably none the wiser about the emulation woes of the Classic. It would have had a dampening effect, but they should still have done well regardless. I agree the lineup was probably their biggest miss - too many iconic franchises didn't make the cut.

The danger here is that even with the PC Engine's biggest games making the cut (which they probably won't for a variety of reasons) I think the vast majority of people will look at this and go "so what?"

I think it's a risk - hence the assumption that it must be costing peanuts to produce. A low cost, low volume run might do well but yeah we don;t want another Atari ET on our hands!

If I was a manufacturer I would be looking very closely at how the Mega-Drive mini does before making any moves, it may well be the case that the mini console bubble has already burst and so you should steer well clear, or if that does well and proves the PS Classic was a blip then proceed but with caution!

Jenuall wrote:

Lagamorph wrote:

Jenuall wrote:They must be at the point where manufacturers can bash these mini consoles out for peanuts because I cannot imagine this selling especially well - there just isn't the same volume of nostalgia for the brand.

If Sony can struggle to shift a PlayStation Classic I don't know how Konami are expecting this to fly off the shelves!

Also the US edition looks strawberry float ugly. EU is the winner.

The PS Classic suffered from a disappointing games line up that didn't cash-in on the nostalgia, combined with a lot of negative press surrounding the emulation itself. It didn't help that they pulled an Atari ET and manufactured more of the things than even a good product was likely to sell in the launch window.

I doubt Konami are expecting it to fly off the shelves, just to do well enough to be worth the effort.

Yes we know that the PS Classic had issues, but these things are generally targeting a consumer who is less in touch with gaming today, many of whom were probably none the wiser about the emulation woes of the Classic. It would have had a dampening effect, but they should still have done well regardless. I agree the lineup was probably their biggest miss - too many iconic franchises didn't make the cut.

The danger here is that even with the PC Engine's biggest games making the cut (which they probably won't for a variety of reasons) I think the vast majority of people will look at this and go "so what?"

I think it's a risk - hence the assumption that it must be costing peanuts to produce. A low cost, low volume run might do well but yeah we don;t want another Atari ET on our hands!

If I was a manufacturer I would be looking very closely at how the Mega-Drive mini does before making any moves, it may well be the case that the mini console bubble has already burst and so you should steer well clear, or if that does well and proves the PS Classic was a blip then proceed but with caution!

The main market for this is Japan, as back in the day the PC Engine actually outsold the Mega Drive there (and at one point the SNES for a while). Releasing it in the west is basically a cheap way of getting bonus money.
It'll probably do fairly well in Europe among retro gaming enthusiasts who never had the chance to pick it up the first time around.

The US will probably end up being the weakest market for it.

My ps classic arrived yesterday with a bag and mug and gooseberry fool (game quality)

I think there is a market for these devices if they're done well; personally I'd put the NES and SNES minis in the "good" category whilst the PS would go in the "Hmmn... it's okay" category. The Neo Geo version was probably also in the "Hmmn..." category whilst the upcoming MD one looks destined to be "good".

The PC Engine is interesting as it's a highly regarded system (by gamers of a certain vintage) and it hasn't been widely available before. There are some seriously hardcore PCE fans out there! As I said, though, I can't imagine a mini version... it was already incredibly small for a console .

I'm interested, the PC Engine was always a bit of a mythical beast when I was a kid.

I am a little concerned about how it'll turn out though. I'm not convinced all the manufacturers of these mini consoles will execute the same level of attention to detail as Nintendo and AM2 will, and it might turn out to be a bit crap.

No news on a release date or price as yet, I presume?

jawafour wrote:I think there is a market for these devices if they're done well; personally I'd put the NES and SNES minis in the "good" category whilst the PS would go in the "Hmmn... it's okay" category. The Neo Geo version was probably also in the "Hmmn..." category whilst the upcoming MD one looks destined to be "good".

The PC Engine is interesting as it's a highly regarded system (by gamers of a certain vintage) and it hasn't been widely available before. There are some seriously hardcore PCE fans out there! As I said, though, I can't imagine a mini version... it was already incredibly small for a console .

I'd imagine "mini" is in the name more for branding than anything since that's generally how people refer to the NES/SNES rather than calling them "classic".

This is the original Japanese PC Engine,


And some closer views of the US and EU minis,




As far as I can tell, they're all the same size as the originally released consoles.

Yeah, I'd be comfortable with the original PCE size.

Of course, the original console only had one joystick port... I wonder if the multiplayer joystick adapter could be key for the mini/classic version?

Edit: Oops, I can see the new version has two usb connector points.