TurboDuo
TurboDuo with gamepad | |
| Manufacturer | NEC Home Electronics, Hudson Soft |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fourth generation era |
| Release date | |
| Lifespan | 1991–1995 |
| Introductory price | US$299.99 (equivalent to $690 in 2024) |
| Discontinued |
|
| Media | TurboChip, CD-ROM |
| CPU | HuC6280 @ 1.79 MHz or 7.16 MHz |
| Memory | 8KB work RAM, 64KB video RAM, 192KB additional memory (System 3.0) |
| Display | 256 × 224, 512 × 224, 512 × 240 screen resolutions. 512 available colors, 481 on-screen colors |
| Graphics | HuC6270 VDC, HuC6260 VCE |
| Sound | HuC62806, PSG audio channels |
| Input | Gamepad |
| Predecessor | TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine) TurboGrafx-CD (CD-ROM² System) |
| Successor | PC-FX |
The TurboDuo (later rebranded as simply the Duo) is a fourth-generation video game console developed by NEC Home Electronics and Hudson Soft for the North American market. It combines the capabilities of the TurboGrafx-16 and its CD-ROM drive add-on, the TurboGrafx-CD, into a single, redesigned unit. Initially test-marketed in Los Angeles in October 1992 before a nationwide rollout in May 1993, TurboDuo is the localized version of the Japanese PC Engine Duo, which was released in September 1991.
Compared to TurboGrafx-16 and the TurboGrafx-CD, TurboDuo has an updated BIOS and 192 KB of additional RAM. The RAM increase and BIOS update afford the TurboDuo and PC Engine Duo compatibility with all CD-ROM² and Super CD-ROM² based software (Japanese and North American). Like the TurboGrafx-CD, the TurboDuo can read Audio CDs and CD+G discs. TurboDuo, however, cannot read PC Engine HuCards without modification or an adapter. With a HuCard adapter and an Arcade Card Duo, the TurboDuo can also read Arcade CD-ROM² games (which were sold only in Japan).