I've asked this question before, and I haven't really gotten much of any information. Ideally, there would be a DP member that actually got a PC Engine when they first launched in Japan. But the chances of that are pretty slim. It came out in either September, October or December of 1987 in Japan, depending on who you believe. October 30th 1987 is a date that has been attributed to the launch of the PC Engine, but I'm not at all certain that it's a correct date.
The main thing that I want to know is....
When did the PC Engine really launch? (It definitely was in late 1987, but when?)
Which games were available on the actual launch day?
How much did a PC Engine cost (in American dollars) at it's launch?
Which games arrived shortly after launch?
When did the first CD attatchement launch? Which CD games were available the day of the CD player launch?
Basically, I'm extremely interested in the early history of the PC Engine, but so far, my searches on Google have been in vain. I've found some info here and there, but no real details, or first person accounts of what the PC Engine launch was really like. Can you imagine, being back in October of 1987, and getting your hands on an import PC Engine system and some launch games?
I think China Warrior (not sure the japanese name for it) was one of the original launch games, and I know China Warrior sucks pretty damn bad, but man....Back in 1987, seeing that gigantic character in a home video game, would have seemed very amazing.
If only I could go back in time to October of 1987. I would have been 17 years old, starting my senior year of High School. (yeah, I'm a really old fart) Back then, I was one of those gamers that most people would detest of. The dreaded, "casual sports gamer". I was the type that played Double Dribble with his high school buddies. Double Dribble, Baseball Stars, etc, etc. I didn't know shit back then. But somehow..... if I could go back in time to that point, knowing what I currently know about games now, I would have done whatever I needed to do, to somehow secure myself a launch day PC Engine from Japan. Even if it would have cost me $500 or so to get one. I would have mowed a million lawns or got some crappy Summer job or something, to get the necessary cash.
Of course, knowing what I know now, I would also make a RGB cable for it, and get a really nice, brand new Commodore 1084 monitor for it.
Talk about Next-Generation. Playing a PC Engine, in October of 1987, in rgb, on a Commodore monitor, would be so freaking Next-Gen it's ridiculous.
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