To get in touch with us, simply send an email to seabloonATgmail.com (replace "AT" with "@").
Also, we encourage you to join the forums at pcenginefx.com to prattle with fellow TG-16 fans. Don't forget to visit all of these great sites as well! Currently, the community at pcenginefx.com is the liveliest.
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How to use the Magazine Database
- If you're having trouble searching / sorting the magazine database, here are a few basic guidelines (click on images for full-size screenshots):
- First, be patient. You must wait for the data table to fully load in your browser before doing anything. Depending on your connection speed (and the crappy tg-16.com servers), this may take a few seconds.
- (A) If you see the SEARCH INPUT BOX (box "A" in the screenshot), then the data table has finished loading in your browser. Now you can sort, re-sort and search the table.
- (A) Type in a search term and table sorts in real-time. Yes, this can be sluggish. Be patient. Note: If there are no exact matches, the input field will turn yellow.
- (B) You can click the HEADINGS to sort columns in ASCENDING / DESCENDING order (see box "B" in screenshot). Triangles pointing up / down will indicate the sorting order.
- (C) You can also click on the text links in any of the cells to re-sort the corresponding column (see box "C"). For example, click on "Andre Panza" in the first column to display all of the listings for "Andre Panza". Click on "Electronics Boutique" in the sixth column to find all listings for EB's retail brochures, etc.
- (D) See box "D" for special searches: Click on "$$$" to sort items by their retail prices. Click on "XXX" for all UNRELEASED items. Click on "Complete?" to see how far localization had progressed. Click "All Magazines" to list only the main entry for each issue of every magazine in the table. You can do the same for catalogs and instruction manuals. You will understand why these are special searches after you start playing around with things.
- (E) Use the drop-down menus to sort columns (see box "E"). The bullets indicate publications that covered TG-16 / PCE exclusively. Yeah, the Japanese PCE magazines should be bulleted.
- (F) TO VIEW PAGE SCANS, click on the links in the last column (see box "F" above)!▲
Tips for the "Power-User" (Ha!)
- We suggest you keep the Magazine Database open in its own window at all times. Then, open additional pages or page scans in new tabs (or new windows) in your browser—this will prevent you from having to constantly re-load the data table!
- You can sort by (1) price, (2) review score and (3) "percentage of game completed" (as found in previews of upcoming titles). Search the DESCRIPTION column for retail prices (enter a dollar sign "$" in the search box). For review scores/ratings simply type "R:" in the search box. For "direct quotes" type "Q:".
- Yes, the Magazine Database will work offline. If you wish, you can save the html page locally and use it as a reference. Don't forget to update your local file when the database is updated here at the Archives.
- There are still a lot of quirks in the Magazine Database, so if something behaves oddly, well, what can I say? It is a piece of crap, but we'll have fun with it until a proper solution is implemented.
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WHAT IS TURBOGRAFX-16? PC-ENGINE? DUO? TURBOEXPRESS?
Are you new to the world of TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine / Duo? If so, then read about NEC's foray into video games (a short, but informative, article from the premier issue of DuoWorld Magazine).
Later, NEC would release the PC-FX, their last console. The PC-FX fared poorly against the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation. For more information on the PC-FX, be sure to visit PC-FX World over at the venerable pcenginefx.com.
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WHAT PERIODICALS COVERED TG-16?
Between 1990 and 1993, TurboPlay Magazine (14 issues, Larry Flynt Publications), TurboEdge Newsletter (3 issues, NEC Home Electronics), TurboForce Magazine (4 issues, Sendai Publications) and DuoWorld Magazine (3 issues, Larry Flynt Publications) covered TG-16 exclusively. For additional information, you can read a brief history of TG-16 publications in North America.
Many multi-platform video game magazines of the era (1989-1994) provided TG-16 coverage as well (e.g. EGM, VG&CE, GamePro, GameFan, Game Player's, Game Informer, Electronic Games, Video Games, etc.). Even a handful (three?) books were published, too.
The Archives aim to document all of these books, articles, reviews and strategy guides from yesteryear.
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WHAT PERIODICALS COVERED THE PC-ENGINE?
There were at least four publications in Japan dedicated exclusively to the PC-Engine: Dengeki PC Engine, Gekkan PC Engine, Marukatsu PC Engine and PC Engine Fan. Beyond Japan, magazines across numerous countries (Germany, France, UK, Italy, United States, etc.) covered the PC-Engine, since it was a successful console in Japan.
At present, though, our priority is to document all English-language periodicals. This means that there are many elusive magazines from England / UK that we need to find and scan.
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HOW CAN I CONTRIBUTE TO THE ARCHIVES?
Suggestions, corrections and page scans are welcome. We need a lot of help documenting and scanning material. Your labors will help us improve the site tremendously.
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YOU REALLY WANT SCANS AT 300 DPI?
Yes. The files will be huge, but there is a reason for the madness: to "future-proof" today's labors for tomorrow's internet. Hey, at least we are not asking for 600+ DPI scans, right?
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WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS FEATURED ON THIS SITE?
All of the characters are from TG-16 / PCE video games. It is up to you to figure out their names and to identify the games they are from (this shouldn't be too difficult to figure out).
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WHY DOES TG-16.COM USE A HYPHEN WHEN REFERRING TO "PC-ENGINE"?
Technically, the console is named "PC Engine", sans the hyphen. However, hyphenating the console's name helps humans immediately recognize what this site is, and isn't, about. Heresy, you say? Yes, I suppose so. On that note, I probably shouldn't tell you that I think "PC-Engine" works much better as far as overall branding. If I could rewrite history, NEC would have used a hyphen to create consistency (and koolness) across their entire line of video game (PC-Engine, TurboGrafx-16, PC-FX) and computer (PC-88, PC-98) products. So, is the hyphen heresy or destiny?
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WHY DO SOME SCANS HAVE AN UGLY WATERMARK?
Sorry. All of the old scans (circa 2003) have an ugly watermark overlaid on the content of each page. The Archives have ceased using a watermark.
The good news is that these old scans need to be re-scanned, anyway, so we will eventually be rid of the obnoxious watermarks.
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