TurboPlay

TurboPlay was a U.S. video game magazine published by L.F.P. from June/July 1990 through August/September 1992. It was issued every two months and distributed through subscriptions rather than ordinary retail circulation. Across its run, the magazine published 14 issues, covering NEC's North American and Japanese console ecosystem at a time when the TurboGrafx-16 occupied a relatively marginal position in the North American 16-bit console market. The magazine's editorial focus was unusually narrow. It concentrated on the TurboGrafx-16, the TurboGrafx-CD, the Turbo Duo, and the handheld TurboExpress, while also providing limited coverage of Japan's NEC PC Engine and the SuperGrafx, a system that was not released outside Japan. Its coverage included HuCard games, marketed in North America as TurboChip titles, as well as CD-ROM software for the TurboGrafx-CD and Turbo Duo. Reviews, previews, strategy guides, cheat information, reader letters, feature articles, contest announcements, and trade-show reports formed the core of each issue. Each issue was 32 pages. Early reviews experimented with different evaluation systems: the first two issues did not use numerical grades, the next two used a five-star scale, and later issues adopted a more detailed ten-point format covering sound and music, graphics, playability, and overall quality. This progression reflected an effort to establish a consistent editorial identity while retaining some of the review conventions associated with L.F.P.'s multi-platform magazine VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, commonly known as VG&CE. TurboPlay was a spin-off of VG&CE and drew on the wider publication's staff and contributors. Publisher Lee Pappas and executive editor Andy Eddy contributed to the project, while writers and artists associated with VG&CE also worked on the magazine. Donn Nauert served as senior editor for the first 12 issues, contributing features and strategy guides in addition to his editorial work. Chris Bieniek took over for the final two issues. Contributors also included Victor Ireland, who later became closely associated with Working Designs and wrote a recurring column about games available in Japan, as well as reporting on trade shows and emerging formats such as CD+G. Although NEC did not produce or formally control TurboPlay's editorial content, the company was its most prominent advertiser. NEC agreed to purchase at least four full-page advertisements in each issue, helping make its products and ecosystem highly visible throughout the magazine. Advertising also came from mail-order retailers and a limited number of third-party publishers, including Tengen, Radiance Software, IGS, and Working Designs. The publication occupied a distinctive position in the North American TurboGrafx-16 community. Because the console received relatively limited and inconsistent attention from broad-based video game magazines, TurboPlay became a dedicated source of domestic system coverage and information about Japanese PC Engine releases. It ended publication after 14 scheduled issues in 1992. Its surviving scans and archival material continue to make it a reference point for collectors, researchers, and enthusiasts studying NEC's console business and early-1990s video game journalism.

TurboPlay emerged from L.F.P.'s VideoGames & Computer Entertainment publishing operation during the early-1990s console market. VG&CE covered multiple platforms, but NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and related systems received comparatively limited attention in general-interest publications. TurboPlay addressed that gap by making NEC's console family its exclusive editorial subject. The first issue was dated June/July 1990. The magazine was published every two months and sold through subscription, with the annual subscription priced at US$9.95 according to contemporary publication information. L.F.P. maintained a compact 32-page format for each issue. The publication's editorial package combined practical service material, including reviews, previews, strategy guides, and cheats, with features on the people, technology, and business surrounding NEC's hardware and software. Its coverage extended across the principal North American products in the NEC line: the TurboGrafx-16, the TurboGrafx-CD, the Turbo Duo, and the TurboExpress. It also looked toward Japan's PC Engine market, including occasional material on the SuperGrafx. The split between domestic and Japanese coverage was important because the PC Engine library was substantially broader than the North American catalog. Victor Ireland's Games Around the World column, introduced with the December 1990/January 1991 issue, helped explain Japanese releases to North American readers. The review format developed over the magazine's early issues. Issues one and two presented reviews without quantitative scores. Issues three and four moved to a five-star system. Beginning with issue five, reviews used separate ten-point assessments for sound and music, graphics, playability, and overall quality. This gave readers a more systematic way to compare software while retaining the practical tone of a specialist enthusiast magazine. TurboPlay relied heavily on contributors connected to VG&CE. Lee Pappas, the publisher, and Andy Eddy, VG&CE's executive editor, lent their experience to the new title. Donn Nauert was senior editor for the first twelve issues and wrote many of the feature articles and strategy guides. Chris Bieniek assumed senior editorial responsibility for the final two issues. Other contributors included Chris Bieniek, Clayton Walnum, Victor Ireland, and additional VG&CE-associated reviewers. Cover and interior art came from illustrators including Alan Hunter, Jim McDermott, and Van Arno. The magazine's features went beyond conventional game reviews. Articles covered trade events such as the Consumer Electronics Show and Tokyo Toy Fair, investigated game development, and discussed multimedia technologies. Some reports examined the production of full-motion-video sequences for TurboGrafx-CD software, while others described the work of development teams. The magazine also explored CD+G, a format combining audio CD playback with graphics and supported by the TurboGrafx-CD and later Sega CD hardware. NEC was not the publisher and did not exercise formal editorial control. Nevertheless, NEC was the principal advertising presence. The company committed to buying at least four full-page advertisements in every issue for an indefinite period, and its advertising occupied a substantial share of the magazine. Smaller advertisers included mail-order companies and selected third-party publishers such as Tengen, Radiance Software, IGS, and Working Designs. This commercial relationship made TurboPlay an important promotional environment for NEC while leaving the magazine institutionally separate from the hardware manufacturer. TurboPlay also used contests and cross-promotion to build a reader community. Bi-monthly contests invited creative submissions, including writing and artwork. The usual prize structure included one grand prize of several TurboGrafx-16 software titles and smaller prizes for runners-up. The magazine occasionally promoted VG&CE, its sister publication, and benefited from the broader visibility of L.F.P.'s gaming editorial operation. The title published 14 issues in total and concluded with the August/September 1992 issue. Its disappearance left the North American TurboGrafx community without a comparable dedicated magazine. Other publications appeared around the same period, including NEC's short-lived TurboEdge newsletter, Turbo Force, and L.F.P.'s later Duo World, but TurboPlay remained the most sustained North American magazine devoted exclusively to NEC's console family. Archived scans have preserved its reviews, artwork, advertisements, strategy material, and reporting for later researchers and collectors.

1. 1992Publication ends

   TurboPlay concludes with its August/September 1992 issue after 14 scheduled issues.

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2. 1990TurboPlay launches

   L.F.P. publishes the first issue, dated June/July 1990, establishing a bi-monthly subscription magazine dedicated to NEC's console platforms.

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3. 1990Review scoring evolves

   After two issues without numerical scores and two using stars, the magazine adopts a multi-category ten-point review format beginning with issue five.

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4. 1990Games Around the World begins

   Victor Ireland starts a recurring column on Japanese PC Engine games with the December 1990/January 1991 issue.

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A specialist enthusiast publication offering dedicated coverage of NEC's console platform at a time when most North American video game magazines treated the TurboGrafx-16 as a secondary system.

• TurboPlay MagazineVideo game magazine1990

  The core product was a 32-page, bi-monthly subscription magazine devoted to NEC's video game hardware and software. It included reviews, previews, strategy guides, cheats, letters, features, trade-show reports, development interviews, contests, and advertising. Its coverage centered on the TurboGrafx-16, TurboGrafx-CD, Turbo Duo, TurboExpress, and selected Japanese PC Engine systems. Fourteen issues were released between June/July 1990 and August/September 1992.

• 1990Subscription launch

  United States

  TurboPlay was introduced as a subscription-only specialist magazine, using a focused editorial proposition for owners and prospective buyers of NEC's console systems.

  Outcome. The magazine completed a 14-issue run and became the most sustained North American publication dedicated exclusively to NEC's consoles.

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• 1990Reader contests

  United States

  Regular contests encouraged readers to submit creative writing or artwork, with TurboGrafx-16 software awarded to a grand-prize winner and several runners-up.

  Outcome. The contests supported reader participation and reinforced the magazine's enthusiast-community positioning.

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• 1990Adopt an exclusive NEC platform focusStrategy

  TurboGrafx-16 systems received limited coverage in many multi-platform magazines, creating an opening for a dedicated publication.

  What changed. L.F.P. positioned TurboPlay as a specialist magazine covering NEC's North American consoles and selected Japanese PC Engine products rather than competing as another general video game magazine.

  Aftermath. The focused editorial model made TurboPlay a key North American information source for the TurboGrafx community.

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• 1990Standardize review scoringOther

  The first four issues used either no numerical grades or a five-star system.

  What changed. Beginning with issue five, reviews were divided into ten-point scores for sound and music, graphics, playability, and overall quality.

  Aftermath. The revised system provided a more consistent framework for evaluating HuCard and CD-ROM games.

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• 1992TurboPlay completes its 14-issue run

  The magazine ended publication with the August/September 1992 issue after releasing 14 issues on its scheduled bi-monthly timetable.

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• 1990TurboPlay begins publication

  L.F.P. launched TurboPlay as a bi-monthly subscription magazine focused exclusively on NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and related platforms.

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1. TurboPlay