TurboGrafx was the European PAL adaptation of NEC’s PC Engine/TurboGrafx platform. The original PC Engine had appeared in Japan in 1987 and the TurboGrafx-16 in North America in 1989; in 1990 a version was prepared for certain European markets, including Spain, externally based on the American design. It used the same small game cards as the rest of the family, although regional differences had to be taken into account. NEC’s planned large-scale European launch never fully materialised, so this PAL variant had much more limited distribution than its Japanese and North American counterparts.