Is one that early normal? I read that the launch date was August 1, 1990. Yes, I know NEC blew it in ways that Sega could only dream of, but this seems unusual even for them.
Ask at the pcenginefx forums maybe. But to me it doesn't seem too crazy with that date. But asking people that actually have TG16 CD drives would be a good idea.
I'll probably do that, just seems rather early. I have a few other systems that are prelaunch dated but the most extreme I've had until now is my spare probably prerelease rental Sega Dreamcast from 7/99.
Mine is Dec 1990 and I bought the CD system (whole package, new) from Toys R Us on clearance sale for $99 so either that store didn't sell many at all or NEC made way too many in '89 and '90
Apparently this is rather common, I saw a repair tutorial in which the unit was a September 1989. I am guessing the CD unit and the base unit were intended to have a simultaneous launch, we all know the "everyone will own one" rubbish. The fact that this seems normal is a testament to NEC's failure. Can you imagine the storage costs for all of these?
No way. I clearly remember seeing and playing the TG16 CD unit at Sears back during the Christmas holiday shopping season (December 1989). THey had one setup with Fighting Street...I remember being blown away by the audio, but wondering why the voices sounded so weird.
It doesn't seem that unusual considering the PC Engine CD the Japanese counter part to the TurboGrafx CD was released in April 1988
