Konami has announced it is joining the nostalgia-fuelled miniature console market with the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini - styled with a lower-case 'm' - for the UK market.

Unveiled during the company's presentations at the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) late last night, Konami's entry into the mini-console market - following on from the stunning success of the Nintendo NES Mini and SNES Mini and Sony's rather lacklustre PlayStation Mini - the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini is one of three region-dependent designs the company is to release: Japan receives the traditional PC Engine design as released in the country back in 1987; the US receives the TurboGrafx-16 design, released in 1989; and Europe gets the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini, a mid-stream upgrade released in Japan and France in 1989. All were originally eight-bit machines, despite their names, based on the Hudson Soft HuC6280 processor and loading games on cartridges known as HuCards until the release of a CD-ROM add-on in 1988.

Internally there'll be little to choose between the three miniaturised models, with a single-board computer running a PC Engine emulator and with a selection of built-in titles. For European and North American gamers, those titles will include: Alien Crush, Dungeon Explorer, New Adventure Island, Ninja Spirit, R-Type, Ys Books I & II, and additional games not yet announced; in Japan, the confirmed line-up switches to Bonk's Adventure, Dracula X, The Kung Fu/China Warrior, Ys Books I & II, Super Star Soldier, and Dungeon Explorer, with more to follow.

Konami, which inherited the rights to the console and its back catalogue when it absorbed original creator Hudson Soft in March 2012, has not yet confirmed pricing or availability. Interested parties can, however, find more information on the official website.


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