Had it been released, the Tsushin Booster would have enabled users to connect to PC BBSes, call other users with a modem, download small games to the PCE and play them, as well as design graphics for games created with the included BASIC interpreter and graphic/map editor.

The Tsushin Booster was likely a product -- and a victim -- of the copycat peripheral battles between Nintendo, Sega, and NEC during the late '80s and early '90s. First Nintendo released a(n unpopular) modem for the Famicom, then NEC and Sega had to follow suit. Nintendo made a BASIC cartridge for the Famicom, and thus NEC had to as well. The same happened with disk-based game storage. Nintendo released the Famicom Disk System, so Sega had to announce their own disk drive peripheral for the Mega Drive (as well as an earlier one for the Master System.) It really was a vicious circle.

When it became clear that disk-based games were not ideal, Sega cancelled their disk drive to concentrate on a more viable CD attachment. Similarly, when the Mega Drive modem proved not to be wildly successful, NEC likely pulled the plug on the Tsushin Booster. It's rather a shame, since the Booster's comms capabilities coupled with a versatile BASIC interpreter and graphics editor make it a very interesting piece of equipment.

Click on the links below to find out more about the Tsushin Booster

The HARDWARE Page
The SOFTWARE Page