What was the first home video game console to use CD-ROMs?

As Microsoft and Sony push towards an all-digital future with their disc-free Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, it's hard to imagine gaming was once dominated by plastic cartridges. But which pioneering console first made the leap to the spinning silver discs we've known for generations?

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The answer is: TurboGrafx-CD

The year was 1988, and NEC had a problem. Their TurboGrafx-16 console was struggling against Nintendo's iron grip on the gaming market. They needed an edge – something to make their system stand out. Their solution? The TurboGrafx-CD, a hefty add-on that would transform their cartridge-based console into the world's first CD-ROM gaming system.

The TurboGrafx-CD wasn't just a technological milestone; it was a glimpse into gaming's future. While Nintendo stubbornly clung to cartridges (partly due to their profitable licensing deals), NEC saw the potential in those shimmering discs. A single CD could hold 540 megabytes of data – equivalent to hundreds of cartridges – at a fraction of the manufacturing cost.

The system's launch title, "Fighting Street" (later known as Street Fighter), barely scratched the surface of CD capabilities. But soon games like "Ys Book I & II" showed what the format could really do, featuring orchestral soundtracks and voiced cutscenes that made cartridge audio feel like cave paintings in comparison.

However, being first didn't guarantee success. The TurboGrafx-CD's $399.99 price tag (nearly $900 in today's money) gave many gamers sticker shock. The base console's modest sales meant a limited audience for the add-on. And while CD loading times were painfully slow compared to cartridges, they introduced a new gaming ritual: watching that hypnotic red access light blink while wondering if your disc was scratched.

Sega took notes. Their own Sega CD add-on would launch three years later, bringing FMV games and bigger adventures to the Genesis. By the time Sony's PlayStation arrived in 1994, CDs weren't just an expensive add-on – they were gaming's new normal.

The TurboGrafx-CD might not have won the console wars, but it fired the first shot in a format revolution. Those spinning discs changed everything from storage space to storytelling possibilities, paving the way for the cinematic gaming experiences we take for granted today. Though ironically, as digital downloads make even optical discs obsolete, we're finally approaching the instant loading times cartridges had all along.