NEC PC Engine LT
NEC · Released Dec 1991 · PC Engine LT (1991)
A lavish laptop-style PC Engine with a flip-up screen, TV output and CD-ROM expandability — a 1991 luxury object and ultra-rare collectible.
Pros
- +Laptop-style clamshell with a flip-up colour screen
- +Plays the full PC Engine HuCard library
- +Built-in TV output and CD-ROM expandability
- +An extraordinary piece of 1991 engineering
Cons
- −Astronomically expensive and ultra-rare
- −No internal battery (mains/battery pack)
- −Fragile and collector-priced today
What can it play?
Emulation performance by platform, based on real-world testing.
Full specifications
Hardware
- Chipset (SoC)
- HuC6280 + HuC6270 / HuC6260
- CPU
- 8-bit HuC6280 @ 7.16 MHz
- GPU
- HuC6270 VDC
- RAM
- 8 KB
- Storage
- HuCard PC Engine HuCard
- Weight
- 1000 g
- Dimensions
- Laptop-style clamshell
- Cooling
- Passive
Display
- Size
- 4″
- Resolution
- Full PC Engine output
- Panel
- Flip-up colour LCD (TV-out capable)
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
- Touchscreen
- No
Battery & Connectivity
- Battery
- 2000 mAh
- Real-world life
- ~2 hours
- Wi-Fi
- None
- Bluetooth
- None
- Ports
- HuCard slot, AV out (TV), CD-ROM expansion, Controller
- Expandable storage
- No
Controls
- Analog sticks
- 0
- D-pad
- Yes
- Face buttons
- Yes
- Analog triggers
- No
- Gyroscope
- No
- Hall effect sticks
- No
Software & custom firmware
Ships with: None (HuCard-booted)
Also plays natively: PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 HuCards
No third-party custom firmware tracked for this device.
Our verdict
The PC Engine LT folded a full PC Engine into a laptop-style clamshell with a flip-up colour screen, complete with TV output and the ability to attach the CD-ROM add-on — an astonishing device for 1991. It was extravagantly expensive, fragile, and lacked an internal battery, so it sold in tiny numbers. Today it is one of the most coveted and costly handhelds for serious collectors.