The period of time between the unveiling of the Sega Genesis and the Turbografx 16 in 1989 and the retirement of all major 16-bit gaming consoles (in or around 1996). The three major machines during this era were the above two consoles, the latter of which was retired much earlier than 1996, and Nintendo's somewhat late entry, the imaginatively-named, subtly-programmed, and oh-so-beautiful "Super Nintendo."