107-666: This is a list of games that are part of the Classic NES Series in North America, Famicom Mini ( ファミコンミニ , Famikon Mini ) in Japan, and NES Classics in Europe and Australia. The series consists of emulated Nintendo Entertainment System , Family Computer , and Family Computer Disk System games for the Game Boy Advance . A special edition Game Boy Advance SP that has
214-452: A NEC PC-8001 computer. LEDs on a grid were used with a digitizer to design graphics as no such software design tools existed at that time. The codename for the project was "GameCom", but Masayuki Uemura's wife proposed the name "Famicom", arguing that "In Japan, 'pasokon' is used to mean a personal computer, but it is neither a home nor personal computer. Perhaps we could say it is a family computer." Meanwhile, Hiroshi Yamauchi decided that
321-629: A light gun called the NES Zapper , two controllers, and the two Game Paks Gyromite and Duck Hunt . The Control Deck bundle was first released in 1987 at $ 89.99 with no game, and $ 99.99 bundled with the Super Mario Bros. cartridge. The Action Set, released April 14, 1988, for $ 109.99 , has the Control Deck, two controllers, an NES Zapper, and a dual Game Pak containing both Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt . The Power Set of 1989 includes
428-684: A toy robot accessory. The NES is regarded as one of the most influential consoles. It helped revitalise the American gaming industry following the video game crash of 1983 , and pioneered a now-standard business model of licensing third-party developers to produce and distribute games. The NES features several groundbreaking games, including Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda (1986), Metroid (1986), and Mega Man (1987) which have become major franchises. The NES dominated Japanese and North American markets, but initially underperformed in Europe where it faced strong competition from
535-771: A 30% fee for console licensing and production costs. This rate continued in the industry for consoles and digital storefront into the 21st Century. Nintendo targeted the North American market, entering distribution negotiations with Atari, Inc. to release a redesigned Famicom with Atari's name as the Nintendo Advanced Video Gaming System. The deal was set to be finalized and signed at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in June 1983. However, Atari discovered at that show that its competitor Coleco
642-478: A Famicom retrospective in commemoration of the console's 20th anniversary. Nintendo offered repair service for the Famicom in Japan until 2007, when it was discontinued due to a shortage of available parts. Although all versions of the Famicom and NES include essentially similar hardware, they vary in physical characteristics. The original Famicom's design is predominantly white plastic, with dark red trim; it featured
749-655: A cartridge and closed at other times, and an expansion port on the bottom of the unit. The cartridge connector pinout was changed between the Famicom and NES. In late 1993, Nintendo introduced a redesigned version of the Famicom and NES (officially named the New Famicom in Japan and the New-Style NES in the US ) to complement the Super Famicom and SNES, to prolong interest in the console, and to reduce costs. The redesigned NES has
856-526: A charm, and nobody missed R.O.B. or the Zapper once players realized that games played with the standard video game controller, like Super Mario Bros. , were much more fun." Other commentators give more weight more to the promise to buy back any unsold stock. In the 2001 book The Ultimate History of Video Games , Steven L. Kent argues that "most of the 500 retailers who sold the NES that Christmas might not have taken
963-567: A crosshair that sits in front of the wearer's right eye. It was designed for the game Laser Invasion , but works with any game compatible with the NES Zapper. In the United States, Laser Invasion came with a coupon for a $ 5 discount for the LaserScope. The Zapper can be pointed at a television set to interact with on-screen targets in games that support it. Games and game modes that support
1070-617: A degree of fame roughly equivalent to that experienced by the NES/Famicom in North America and Japan. A range of Famicom clones was marketed in Argentina during the late 1980s and early 1990s with the name Family Game, resembling the original hardware design. Thailand got Family FR brand famiclones, the Micro Genius ( Simplified Chinese : 小天才) was marketed in Southeast Asia as an alternative to
1177-493: A game console also had a light gun . In August 1988, Antic magazine praised the Zapper's accuracy compared to the poor horizontal accuracy of the Atari XG-1 light gun , saying "if something is lined up in [Zapper's] sights, that's exactly what you hit". Regarding Nintendo's Trojan Horse strategy to convince retailers to stock the NES by marketing it as a toy for its launch, historian Chris Kohler said "The gambit worked like
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#17328516127201284-598: A licence with Magnavox to sell its game console, the Magnavox Odyssey . Since Nintendo's operation was not yet sophisticated enough to design its own hardware, Yamauchi forged an alliance with Mitsubishi Electric and hired several Sharp Electronics employees to assist in developing the Color TV-Game 6 in Japan. This was followed by a more successful sequel, the Color TV-Game 15 , and the handheld Game & Watch series. The successes of these machines gave Yamauchi
1391-512: A moving hammer, which is automatically fired with a loud bang when the trigger is pulled without needing to cock the hammer. In North America, it was redesigned as the Zapper by Nintendo of America 's head designer Lance Barr, to match the NES's color scheme and to resemble a futuristic science fiction ray gun . It has a dark gray barrel and grip. In 1988, the Federal Toy Gun Law required that toy guns be distinct from real guns, so
1498-757: A phenomenon across arcades worldwide, while home consoles such as the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision gained footholds in the American market. Many companies emerged to capitalise on the growing industry, including the playing card manufacturer Nintendo . Hiroshi Yamauchi , who had been Nintendo's president since 1949, realised that breakthroughs in the electronics industry meant that entertainment products could be produced at lower prices. Companies such as Atari and Magnavox were already selling gaming devices for use with television sets, to moderate success. Yamauchi negotiated
1605-526: A similar color pattern to an NES controller (along with a Famicom counterpart in Japan), was released to go along with these games. In Japan, the color of the cartridges often matches the color of their original Famicom cartridges, but in North America, all the games in this series were released in a light gray cartridges made to resemble the default color of NES cartridges. All of the games were published by Nintendo . A total of 18 first-party games were released in
1712-488: A stick to input directions, but no A button. The controller was bundled with Space Shadow . When used with Space Shadow , the Hyper Shot can output game audio from its built-in speaker and use haptic feedback to simulate the recoil of firing a gun; while the Hyper Shot can be used as a controller and light gun for any game, Space Shadow is the only game to support the speaker and haptic feedback. Space Shadow requires
1819-520: A system that would be superior to its competitors and difficult to replicate for at least a year. Uemura's main challenge was economic rather than technological; Yamauchi wanted the system to be affordable enough for widespread household adoption, aiming for a price of ¥9,800 (less than $ 75) compared to existing machines priced at ¥30,000 to ¥50,000 ($ 200 to $ 350). The new system had to outperform other systems, both Japanese and American, while being significantly more affordable. As development progressed on
1926-410: A top-loading cartridge slot to avoid reliability issues with the original console; the redesign also omitted AV output. Conversely, the redesigned Famicom has such output and introduced detachable game controllers, though the microphone functionality was omitted as a result. The redesigned Famicom and NES models are cosmetically similar aside from the presence of a cartridge "bump" on the NES model, which
2033-435: A top-loading cartridge slot, grooves on both sides of the deck in which the hardwired game controllers could be placed when not in use, and a 15- pin expansion port located on the unit's front panel for accessories. In contrast, the design of the original NES features a more subdued gray, black, and red color scheme; it includes a front-loading cartridge slot covered by a small, hinged door that can be opened to insert or remove
2140-440: Is Lucasfilm Games 's attempts to port the comedy-horror game Maniac Mansion to the NES, which Nintendo insisted be considerably watered down. The optional Robotic Operating Buddy, or R.O.B. , was part of a marketing plan to portray the NES's technology as being novel and sophisticated when compared to previous game consoles, and to portray its position as being within reach of the better established toy market. Though at first,
2247-580: Is an 8-bit home video game console produced by Nintendo . It was first released in Japan on July 15, 1983, as the Family Computer ( Famicom ). It was released in US test markets as the redesigned NES in October 1985, and fully launched in the US the following year. The NES was distributed in Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia throughout the 1980s under various names. As a third-generation console , it mainly competed with Sega 's Master System . The NES
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#17328516127202354-623: Is an electronic light gun accessory launched within the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America on October 18, 1985. It is a cosmetic redesign by Nintendo of America 's head designer Lance Barr, based on Gunpei Yokoi 's Video Shooting Series light gun ( 光線銃シリーズガン ) , which had been released in Japan for the Famicom on February 18, 1984. The Zapper requires compatible NES games, such as Duck Hunt , Wild Gunman , and Hogan's Alley . Its internal optical sensor allows
2461-883: Is called the Hyundai Comboy . The console sold very poorly in India due to affordability and a lack of consumer awareness. For its complete North American release, the Nintendo Entertainment System was progressively released over the ensuing years in several different bundles, beginning with the Deluxe Set, the Basic Set, the Action Set, and the Power Set. The Deluxe Set was launched in the 1985 test markets, retailing at US$ 179.99 (equivalent to $ 550 in 2023), including R.O.B.,
2568-536: The Collector's Edition bonus disc, although they conceded that the Classic NES Series version was portable. However, reviewers consistently hailed Super Mario Bros. , The Legend of Zelda , Castlevania , Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Dr. Mario as being worth the cost of the cartridge. Nintendo Entertainment System [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES )
2675-454: The Game & Watch machines, although the Famicom design team originally wanted to use arcade-style joysticks, even dismantling some from American game consoles to see how they worked. There were concerns regarding the durability of the joystick design and that children might step on joysticks on the floor. Katsuya Nakawaka attached a Game & Watch D-pad to the Famicom prototype and found that it
2782-487: The arcades , in the form of the Nintendo VS. System in 1984. The system's success in arcades paved the way for the official release of the NES console. With US retailers refusing to stock game consoles, Yamauchi realized there was still a market for video games in the arcades, so he introduced the Famicom to North America through the arcade industry. The VS. System became a major success in North American arcades, becoming
2889-550: The crashed video game market . The Video Shooting Series light gun was designed for Famicom by Gunpei Yokoi and Satoru Okada of Nintendo R&D1 , modeled realistically after a revolver . Its technology was based on the light gun toy used in Nintendo Beam Gun toy line, which in turn was based on the Colt Single Action Army revolver . The Video Shooting Series light gun is a double-action revolver with
2996-455: The 10NES chip proved a significant barrier to unlicensed developers seeking to develop and sell games for the console. However, hobbyists in later years discovered that disassembling the NES and cutting the fourth pin of the lockout chip would change the chip's mode of operation from "lock" to "key", removing all effects and greatly improving the console's ability to play legal games, bootlegs, and converted imports. NES Zapper The Zapper
3103-611: The Advanced Video Entertainment System (AVS) that year. The American video game press was skeptical that the console could have any success in the region, as the industry was still recovering from the video game crash of 1983 . The March 1985 issue of Electronic Games magazine stated that "the videogame market in America has virtually disappeared" and that "this could be a miscalculation on Nintendo's part". The Famicom hardware first made its North American debut in
3210-421: The American nationwide release came on September 27, 1986. Nintendo released 17 launch games: 10-Yard Fight , Baseball , Clu Clu Land , Duck Hunt , Excitebike , Golf , Gyromite , Hogan's Alley , Ice Climber , Kung Fu , Pinball , Soccer , Stack-Up , Super Mario Bros. , Tennis , Wild Gunman , and Wrecking Crew . Nintendo contracted Worlds of Wonder to distribute
3317-460: The American public exhibited limited excitement for the console itself, peripherals such as the light gun and R.O.B. attracted extensive attention. In Europe and Oceania, the NES was released in two separate marketing regions. The first consisted of mainland Europe (excluding Italy) where distribution was handled by several different companies, with Nintendo responsible for manufacturing. The NES saw an early launch in Europe in 1986 although most of
List of Classic NES Series games - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-434: The American version of its Famicom, with a new case redesigned by Lance Barr and featuring a " zero insertion force " cartridge slot. The change from a top-loader in the Famicom to a front-loader was to make the new console more like a video cassette recorder , which had grown in popularity by 1985, and differentiate the unit from past video game consoles. Additionally, Uemura explained that Nintendo developers had feared that
3531-521: The Deluxe Sighting Scope, an accessory for the NES Zapper, under the brand name QuickShot. The scope is a sight that snaps onto the top of the NES Zapper. In 1988, the Video Shooter was released in the United States by Placo Toys . The Video Shooter is a wireless light gun controller for the NES. The infrared receiver is a rigid panel plugged directly into the controller port of the NES; it
3638-608: The European countries received the console in 1987. The release in Scandinavia was on September 1, 1986, where it was released by Bergsala . In the Netherlands, it was released in the last quarter of 1987 and was distributed by Bandai BV. In France, it was released in October 1987, and in Spain most likely in 1988 through distributor Spaco. Also in 1987, Mattel handled distribution for
3745-644: The Famicom model lacks to accommodate its shorter cartridges and as the RAM Adapter for the Famicom Disk System. Sharp Corporation produced three licensed variants of the Famicom in Japan, all of which prominently display the shortened moniker rather than the official name, Family Computer. One variant was a television set with an integrated Famicom; originally released in 1983 as the My Computer TV in 14-inch (36 cm) and 19-inch (48 cm) models, it
3852-528: The Famicom; and in Central Europe, especially Poland, the Pegasus was available. Since 1989, there were many Brazilian clones of the NES, and the very popular Phantom System (with hardware superior to the original console) caught the attention of Nintendo itself. The unlicensed clone market has flourished following Nintendo's discontinuation of the NES. Some of the more exotic of these resulting systems surpass
3959-538: The Hyper Shot and cannot be played with other light guns, as the game expects button input to come from the Famicom expansion port (which only the Hyper Shot can provide). In 1989, Nexoft released The Dominator ProBeam in the United States, a wireless version of the NES Zapper. Unlike other third-party light gun products, the ProBeam is officially licensed by Nintendo, bearing the Nintendo Seal of Quality . The ProBeam uses
4066-545: The NES as a gun game instead of a video game system, and Nintendo Research & Development 1 developed the R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) accessory toy. On October 18, 1985, the NES was launched in the New York City test market , bundled with the Control Deck, Zapper, R.O.B., two controllers, Duck Hunt , and Gyromite . After successful launch in New York, the NES was gradually rolled out to other major markets in
4173-530: The NES, the packaging of many video games presented bombastic artwork which did not represent a game's actual graphics. Furthermore, a single game such as Pac-Man appeared across consoles with substantial variations in graphics, sound, and general quality. In contrast, Nintendo's marketing strategy aimed to regain consumer and retailer confidence by delivering a singular platform whose graphics could be represented truthfully and whose qualities were clearly defined. To differentiate Nintendo's new home platform from
4280-472: The Nintendo Advanced Video System likewise never materialized. It was privately demonstrated as a repackaged Famicom console featuring a keyboard, cassette data recorder , wireless joystick controller, and a special BASIC cartridge. By the beginning of 1985, more than 2.5 million Famicom units had been sold in Japan, and Nintendo soon announced plans to release it in North America as
4387-558: The SNES. But the Brazilian market had been dominated by unlicensed NES clones – both locally made, and smuggled from Taiwan. One of the most successful local clones was the Phantom System, manufactured by Gradiente , which licensed Nintendo products in the country for the following decade. The sales of officially licensed products were low, due to the cloning, the quite late official launch, and
List of Classic NES Series games - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-579: The Sega Master System and microcomputers . With 61.91 million units sold, it is one of the best-selling consoles of all time. It was succeeded in 1990 by the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The video game industry experienced rapid growth and popularity from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, marked by the golden age of arcade games and the second generation of consoles . Games like Space Invaders (1978) became
4601-425: The Super Famicom, effectively extending the lifetime of the Famicom. The original NES released for Western countries in 1985 contains the 10NES lockout chip, which prevents it from running cartridges unapproved by Nintendo. The inclusion of the 10NES was a direct influence from the 1983 video game crash in North America, partially caused by a market flooded with uncontrolled publishing of games of poor quality for
4708-442: The U.S. According to Nintendo, the authorization program was designed to ensure that the machines were properly repaired. Nintendo would ship the necessary replacement parts only to shops that had enrolled in the authorization program. With the release of the top-loading NES-101 (New-Style NES) in 1993 toward the end of the NES's lifespan, Nintendo resolved the problems by switching to a standard card edge connector and eliminating
4815-540: The United States, starting with Los Angeles in February 1986 and followed by other major American cities, culminating in the nationwide launch in July 1986. In June 1986, the original launch bundle was rebranded as the Deluxe Set, and a cheaper bundle was launched with two controllers and Super Mario Bros. Now no longer bundled with every system, the Zapper and R.O.B. were made available for individual sale. In January 1988, at
4922-530: The Video Blaster to give it the same feel. The tip of the Video Blaster's barrel is painted orange, but this coloration is much less prominent than other light guns released in the United States after the passage of the Federal Toy Gun Law. On February 20, 1989, Bandai released the Hyper Shot in Japan. In addition to functioning as a light gun, the controller has equivalents to most of the Famicom controller's buttons; it has B, Start and Select buttons, as well as
5029-510: The Wii Remote's pointer as a virtual Zapper. The Wii U game Splatoon and its Nintendo Switch sequels Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 all include several N-ZAP weapons, which are heavily based on the Zapper's design. The N-ZAP '85 and N-ZAP '89 use the gray and orange colors of the Zapper respectively. The N-ZAP '83 appears in Splatoon and Splatoon 2 only, with the red and gold from
5136-524: The Winter CES, the orange Zapper revision was announced (as had been required by the Federal Toy Gun Law of 1987 ) within the new Action Set bundle of the NES. Also announced was the third-party Zapper game Freedom Force . In June, at the Summer CES, the Power Set was announced for release that year, bundling the orange Zapper. In 1989, the orange Zapper was released. In North America, Bondwell released
5243-588: The Zapper are primarily shooting gallery games , although the sidescrolling platformers Gumshoe and Baby Boomer also support it. In some games, it can be used on the title screen to select a mode and start the game. Some games require the Zapper to be played (such as Duck Hunt , To the Earth , and Shooting Range ), some can be played using either the Zapper or a controller (such as Operation Wolf and Mechanized Attack ), and some have specific shooting-oriented levels that can be played using either
5350-408: The Zapper or a controller (such as The Adventures of Bayou Billy , Track & Field II , and Chiller ). Some NES games were co-promoted with or designed for particular alternative light gun accessories. In North America, Laser Invasion came with a coupon for a discount for the LaserScope headset, although it can also be played with the regular Zapper. The Japan-only Space Shadow
5457-578: The arcades, to determine which games to release for the NES launch. At the 1985 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nintendo unveiled the American version of the Famicom: a stripped-down and cost-reduced redesign of the Advanced Video System (AVS), having abandoned the home computer approach. Nintendo purposefully designed the system to avoid resembling a video game console and avoided terms associated with game consoles. Marketing manager Gail Tilden chose
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#17328516127205564-453: The barrel to allow it to be wielded using two hands. In 1990, Konami released the LaserScope , a headset accessory for use with the NES Zapper, in the United States and Japan. It is voice-activated, firing a shot whenever the wearer says "fire", although some reviewers criticized its ability to do so. The headset also includes stereo headphones for use with the NES and an eyepiece with
5671-544: The cartridge from side to side after insertion, pushing the ZIF up and down repeatedly, holding the ZIF down lower than it should have been, and cleaning the connectors with alcohol. Many frequently used methods to fix this problem actually risk damaging gaming cartridges or the system. In 1989, Nintendo released an official NES Cleaning Kit to help users clean malfunctioning cartridges and consoles. In response to these hardware flaws, "Nintendo Authorized Repair Centers" sprang up across
5778-502: The climax of the console's popularity. Initially, such clones were popular in markets where Nintendo issued a legitimate version of the console long time after unlicensed hardware. In particular, the Dendy (Russian: Де́нди ), an unlicensed hardware clone produced in Taiwan and sold in the former Soviet Union , emerged as the most popular video game console of its time in that setting and it enjoyed
5885-402: The confidence to expand Nintendo's influence in the fledgling video game industry. In 1978, Yamauchi split Nintendo into separate research and development divisions. He appointed Masayuki Uemura as head of Nintendo Research & Development 2 , a division that focused solely on hardware. Yamauchi, through extensive discussions with Uemura and other engineers, recognised the potential of
5992-416: The console physically. WoW salesman Jim Whims distinctly recalled delivering an ultimatum: "if you want to sell Teddy Ruxpin and you want to sell Lazer Tag , you're gonna sell Nintendo as well. And if you feel that strongly about it, then you ought to just resign the line now." This marketing tactic led to the NES' financial success in North America in its first year; Nintendo of America would later terminate
6099-587: The console should use a red and white theme after seeing a billboard for DX Antenna (a Japanese antenna manufacturer) which used those colors. The Famicom was influenced by the ColecoVision , Coleco 's competition against the Atari 2600 in the United States; the ColecoVision's top-seller was a port of Nintendo's Donkey Kong . The project's chief manager Takao Sawano brought a ColecoVision home to his family, impressed by its smooth graphics, which contrasts with
6206-600: The console was redesigned for the Australian, North American, and Japanese markets, including the New-Style NES , or NES-101, and one redesigned "dogbone" game controller. In Australia, this console revision was released with a cartridge compiling Super Mario Bros , Tetris , and Nintendo World Cup . Released in October 1993 in North America and 1994 in Australia, this final bundle retailed for $ 49.99 and A$ 69.99 ( A$ 79.99 with
6313-484: The console's electronics might face electrostatic hazards in dry American states such as Arizona and Texas , and a front-loading design would be safer if children handled the console carelessly. This was deployed as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Nintendo seeded these first systems to limited American test markets starting in New York City on October 18, 1985, and followed up in Los Angeles in February 1986;
6420-439: The console, two game controllers, an NES Zapper, a Power Pad, and a triple Game Pak containing Super Mario Bros , Duck Hunt , and World Class Track Meet . In 1990, a Sports Set bundle was released, including the console, an NES Satellite infrared wireless multitap adapter, four game controllers, and a dual Game Pak containing Super Spike V'Ball and Nintendo World Cup . Two more bundle packages were later released with
6527-526: The continued sale of the Dendy , an unauthorized hardware clone of the Famicom, in Russia in exchange for also distributing the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . Nintendo anticipated the NES would have a 25 per cent share in these countries, and saw particular potential in the United Kingdom. It sold modestly in Europe, however. In Brazil, the console was released late in 1993 by Playtronic , even after
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#17328516127206634-507: The contract and hired the company's sales staff (whom Atari offered them in 1983), while taking on physical distribution of the console itself. The system's launch represented not only a new product, but also a reframing of the severely damaged home video game market in North America. The 1983 video game crash had occurred in large part due to a lack of consumer and retailer confidence in video games, which had been partially due to confusion and misrepresentation in video game marketing. Prior to
6741-416: The courts to prohibit the manufacture and sale of unlicensed cloned hardware. Many of the clone vendors have included built-in copies of licensed Nintendo software, which constitutes copyright infringement in most countries. Nintendo's design styling for US release was made deliberately different from that of other game consoles. Nintendo wanted to distinguish its product from those of competitors and to avoid
6848-409: The developing console beyond gaming. He envisioned a home-computer system disguised as a toy, which could significantly expand Nintendo's reach if it became popular with children. This popularity would drive demand for games, with Nintendo as the sole provider. Indeed, by 1980 several systems had already been released in Japan by both American and Japanese companies. Yamauchi tasked Uemura with developing
6955-605: The discontinuation of the Famicom in September alongside the Super Famicom and the disk rewriting services for the Famicom Disk System . The last Famicom, serial number HN11033309, was manufactured on September 25; it was kept by Nintendo and subsequently loaned to the organizers of Level X, a video game exhibition held from December 4, 2003, to February 8, 2004, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography , for
7062-413: The early revisions to crash . Following a product recall and a reissue with a new motherboard , the Famicom's popularity soared, becoming the bestselling game console in Japan by the end of 1984 in what came to be called the "Famicom Boom". Nintendo launched the system with only first-party games, but after being approached by Namco and Hudson Soft in 1984, agreed to produce third-party games for
7169-429: The flicker and slowdown commonly seen on Atari 2600 games. Uemura said the ColecoVision set the bar for the Famicom. They wanted to surpass it and match the more powerful Donkey Kong arcade hardware; they took a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet to chip manufacturer Ricoh for analysis, which led to Ricoh producing the Picture Processing Unit (PPU) chip for the NES. Original plans called for the Famicom's cartridges to be
7276-426: The functionality of the original hardware, such as a portable system with a color LCD ( PocketFami ). Others have been produced for certain specialized markets, such as a rather primitive personal computer with a keyboard and basic word processing software. These unauthorized clones have been helped by the invention of the so-called NES-on-a-chip . As was the case with unlicensed games, Nintendo has typically gone to
7383-410: The game cartridge's brass plated nickel connectors are also prone to tarnishing and oxidation. Nintendo sought to fix these problems by redesigning the next generation Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) as a top loader similar to the Famicom. Many players try to alleviate issues in the game caused by this corrosion by blowing into the cartridges, then reinserting them, which actually speeds up
7490-424: The generally poor reputation that game consoles had acquired following the video game crash of 1983 . One result of this philosophy is to disguise the cartridge slot design as a front-loading zero-insertion force (ZIF) cartridge socket, designed to resemble the front-loading mechanism of a VCR . The socket works well when both the connector and the cartridges are clean and the pins on the connector are new. However,
7597-494: The genre of the game. A seal of quality is on all licensed game and accessory packaging. The initial seal states, "This seal is your assurance that Nintendo has approved and guaranteed the quality of this product". This text was later changed to " Official Nintendo Seal of Quality ". Unlike with the Famicom, Nintendo of America marketed the console primarily to children, instituting a strict policy of censoring profanity, sexual, religious, or political content. The most famous example
7704-415: The goal of matching their powerful sprite and scrolling capabilities in a home system. A test model was constructed in October 1982 to verify the functionality of the hardware, and work began on programming tools. Because 65xx CPUs had not been manufactured or sold in Japan by that time, no cross-development software was available and it had to be developed from scratch. Early Famicom games were written on
7811-531: The high prices of Nintendo's licensed products. Outside of Japan, regions in greater Asia received an "Asian Version" of the front-loader NES though imported Famicom systems were prevalent. Due to import restrictions , NES consoles in India and South Korea were rebranded and distributed by local licensees. The Indian version is called the Samurai Electronic TV Game System and the Korean version
7918-490: The highest-grossing arcade machine of 1985 in the United States. By the time the NES launched, nearly 100,000 VS. Systems had been sold to American arcades. The success of the VS. System gave Nintendo the confidence to release the Famicom in North America as a video game console, for which there was growing interest due to Nintendo's positive reputation in the arcades. It also gave Nintendo the opportunity to test new games as VS. Paks in
8025-466: The home consoles. Nintendo did not want to see that happen with the NES and used the lockout chip to restrict games to only those they licensed and approved for the system. This means of protection worked in combination with the Nintendo "Seal of Quality", which a developer had to acquire before they would be able to have access to the required 10NES information prior to publication of their game. Initially,
8132-544: The idea that it could be used to make players voices sound through the TV speaker. The console was released on July 15, 1983, as the Home Cassette Type Video Game: Family Computer , for ¥14,800 (equivalent to ¥18,400 in 2019) with three ports of Nintendo's successful arcade games Donkey Kong , Donkey Kong Jr. , and Popeye . The Famicom was slow to gather success; a bad chip set caused
8239-479: The lack of the pie/cement level in Donkey Kong . In Super Mario Bros. , the screen ratio aspect was altered, causing odd graphical artifacts. The prices of the Classic NES Series and previous rereleases were also criticized. Many reviewers noted that $ 20 was a high price for one game. Both GameSpot and IGN noted that Nintendo had given away The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for free in
8346-635: The lockout chip. All of the Famicom systems use standard card edge connectors, as do Nintendo's two subsequent game consoles, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Nintendo 64 . The Famicom as released in Japan contains no lockout hardware, which led to unlicensed cartridges (both legitimate and bootleg) becoming extremely common throughout Japan and East Asia. Nintendo tried to promote its "Seal of Quality" in these regions to identify licensed games to combat bootlegs, but bootleg Famicom games continued to be produced even after Nintendo moved production onto
8453-526: The merchandise if it were not for a risky offer made by [Nintendo of America President Minoru] Arakawa himself—a money-back guarantee." The Wii Zapper peripheral for the Wii console is a plastic casing for the Wii Remote attached to a Nunchuk that is held like a gun for point-and-shoot gameplay. It is not technically or visually similar to the Zapper. The Wii U Virtual Console re-releases of NES games can use
8560-438: The new video game system, engineers sought Yamauchi's guidance on its features. They questioned whether to include a disk drive , keyboard, data port, as well as the potential for a modem , expanded memory, and other computer-like capabilities. Yamauchi ultimately instructed Uemura to prioritise simplicity and affordability, omitting these peripherals entirely. Game cartridges , which Uemura saw as "less intimidating" to consumers
8667-537: The orange revision was released in the same year. The Video Shooting Series light gun was released for Famicom in Japan on February 18, 1984, bundled with Wild Gunman , and a holster accessory was released. In January 1985, at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nintendo of America presented the Advanced Video System , a prototype American redesign of the Famicom, which
8774-558: The original model NES console. In 1992, the Challenge Set was released for $ 89.99 with the console, two controllers, and a Super Mario Bros. 3 Game Pak. The Basic Set retailed at US$ 89.99 ; it included only the console and two controllers, and no pack-in game. Instead, it contained a book called the Official Nintendo Player's Guide , which contained detailed information for every NES game made up to that point. Finally,
8881-493: The pack-in game) respectively, and was discontinued with the NES in 1995. On August 14, 1995, Nintendo discontinued the Nintendo Entertainment System in both North America and Europe. In North America, replacements for the original front-loading NES were available for $ 25 in exchange for a broken system until at least December 1996, under Nintendo's Power Swap program. The Game Boy and Super NES were covered for $ 25 and $ 35 respectively. On May 30, 2003, Nintendo announced
8988-510: The perception of a troubled and shallow video game market still reeling from the 1983 crash, the company freshened its product nomenclature and established a strict product approval and licensing policy. The overall platform is referred to as "Entertainment System" instead of a "video game system", is centered upon a machine called a "Control Deck" instead of a "console", and features software cartridges called " Game Paks " instead of "video games". This allowed Nintendo to gain more traction in selling
9095-453: The player to aim at a television set and accurately shoot at in-game targets. The Zapper bridged Nintendo's existing library of hit arcade light-gun shooter games into the NES's launch library. As distinct toys, the Zapper and R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) were key to the identity of the NES bundle , for positioning the NES's 1985–1986 launch into the North American toy market instead of into
9202-492: The poor reception at the Consumer Electronics Show, Nintendo revised its marketing strategy to avoid the crashed video game market in favor of the toy market, redesigning it as the Nintendo Entertainment System . Expensive wireless technology was abandoned, and the light gun and wand became the wired Zapper. The NES ports of Nintendo's existing hit arcade games Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley were used to position
9309-403: The same infrared NES receiver as Nexoft's The Dominator MasterControl, a wireless controller including a joystick. The receiver connects to the NES via a cable connected to the controller port; the instructions recommend placing the NES and receiver on top of the television. The ProBeam is bright orange and has a built-in scope with crosshairs. It is heavier than the NES Zapper, but has a grip under
9416-660: The second region, consisting of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. In other European countries, distribution was taken over by smaller companies like Bienengräber in Germany, ASD in France, Concentra in Portugal, Itochu in Greece and Cyprus, Stadlbauer in Austria, Switzerland and the former Eastern Bloc In November 1994, Nintendo signed an agreement with Steepler to permit
9523-513: The series. Of these, six were previously released by alternative means on the Game Boy Advance: Upon launch of the series in Japan, 1 million units were sold within eight days. The series of reissues had a mixed reception. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot complained that a Bomberman without multiplayer is "hardly a Bomberman at all". Metroid ' s inclusion in the series was considered redundant by Bob Colayco of GameSpot, since it
9630-450: The size of a cassette tape, but ultimately they ended up being twice as big. Careful design attention was paid to the cartridge connectors because loose and faulty connections often plagued arcade machines. As it necessitated 60 connection lines for the memory and expansion, Nintendo decided to produce its own connectors. The controllers are hard-wired to the console with no connectors for cost reasons. The controller designs were reused from
9737-557: The socket is not truly zero-insertion force. When a user inserts the cartridge into the NES, the force of pressing the cartridge into place bends the contact pins slightly and presses the cartridge's ROM board back into the cartridge. Frequent insertion and removal of cartridges wears out the pins, and the ZIF design proved more prone to interference by dirt and dust than an industry-standard card edge connector. The design problems were exacerbated by Nintendo's choice of materials. The console slot nickel connector springs wear due to design and
9844-417: The system in toy stores. To deter production of games which had not been licensed by Nintendo, and to prevent copying, the 10NES lockout chip system acts as a lock-and-key coupling of each Game Pak and Control Deck. The packaging of the launch lineup of NES games bear pictures of close representations of actual onscreen graphics. To reduce consumer confusion, symbols on the games' packaging clearly indicate
9951-449: The targets are in its hit zone. If a target is hit, the game determines which one was hit based on the time of the flash, as each target flashes for one video frame, one after another. The Zapper can only be used on CRT displays ; it will not work on LCDs , plasma displays or other flat panel displays due to display lag . In February 1988, in a review of Gotcha! The Sport! , Computer Entertainer magazine commented that there
10058-419: The tarnishing due to moisture. One way to slow down the tarnishing process and extend the life of the cartridges is to use isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs. Users have attempted to solve these problems by blowing air onto the cartridge connectors, inserting the cartridge just far enough to get the ZIF to lower, licking the edge connector, slapping the side of the system after inserting a cartridge, shifting
10165-594: The term "Game Pak" for cartridges, "Control Deck" for the console, and "Entertainment System" for the whole platform. Renamed the "Nintendo Entertainment System" (NES), the new and cost-reduced version lacked most of the upscale features added in the AVS but retained many of its audiophile-inspired design elements, such as the grey colour scheme and boxy form factor. Disappointed with the cosmetically raw prototype part they received from Japan, which they nicknamed "the lunchbox", Nintendo of America designers Lance Barr and Don James added
10272-540: The two-tone gray, the black stripe, and the red lettering. To obscure the video game connotation, the NES replaced the top-loading cartridge slot of the Famicom and AVS with a front-loading chamber for software cartridges that kept the inserted cartridge out of view, reminiscent of a video cassette recorder . The Famicom's pair of hard-wired controllers and the AVS's wireless controllers were replaced with two custom 7-pin sockets for detachable wired controllers. At June 1985's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nintendo unveiled
10379-421: Was "always demand for a gun game [...] We know our Nintendo owners love games they can use with their Zappers". In July 1988, Computer Entertainer opined that Freedom Force was Sunsoft 's "best game yet. And they've made the best use yet of the Zapper light gun by building a game around a theme that's as topical as the evening news: the taking of hostages by terrorists". Most of its survey respondents who own
10486-498: Was already included as an unlockable extra in the remake Metroid: Zero Mission as well as in Metroid Prime . Some reviewers were annoyed that the Classic NES Series versions of some games differed slightly from the originals. For example, Craig Harris of IGN complained that the Classic NES Series version of Xevious had an automatic firing setting that made it less difficult than the original. Reviewers also complained about
10593-403: Was bundled with, and can uniquely use the speakers and haptic feedback of, the Hyper Shot light gun. When the Zapper's trigger is pressed, the game causes the entire screen to become black for one frame. Then, on the next frame, all valid targets that are on screen are drawn all white as the rest of the screen remains black. The Zapper detects this change in light level and determines if any of
10700-436: Was chosen as the format. The team designed the system to store 2,000 bytes of random-access memory (RAM), significantly more than Atari's 256 bytes. Larger cartridges also allowed for far more complex games, with thirty-two times the code capacity of Atari cartridges. The console's hardware was largely based on arcade video games , particularly the hardware for Namco 's Galaxian (1979) and Nintendo's Donkey Kong , with
10807-427: Was designed by Masayuki Uemura . Nintendo's president, Hiroshi Yamauchi , called for a simple, cheap console that could run arcade games on cartridges . The controller design was reused from Nintendo's portable Game & Watch hardware. The western model was redesigned to resemble a video cassette recorder . Nintendo released add-ons such as the NES Zapper light gun for several shooting games, and R.O.B ,
10914-410: Was designed with the intention that the NES would be placed on top of the television in order to detect the Video Shooter. Multiple Video Shooters can be used with a single receiver. When the gun is fired, a red light on the back of the gun is illuminated to indicate that a shot has been fired. The gun has a clear plastic sight on top of the gun to assist in aiming shots. In late 1988, the Video Blaster
11021-421: Was easy to use and caused no discomfort. Ultimately though, they installed a 15-pin expansion port on the front of the console so that an optional arcade-style joystick could be used. Gunpei Yokoi suggested an eject lever to the cartridge slot which is not necessary, but he believed that children could be entertained by pressing it. Uemura adopted his idea. Uemura added a microphone to the second controller with
11128-439: Was illegally demonstrating its Coleco Adam computer with Nintendo's Donkey Kong game. This violation of Atari's exclusive license with Nintendo to publish the game for its own computer systems delayed the implementation of Nintendo's game console marketing contract with Atari. Atari's CEO Ray Kassar was fired the next month, so the deal went nowhere, and Nintendo decided to market its system on its own. Subsequent plans for
11235-683: Was later released in the United States in 1989 as a 19-inch model named the Video Game Television. Another variant is the Twin Famicom console released in 1986 to combine a Famicom with a Famicom Disk System . Sharp then produced the Famicom Titler in 1989. Intended for video capture and production, it features internal RGB video generation and video output via S-Video , plus inputs for adding subtitles and voice-overs . A thriving market of unlicensed NES hardware clones emerged during
11342-417: Was pitched as a high-end piece of consumer electronics. Its bundle of wireless peripherals includes a computer keyboard, music keyboard, and a combination light wand and gun. The "combination light wand and gun" has an adjustable handle for either mode. However, North American retailers were still apprehensive to re-enter the video game market after the video game crash of 1983 , placing no orders. After
11449-414: Was released in North America by Camerica . The Video Blaster has the same shape as the Famicom light gun, but different colors and is compatible with the NES controller port rather than the Famicom extension port. The Famicom light gun included weights to make it heavier, which this controller lacks; however, because the two controllers use the same mold, the Famicom light gun's weights can be transplanted to
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