| Nintendo Entertainment System | |
| |
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Type | Console |
| Release Date | July 15, 1983 (JP) October 18, 1985 (NA) |
| Discontinued | |
| Media | Cartridge |
| Save Format | |
| Input Options | |
| Special Features | |
| Units Sold | 60 million |
| Top Selling Game | Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Bros. 3 |
| Variants | |
| Competitor(s) | Sega Master System, Atari 2600 |
| Predecessor | Color TV Game |
| Successor | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
NES controller
NES top loading version
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is the North American and European name for the Famicom released in 1985 by Nintendo. It is a third generation console, and one of the biggest successes in the video game industry's history. It is often credited with reviving the video game market after the collapse of Atari. A redesigned top loading version was released in 1993.
History
Hiroshi Yamauchi, Masayuki Uemura, and the Nintendo team began working on a console in 1980 that would be called the Famicon. After the market crash of 1983 caused by Atari, video games were seen as a passing fad in the United States. It was duing this turbulant time that the Famicon would be released in Japan.
Nintendo struck a deal with Ricoh to produce 3 million 6502 processors within a two year period for 2,000 yen a chip. The name was changed from Famicon to Nintendo Entertainment System for the Western market to create the view that it was a system that did not just "play games" but entertained as a whole. This distinction is something that console developers strive for even today.
In order to convince retailers such as Sears to stock their new NES, they included many accesories and peripherals like R.O.B. the robot and the Zapper, a light gun. To garner further retail support Nintendo promised said retailers that they would buy back all unsold units. Nintendo of America first debuted the NES in New York City, where it was met with success, prompting them to release it a few more markets like Los Angeles, before releasing it to the entire country in 1985.
The NES came in two sets, the arcade set ($199) which included Super Marios Bros., and the deluxe set ($249) was bundled with a light gun and three games. The two sets managed to sell over 60 million units over its lifecycle of six years (ending when the SNES was released in 1991).
By 1987 the NES held much of the market and had little to fear from the Sega Master Systems release.
Development
Launch
Hardware
Accessories
Specifications
CPU type: 8-bit 6502 NMOS (1.79MHz)
RAM: 2KB (16Kb), 2KB Video RAM
Colors: 52 (24 on screen)
Sprites: 64
Sprite Size: 8x16 pixels
Resolution: 256x240 pixels
Sound: PSG audio
Competitors
Nintendo's main competition was with the Sega Master System and the Atari 7800, the latter of which was delayed for two years due to the Video Game Crash that left the American game market uncertain as to whether it was going to recover. However, with the competition of popularity surrounding what software the NES had to offer gamers, and the stiff stranglehold Nintendo's third-party licensing system had on its software supporters preventing them from releasing similar games for the competing systems for at least two years, the Master System and the Atari 7800 suffered greatly in the marketplace. Sega would answer back with a vengeance when it released its Mega Drive system in America as the Genesis in 1989, while Atari prepared for its own comeback attempt with the Jaguar system released in 1993.
Games
Many successful franchises and games were started on the NES. Games like Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda, and Mega Man debuted on this console, making it one of the most influential platforms in video game history.
Key first-party titles
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Major third-party titles
Connectivity
Praises/Criticism
Praises
The Nintendo Entertainment System is given much of the credit for revitalizing the home video game industry. By keeping tight control over the content, quality and production of all games released on the system Nintendo was able to avoid many problems that plagued the Atari 2600 such as overproduction and cheap low quality games cutting into sales of quality titles. Despite the positive effects this level of control had Nintendo is also strongly criticized for these policies during this time period.
Criticism
Nintendo is partially criticized for the lackluster sales of both the Sega Master System, and the Atari 7800 in the United States due to their strict third party agreements. It is said that Nintendo placed restrictions on third party game developers, allowing them only to produce games for the NES, lest they face large fines, or even a drop of support. It is because of this, the other systems of the time only had their companies respective back catalogs to draw games from, whereas the NES had a wealth of new games.
As Nintendo's system became more popular many retailers and toy stores became more resentful at the company. Nintendo products and games accounted for a significant portion of retailers profits. Because of the dependence on the NES and it's games stores had to play by Nintendo's rules or risk losing their supply. Immediate payment was required for all orders rather than end of the year billing. Competitor system and games or unlicensed NES games could not be carried. Stores could not markup or markdown prices on games. Nintendo started a no return policy that conflicted with the customer satisfaction guarantees of most stores and instead had a service network customers could send defective systems and games to. Some companies tried to boycott Nintendo products in protest, but the loss in sales had those stores conceding to Nintendo's policies before long.
Technical specifications
- CPU: Custom (modified 6502)
- RAM: 4 KB (2 KB for CPU and 2 KB for PPU)
- Some games have additional RAM on cartridge board, including save RAM
- Custom PPU (picture processing unit)
- Display resolution: 256x240
- 25 simultaneous colors out of 53
- Custom sound chip
- Five sound channels:
- Two pulse (identical)
- One triangle
- One noise
- One delta PCM
- Some Japanese games used hardware on the mappers such as the Namcot 106 for additional sound
- Five sound channels:
- Cartridge-based system (but also see Famicom Disk System)
- 10NES lockout chip on non-Japanese systems
- Non-Japanese systems had defects because of their ZIF (zero insertion force) cartridge connector.
Gallery
Hardware
Sample Screenshots
Cultural Phenomenon
During the late 1990s and early 2000s the NES became much more than a video game system released 10 to 20 years ago in the eyes of the public. It became quite possible to see someone wearing a NES controller belt [1] or other "retro" styled clothing [2] covered with images Nintendo started.
See also
- NES games
- List of NES games
- Sega Master System
External links
References
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