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= Nintendo_Entertainment_System =
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Introduction
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The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game
console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan
on July 15, 1983, as the and released as the redesigned NES in test
markets in the United States on October 18, 1985, followed by a
nationwide launch on September 27, 1986. 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.
Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi called for a simple, cheap console
that could run arcade games on cartridges. The Famicom was designed by
Masayuki Uemura, with its controller design reused from Nintendo's
portable Game & Watch hardware. The western NES model was designed
by Lance Barr and Don James to resemble a video cassette recorder. To
aid the console's acceptance in stores, Nintendo released add-ons such
as the Zapper, a light gun for shooting games, and R.O.B., a toy
robot.
The NES is regarded as one of the most influential gaming consoles. It
helped revitalize 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.
Several games released for the NES, including 'Super Mario Bros.'
(1985), 'The Legend of Zelda' (1986), 'Metroid' (1986), and 'Mega Man'
(1987), became major franchises.
While the NES dominated Japanese and North American markets, it
performed less well in Europe, where it faced strong competition from
the Master System, as well as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum home
computers. With 61.91 million units sold, it is the 14th-best-selling
console of all time. Nintendo ceased production of the NES in 1995 and
the Famicom in 2003. It was succeeded in 1990 by the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System.
Background
============
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 a phenomenon across arcades worldwide, while
home consoles such as the Atari 2600, alongside home computers such as
the Commodore 64 and the Intellivision acquired footholds in the
American market. Many companies emerged to capitalize on the growing
industry, including the card and toy company Nintendo.
Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi realized 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 a license with Magnavox for the
patents on the technology used in 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 and the Color TV-Game 15 in Japan. This was followed
the handheld Game & Watch series. The successes of these consoles
gave Yamauchi 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. Yamauchi, through extensive
discussions with Uemura and other engineers, recognized the potential
of 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 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.
Inception
===========
As development progressed on 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 prioritize simplicity and
affordability, omitting these peripherals entirely. Game cartridges,
which Uemura saw as "less intimidating" to consumers, were chosen as
the format. The team designed the system with 2,000 bytes of
random-access memory (RAM).
The console's hardware was largely based on arcade video games,
particularly the hardware for Namco's 'Galaxian' (1979) and Nintendo's
own 'Donkey Kong' (1981), with 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 had to be developed from
scratch. Early Famicom games were written on a PC-8001 computer. LEDs
on a grid were used with a digitizer to design graphics, as no such
software design tools existed at the 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,
Yamauchi decided that the console should use a red and white color
scheme after seeing a hoarding for DX Antenna (a Japanese antenna
manufacturer) that used those colors.
Development
=============
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, who was impressed by its smooth graphics, which
contrasted with the flicker and slowdown commonly seen on Atari 2600
games. Uemura said the ColecoVision set the bar for the Famicom. The
team, wanting to surpass the ColecoVision and match the more powerful
'Donkey Kong' arcade hardware, 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 Famicom.
During development, Yamauchi directed engineers to reduce costs by
removing non-essential components. However, he insisted on including a
low-cost circuit and connector that allowed the CPU to send or receive
unmodified signals, enabling future hardware expansions such as modems
or keyboards. This built-in capability led some within Nintendo to
refer to the console as "Yamauchi's Trojan Horse": it entered homes as
a simple gaming device with two controllers, and yet contained
features far beyond its apparent function. A 1989 corporate report
later acknowledged, "In the initial stages of [the system's]
development, we foresaw these possibilities... we built a data
communications function into the system." Lead engineer Masayuki
Uemura credited luck for this foresight, while colleague Genyo Takeda
remarked that Uemura's lack of experience allowed him to attempt what
others might have deemed unfeasible. Design decisions were also
carefully considered. Yamauchi took a hands-on role in determining the
controller layout, casing shape, and overall aesthetic. The final
design featured a directional pad and two buttons on the right
controller, a microphone on the left controller, rounded edges, and a
red and white color scheme deliberately made to appear more like a toy
than a computer.
Original plans called for the Famicom's cartridges to be the size of a
cassette tape, but they ultimately ended up being twice as large.
Careful design attention was paid to the cartridge connectors, as
loose and faulty connections often plagued arcade machines. Because it
necessitated 60 connection lines for the memory and expansion,
Nintendo decided to produce their own connectors. Each cartridge
typically contained two primary chips: one for the game’s program code
(up to 32 kilobytes), and another for graphical data used to render
on-screen characters (up to 8 kilobytes). Nintendo's R&D3 team
designed the "UNROM" cartridge, which enabled larger memory capacities
and the use of bank switching. This technique involved storing
additional data in RAM and dynamically accessing it as needed, thereby
significantly expanding gameplay possibilities. At Gunpei Yokoi's
suggestion, a cartridge eject lever was also added, not for
functionality, but to amuse children.
The Famicom design team initially considered arcade-style joysticks,
and even dismantled existing models from American consoles, but
ultimately rejected them due to concerns about durability and the risk
of children stepping on them. Instead, they adopted the D-pad and two
action button layout developed by R&D1 for their handheld Game
& Watch series. As an early prototype, Katsuya Nakagawa attached a
Game & Watch D-pad to the Famicom and found it comfortable and
easy to use. To reduce costs, the controllers were hardwired to the
console and stored in molded pockets on the case. A 15-pin expansion
port was added to the front of the console so that an optional
arcade-style joystick could be used. The second controller also
included a microphone, which Uemura envisioned being used to make
players' voices come through the TV speaker.
Japanese launch
=================
On July 15, 1983, the console was released in Japan as the priced at
(¥20,718 in 2025) with three launch games, all of which were ports of
popular Nintendo arcade games: 'Donkey Kong' (1981), 'Donkey Kong Jr.'
(1982), and 'Popeye' (1982). Although it was priced higher than
originally intended, the Famicom remained less than half the cost of
rival consoles. Backed by a robust marketing campaign, 500,000 units
were sold within the first two months. However, a major fault emerged
ahead of the critical Japanese New Year season, as reports began
surfacing of consoles crashing during gameplay. Uemura and engineer
Gunpei Yokoi traced the issue to a defective integrated circuit that
could lock under specific data conditions. Upon reporting the issue to
Yamauchi, staff proposed selectively replacing affected units.
However, they were warned that a partial response could damage
consumer trust and jeopardize Nintendo's first-mover advantage before
competitors could respond. Yamauchi considered their input, then
issued a decisive directive: "Recall them all."
After a product recall and the release of a revised model with a new
motherboard, the system's popularity soared. By the end of 1984, the
Famicom had become the best-selling game console in Japan in what came
to be called the "Famicom Boom". Following the sale of the first
million units, demand showed no signs of slowing. Japanese retailers
inundated Nintendo with urgent requests for stock. Anticipation for
new game releases reached unprecedented levels, with children lining
up outside shops and games selling out almost immediately. This
phenomenon, soon dubbed "Nintendomania", overwhelmed the supply chain
and further increased demand. The Famicom's success quickly cleared
the field of competition in Japan. Fourteen rival console
manufacturers exited the market, and Sega's SG-1000, launched in Japan
on the same day as the Famicom, failed to gain traction.
At launch, Nintendo released only first-party games for the Famicom.
However, in 1984, after being approached by Namco and Hudson Soft, the
company agreed to allow third-party titles. Developers paid a 30% fee
to cover console licensing and production costs, a revenue model that
would later influence the video game industry for decades.
Venture into North America
============================
Nintendo initially planned for the console to enter the North American
market through a distribution agreement with Atari. The agreement was
expected to be finalized at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
in June 1983. However, during the show, Atari discovered that Coleco
was demonstrating an unlicensed port of Nintendo's 'Donkey Kong' on
its Adam computer system. Atari, believing this violated its exclusive
license for the game, delayed the deal. Shortly afterward, Atari CEO
Ray Kassar was fired, the deal fell apart, and Nintendo decided to
market its system on its own.
Nintendo believed that the Famicom name might not resonate with
American consumers, and initially rebranded the console as the
Advanced Video System (AVS). The AVS resembled a home computer rather
than a "toy", featuring a built-in keyboard, a cassette-based data
drive, and infrared wireless controllers. By positioning the console
as a more "sophisticated" consumer electronics product, Nintendo aimed
to distance themselves from the recent failures of companies such as
Atari, Coleco, and Mattel. The AVS was publicly demonstrated at the
Winter CES in January 1985, but the reaction was lukewarm. While the
hardware and games were praised, there was deep skepticism that the
console could succeed in the United States, as the industry there was
still recovering from the video game crash of 1983. 'Electronic Games'
magazine reported in March 1985 that the video game market in America
"[had] virtually disappeared", and believed "[it] could be a
miscalculation on Nintendo's part".
With American retailers still wary of stocking game consoles after the
1983 crash, Yamauchi saw an opportunity to introduce the Famicom's
hardware to North America through arcades. In 1984, Nintendo launched
the VS. System, an arcade conversion system that featured ports of
select Famicom games, with a focus on two-player competitive play. The
VS. System became a major success, selling nearly 100,000 cabinets and
becoming the highest-grossing arcade machine of 1985 in the United
States. This success gave Nintendo the confidence to pursue a home
console launch in North America, and provided a platform to test new
titles to help shape the launch line-up.
Nintendo of America designers Lance Barr and Don James were
disappointed with the prototype console they received from Japan,
which they nicknamed "the lunchbox". For the console's western
redesign, they added a two-tone gray color scheme with a black stripe
and red lettering, as well as a front-loading, zero insertion force
slot modeled after a videocassette recorder which concealed the game
cartridge once inserted. The redesigned console, now called the
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), was unveiled by Nintendo at the
June 1985 Summer CES, and dropped the home computer features of the
earlier AVS prototype while retaining its gray color scheme and boxy
form factor. It also replaced the Famicom's hardwired controllers and
the AVS's wireless ones with detachable wired controllers using
proprietary 7-pin connectors. To avoid the language used by earlier
game consoles, marketing manager Gail Tilden coined alternative terms
for the NES's hardware, calling the cartridges "Game Paks" and the
console itself the "Control Deck", which would later aid its
acceptance in toy stores. To further distance the NES from previous
consoles, Nintendo heavily promoted optional accessories, such as the
Zapper light gun and the Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.), to position
the system as cutting-edge and sophisticated. While initial consumer
interest in the console was limited, its peripherals drew significant
attention.
The NES launched in a limited test market in New York City on October
18, 1985, followed by Los Angeles in February 1986, and finally a full
North American release on September 27, 1986. The launch line-up
included 17 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 with toy company Worlds of Wonder (WoW) to get the NES
distributed in stores. WoW's aggressive sales tactics, which included
requiring retailers to carry the NES in order to sell WoW's other
popular toys, helped secure shelf space for the console. 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." WoW's efforts led to a successful first year for
the NES; afterwards, Nintendo of America ended the distribution deal
and hired WoW's sales team, taking over distribution directly.
With the launch of the NES, Nintendo redefined the home video game
market in North America. The 1983 crash had been fueled by misleading
marketing, lack of quality control, and hardware fragmentation. In
contrast, Nintendo introduced strict standards for software approval,
packaging, and quality. It used consistent branding with genre icons,
box art that reflected in-game graphics, and the "Official Nintendo
Seal of Quality". To enforce its standards, the company used the 10NES
lock-out chip to deter production of unlicensed games.
Other markets
===============
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 European countries received the console
in 1987. In Scandinavia, it was released on September 1, 1986, and was
distributed 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. In 1987, Mattel handled distribution for the second
region, consisting of the British Isles, Italy, Australia and New
Zealand. In other European countries, distribution was handled by
smaller companies like Bienengräber in Germany, ASD in France,
Concentra in Portugal, Itochu in Greece and Cyprus, and Stadlbauer in
Austria, Switzerland, and the former Eastern Bloc. In Poland, the NES
had its release on October 6, 1994, along with the SNES and the Game
Boy. In November 1994, Nintendo signed an agreement with Steepler to
permit the continued sale of the Dendy, an unauthorized hardware clone
of the Famicom, in Russia in exchange for also distributing the SNES.
Nintendo anticipated that the NES would have a 25 percent market share
in Europe, and saw particular potential in the United Kingdom. The
console struggled to gain a foothold in the region, however, in part
due to the widespread popularity of the ZX Spectrum, which had already
established a strong home computing and gaming culture. The
affordability, local software support, and versatility of the Spectrum
also made it a dominant choice among British consumers, which severely
limited the NES's market penetration. The console would see an
increase in share in 1990 with the release of the 'Teenage Mutant Hero
Turtles' bundle, which was released against Nintendo of America's
wishes but ultimately allowed the console's European sales to overtake
those of the Master System.
In Brazil, the console was officially released in late 1993 by
Playtronic. However, the Brazilian market had been dominated by
unlicensed NES clones that were either locally made and smuggled from
Taiwan. One of the most successful Brazilian NES clones was the
Phantom System by Gradiente, which licensed Nintendo products in the
country for the following decade. The sales of officially licensed
products in the region were low due to the abundance of clones, the
console's official launch coming after the SNES, and the high prices
of Nintendo's licensed products.
Outside of Japan, regions of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal,
Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand received an "Asian
version" of the front-loader NES, although imported Famicom systems
were still prevalent. Due to import restrictions, NES consoles in
India and South Korea were rebranded and distributed by local
licenses. The Korean version is known as the Hyundai Comboy, and the
Indian version is known as the Samurai Electronic TV Game System.
India was the third region outside of North America and Japan to
officially receive the NES. It was produced locally by Samurai
Electronics in North India, and was released to strong initial sales
in the region, selling 3,000 units per month. However, in the early
1990s, when retailers began promoting bootleg consoles, the console
saw a significant drop in sales, selling 300 units per month.
Bundles and redesigns {{Anchor|Later redesigns and bundles|North American bundle packages}}
=============================================================================================
The NES was released in several retail bundles throughout its
commercial life. For its 1985 American test launch, the initial
offering was the Deluxe Set, which retailed for and included the
Control Deck, two controllers, the NES Zapper light gun, the R.O.B.
robotic accessory, and two Game Paks: 'Gyromite' and 'Duck Hunt'.
Ahead of the console's nationwide launch in 1986, Nintendo introduced
a basic Control Deck set with two controllers, bundled with 'Super
Mario Bros.' for .
In 1988, the Deluxe Set was replaced by the Action Set, which retailed
for and bundled the Control Deck with two controllers, the NES
Zapper, and a dual Game Pak containing 'Super Mario Bros.' and 'Duck
Hunt'. 1988 also saw the introduction of the Power Set, which added
the Power Pad floor mat game controller and replaced the dual
cartridge with a triple Game Pak featuring 'Super Mario Bros.', 'Duck
Hunt', and 'World Class Track Meet'.
In 1990, Nintendo released the Sports Set, which included the Control
Deck, four controllers, an NES Satellite infrared wireless multitap
adapter, and a dual Game Pak containing 'Super Spike V'Ball' and
'Nintendo World Cup'. In 1992, the Challenge Set debuted at ,
featuring the Control Deck and two controllers, bundled with 'Super
Mario Bros. 3'.
Finally, in October 1993, Nintendo released a redesigned version of
the console, known as the New-Style NES or NES-101, in North America,
Australia, and Japan. This version included a single redesigned
"dogbone" shape controller, and retailed for in North America before
its discontinuation in 1995. In Australia, the console was bundled
with a triple Game Pak featuring 'Super Mario Bros.', 'Tetris', and
'Nintendo World Cup', and sold for A$79.99, or A$69.99 without the
bundled Game Pak.
Discontinuation
=================
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 in
exchange for a broken system until at least December 1996, under
Nintendo's Power Swap program.
In September 2003, Nintendo discontinued the Famicom in Japan,
alongside the Super Famicom and disk rewriting services for the
Famicom Disk System. The last Famicom model, serial number HN11033309,
was manufactured on September 25, 2003; 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 a Famicom retrospective
in commemoration of the console's 20th anniversary. Nintendo offered
repair services for the Famicom in Japan until 2007, when it was
discontinued due to a shortage of available parts.
Configurations
================
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 a dark red trim;
it featured 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, with a front-loading
cartridge slot covered by a small, hinged door that can be opened to
insert or remove a cartridge and closed at other times, and an
expansion port on the bottom of the unit. The NES also includes the
10NES lock-out chip, and incorporates a matching chip validation check
in its cartridge connector.
In late 1993, Nintendo introduced a redesigned version of the Famicom
and NES (known officially as 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 features a top-loading cartridge slot and omits the 10NES lock-out
chip to avoid reliability issues with the original console; the
redesign also omits AV output. Conversely, the redesigned Famicom
features AV output, and introduces detachable game controllers, which
ultimately omitted microphone functionality 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 the Famicom
model lacks to accommodate its shorter cartridges and 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 in and 19 in models, it 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, which was
released in 1986 and combines 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, as well as inputs for adding subtitles and
voice-overs.
Hardware clones
=================
A thriving market of unlicensed NES hardware clones emerged during the
climax of the console's popularity. Initially, such clones were
popular in markets with weak copyright laws and countries in which
Nintendo issued its systems after "famiclones" became well-known,
making legal products difficult to market or create brand awareness
for. In particular, the Dendy (), an unlicensed hardware clone
produced in Taiwan and sold in the former Soviet Union by Steepler,
emerged as the most popular console of its time, eventually selling
six million units. In Poland, the Pegasus clone, distributed by
Bobmark International, sold more than a million units. In China, a
reported 30 million units were sold until late 1995. A range of
Famicom clones was marketed in Latin America during the late 1980s and
1990s under the name "Family Game", resembling the original hardware
design. The Ending-Man Terminator clone enjoyed popularity in the
Eastern Bloc, as well as in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The unlicensed clone market flourished following Nintendo's
discontinuation of the NES. Some of these surpass the functionality of
the original hardware, such as PocketFami, a portable system with a
color LCD screen. Others have been produced for certain specialized
markets, such as a personal computer with a keyboard and basic word
processing software. These unauthorised clones have been helped by the
invention of the so-called NES-on-a-chip.
Design flaws
==============
Nintendo's design styling for the NES's North American release was
made deliberately different from that of other game consoles. The
company wished to distinguish their product from those of competitors
and avoid the generally poor reputation that game consoles had
acquired following the video game crash of 1983. One result of this
philosophy was 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 videocassette recorder.
However, when a user inserts the cartridge, the force of pressing it
into place bends the contact pins slightly and presses the cartridge's
ROM board back into the cartridge. Frequent insertion and removal of
cartridges can wear out the pins, and the ZIF design has proven to be
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 out due to
their design, and 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 users reportedly tried to alleviate issues caused by corrosion by
blowing into the cartridges and then reinserting them, which
conversely sped up the tarnishing due to moisture.
Lockout
=========
The Famicom as released in Japan contains no lock-out hardware, which
led to unlicensed cartridges (both legitimate and bootleg) becoming
extremely common in Japan and East Asia. To combat bootlegs, Nintendo
attempted to promote its "Seal of Quality" in these regions to
identify licensed games, but bootleg Famicom games continued to be
produced even after Nintendo moved production onto the Super Famicom,
effectively extending the lifetime of the original Famicom.
The original NES, released for western countries in 1985, contains the
10NES lock-out chip, which prevents the console from running
cartridges unapproved by Nintendo. The inclusion of the 10NES chip was
a result of the 1983 North American video game crash, which was
partially caused by a market flooded with uncontrolled publishing of
poor-quality home console games. Nintendo sought to use the lock-out
chip to restrict games to only those they licensed for the system.
This means of protection worked in combination with Nintendo's "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 a game.
Original NES consoles sold in different regions have different
lock-out chips, thereby enforcing regional lock-out regardless of TV
signal compatibility. Such regions include North America; most of
continental Europe (PAL-B); Asia; and the British Isles, Italy, and
Australasia (PAL-A).
Problems with the 10NES lock-out chip frequently result in one of the
console's most common issues: the blinking, red power light, in which
the system appears to turn itself on and off repeatedly because the
10NES would reset the console once per second. The lock-out chip
requires constant communication with the chip in the game to work.
Technical specifications
==========================
The console's main central processing unit (CPU) was produced by
Ricoh, which manufactured different versions for NTSC and PAL regions;
NTSC consoles have a 2A03 clocked at 1.79 , and PAL consoles have a
2A07 clocked at 1.66 MHz. Both CPUs are unlicensed variants of the MOS
Technology 6502, an 8-bit microprocessor prevalent in contemporary
home computers and consoles. Nintendo ostensibly disabled the 6502's
binary-coded decimal mode on them to avoid patent infringement against
or licensing fees towards MOS Technology, which was owned by
then-rival Commodore International. The CPU has access to 2 of
onboard work .
The console's graphics are handled by a Ricoh 2C02, a processor known
as the Picture Processing Unit (PPU) that is clocked at 5.37 MHz. A
derivative of the Texas Instruments TMS9918 (a video display
controller used in the ColecoVision), the PPU features 2 KB of video
RAM, 256 bytes of on-die "object attribute memory" (OAM) to store
sprite display information on up to 64 sprites, and 28 bytes of RAM to
store information on the YIQ-based color palette; the console can
display up to 25 colors simultaneously out of 54 usable colors.
The console's standard display resolution is 256 × 240 pixels, though
video output options vary between models. The original Famicom
features only radio frequency (RF) modulator output, and the NES
additionally supports composite video via RCA connectors. The
redesigned Famicom omits the RF modulator entirely, only outputting
composite video via a proprietary "multi-out" connector first
introduced on the Super Famicom/SNES; conversely, the redesigned NES
features RF modulator output only, though a version of the model
including the "multi-out" connector was produced in rare quantities.
The console produces sound via an audio processing unit (APU)
integrated into the processor. It supports a total of five sound
channels: two pulse wave channels, one triangle wave channel, one
white noise channel, and one channel for sample playback. Audio
playback speed is dependent on the CPU clock rate, which is set by a
crystal oscillator.
{{anchor|Game_controllers}}Controllers
========================================
The game controller for both the NES and the Famicom has an oblong
brick-like design with a simple four button layout: two round buttons
labelled "A" and "B", a "START" button, and a "SELECT" button.
Additionally, the controllers use the cross-shaped D-pad, designed by
Nintendo employee Gunpei Yokoi for Game & Watch systems, to
replace the bulkier joysticks of controllers used by earlier gaming
consoles.
The original model Famicom features two game controllers, both of
which are hardwired to the back of the console. The second controller
lacks the Start and Select buttons, and instead features a small
microphone; however, few games use this feature. The earliest produced
Famicom units have square A and B buttons; issues with them getting
stuck when pressed down led Nintendo to change their shape to a
circular design in subsequent units following the console's recall.
In contrast to the Famicom's hardwired controllers, the NES has two
proprietary seven-pin ports on the front of the console to support
detachable controllers and third-party peripherals. The controllers
bundled with the NES are identical and include the Start and Select
buttons, lacking the microphone on the original Famicom's second
controller. The cables for NES controllers are also generally three
times longer than their Famicom counterparts.
Several special controllers are intended for use with specific games
but not commonly used. Such peripherals include the NES Zapper (a
light gun), R.O.B. (a toy robot), and the Power Pad (a dance pad). The
original Famicom has a deepened DA-15 expansion port on the front of
the unit to accommodate them.
Two official advanced controllers were produced for the NES: the NES
Advantage, an arcade controller produced by Asciiware and licensed by
Nintendo of America; and the NES Max, a controller with grip handles
and a "cycloid" sliding-disc D-pad in place of the traditional one.
Both controllers have a "Turbo" feature that simulates multiple rapid
presses for the A and B buttons; the NES Max has manually pressed
Turbo buttons, and the NES Advantage offers toggle buttons for Turbo
functionality, along with knobs that adjust the firing rate of each
button. The latter also includes a "Slow" button that rapidly pauses
games; however, this function is not intended for games that invoke a
pause menu or screen.
The standard controller was redesigned for the introduction of the
New-Style NES in 1993. This version retained detachable controller
ports and the original button layout, but the shape was changed to
loosely resemble that of the Super Famicom/SNES controller; its shape
has led to it being nicknamed the "dog bone" controller.
Nintendo created a knitting machine that interfaced with the NES and
showed it at CES in 1987 for "business feedback", although the
accessory was ultimately not released as a product. Nintendo
spokesperson Howard Phillips demoed it for Toys "R" Us in the late
1980s, and an advertisement used the headline "Now you're knitting
with power!" in reference to the slogan used by Nintendo at the time.
Japanese peripherals
======================
Few of the numerous peripheral devices and software packages for the
Famicom were released outside Japan.
The Famicom 3D System, an active shutter 3D headset peripheral
released in 1987, enabled the ability to play stereoscopic video
games. It was a commercial failure and never released outside Japan;
users described the headset as bulky and uncomfortable. Seven games
are compatible with the glasses, with three of them developed by
Square; two titles received worldwide releases as 'Rad Racer' and 'The
3-D Battles of WorldRunner'.
'Family BASIC' is an implementation of BASIC for the Famicom, packaged
with a keyboard. Similar in concept to the Atari 2600's 'BASIC
Progamming' cartridge, it allows the user to write programs,
especially games, which can be saved on an included cassette recorder.
Nintendo of America rejected releasing 'Famicom BASIC' in the US, due
to the NES's primary marketing demographic being children.
The Family Computer Network System connected a Famicom to a
now-defunct proprietary network in Japan which provided content such
as financial services. A dial-up modem was reportedly being produced
for the NES in a partnership with Fidelity Investments, but was
ultimately not released.
Famicom Disk System
=====================
By 1986, the cost and size limitations of ROM chips used in the
Famicom's ROM cartridges were apparent, with no new advancements
present to address them. With this in mind, Nintendo looked at the
personal computer (PC) market, where the floppy disk was gaining wide
adoption as a computer data storage medium. Partnering with Mitsumi to
develop a floppy disk add-on for the Famicom based on the latter's
Quick Disk format, Nintendo officially released it as the Family
Computer Disk System (or Famicom Disk System) in Japan on February 21,
1986, at a retail price of ¥15,000.
The advantages of the format (called "Disk Card") were apparent on
launch. It has more than triple the data storage capacity of the
then-largest cartridge (used for 'Super Mario Bros.'), introduced game
save capability, and had lower production costs compared to
cartridges, which resulted in lower retail prices. The add-on also has
a new wavetable synthesis sound channel and more data storage for the
Famicom's audio sample channel. Taking advantage of the disk's
re-writability, Nintendo set up Disk Writer interactive kiosks at
retail stores throughout Japan; at each kiosk, consumers could buy new
games to rewrite onto their old disks or onto new disks. Disk Fax
kiosks allowed players to submit their high scores on special blue
disks for contests and rankings, predating online leaderboards by
several years.
Although Nintendo committed to exclusively releasing games on the Disk
System after its release, numerous external issues plagued its
long-term viability. Just four months after launch, Capcom released a
Famicom port of 'Makaimura' (known as 'Ghosts 'n Goblins' in the US)
on a cartridge with more data storage capacity than what was possible
on Disk Cards, nullifying one of the Disk System's major advantages by
using discrete logic chips to perform bank switching. Nintendo also
demanded half of the copyright ownership for each game it selected for
release on the Disk System, resulting in developers electing to remain
on cartridge instead as the latter gained functionality previously
considered unique to the former. Developers disliked the lower profit
margin of the Disk Writer kiosks, and retailers complained of their
use of valuable space as demand for the format waned.
Usage of a floppy disk-based medium brought about further
complications; Disk Cards were more fragile than cartridges and were
prone to data corruption from magnetic exposure. Their unreliability
was exacerbated by their lack of a shutter, which Nintendo substituted
with a wax sleeve and clear keep case to reduce costs; blue disks and
later Disk Cards included shutters. The rubber belt-based disk drives
were also unreliable, with cryptic error codes complicating
troubleshooting; even when fully functional, players accustomed to
cartridges were annoyed with the introduction of loading times and
disk flipping. Furthermore, the rewritable nature of the format
resulted in rampant software piracy, with Nintendo's attempts at
anti-piracy measures quickly defeated.
Despite selling close to two million Disk System units in 1986,
Nintendo only managed to increase the total to 4.4 million units by
1990, falling well short of internal projections. By then, the Disk
System was rendered obsolete due to advancements in ROM cartridge
production, such as memory mapping chips for expanded data storage
capacity, battery-backed for game saving, and declining overall
production costs. Nintendo alluded to a western release for the Disk
System, going so far as to successfully file a US patent for it and
having the Famicom's cartridge pins used by its RAM Adapter for
enhanced audio rerouted to the NES's seldom-used bottom expansion
port. However, such a release never materialized due to the Disk
System's lackluster reception in Japan. Most of its games were
re-released with workarounds on cartridge for both the Famicom and
NES, without the enhanced audio. Although the last game for the Disk
System was released in December 1992, Nintendo continued offering
repair and rewrite services for it until September 2003.
NES Test Station
==================
The NES Test Station diagnostics machine, an NES-based unit designed
for testing NES hardware, components, and games, was introduced in
1988. It was only provided for use in World of Nintendo boutiques as
part of the Nintendo World Class Service program. Visitors were to
bring items to test with the station, and could be assisted by a store
technician or employee.
The NES Test Station's front has a Game Pak slot and connectors for
testing various components (AC adapter, RF switch, Audio/Video cable,
NES Control Deck, accessories and games), with a centrally located
selector knob to choose which component to test. The unit itself
weighs approximately 11.7 lb and connects to a television via a
combined A/V and RF Switch cable. By actuating the green button, a
user can toggle between an A/V Cable or RF Switch connection. The
television it is connected to (typically 11" to 14") is meant to be
placed atop it.
Game Pak
==========
The NES uses a 72-pin design, compared to 60 pins on the Famicom. To
reduce costs and inventory, some early games released in North America
are simply Famicom cartridges attached to an adapter to fit inside the
NES hardware. Early NES cartridges are held together with five small
slotted screws. Games released after 1987 were redesigned slightly to
incorporate two plastic clips moulded into the plastic itself,
removing the need for the top two screws.
The back of the cartridge bears a label with handling instructions.
Production and software revision codes were imprinted as stamps on the
back label to correspond with the software version and producer. All
licensed NTSC and PAL cartridges are a standard shade of gray plastic,
with the exceptions of 'The Legend of Zelda' and 'Zelda II: The
Adventure of Link', which were manufactured in gold plastic
cartridges. Unlicensed cartridges were produced in black, robin egg
blue, and gold, and are all slightly different shapes than standard
NES cartridges. Nintendo also produced yellow plastic cartridges for
internal use at Nintendo Service Centers, although these "test carts"
were never made available for purchase. All licensed US cartridges
were manufactured by Nintendo, Konami, and Acclaim.
Famicom cartridges are shaped slightly differently. Unlike NES games,
official Famicom cartridges were produced in many colors of plastic.
Adapters, similar in design to the popular accessory Game Genie, are
available that allow Famicom games to be played on an NES. In Japan,
several companies manufactured the cartridges for the Famicom. This
allowed these companies to develop customized chips designed for
specific purposes, such as superior sound and graphics.
Third-party licensing
=======================
Nintendo's near-monopoly on the home video game market left it with a
dominant influence over the industry. Unlike Atari, which never
actively pursued third-party developers (and even went to court in an
attempt to force Activision to cease production of Atari 2600 games),
Nintendo had anticipated and encouraged the involvement of third-party
software developers, albeit strictly on its own terms.
To this end, a 10NES authentication chip is in every console and
licensed cartridge. If the console's chip can not detect a counterpart
chip inside the cartridge, the game does not load. Nintendo portrayed
these measures as intended to protect consumers from what it saw as
poor-quality games, and placed a golden seal of approval on all
licensed games released for the system.
Nintendo was not as restrictive as Sega, which did not permit
third-party publishers until Mediagenic in late summer 1988.
Nintendo's intention was to reserve a large part of NES game revenue
for itself. The company required that it be the sole manufacturer of
all cartridges, and that the publisher had to pay in full before the
cartridges for that game be produced. Cartridges could not be returned
to Nintendo, so publishers assumed all the risk. As a result, some
publishers lost more money due to distress sales of remaining
inventory at the end of the NES era than they ever earned in profits
from sales of the games. Because Nintendo controlled the production of
all cartridges, it was able to enforce strict rules on its third-party
developers, who were required to sign a contract that would obligate
them to develop exclusively for the system, order at least 10,000
cartridges, and only make five games per year. The global 1988
shortage of DRAM and ROM chips reportedly caused Nintendo to only
permit an average of 25% of publishers' requests for cartridges, with
some receiving much higher amounts and others receiving almost none.
GameSpy noted that Nintendo's "iron-clad terms" made the company many
enemies during the 1980s. Some developers tried to circumvent the five
game limit by creating additional company brands like Konami's Ultra
Games label; others tried circumventing the 10NES chip.
Due to its strict licensing requirements, Nintendo was accused of
antitrust violations. The United States Department of Justice and
several states began probing the company's business practices, leading
to the involvement of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC conducted an extensive investigation which included
interviewing hundreds of retailers. During the FTC probe, Nintendo
changed the terms of its publisher licensing agreements to eliminate
the two-year rule and other restrictive terms. Nintendo and the FTC
settled the case in April 1991, with Nintendo being required to send
vouchers giving a $5 discount off to a new game, to every person that
had purchased an NES game between June 1988 and December 1990. GameSpy
remarked that Nintendo's punishment was particularly weak given the
case's findings, although it has been speculated that the FTC did not
want to damage the video game industry in the United States.
With the NES near the end of its life, many third-party publishers
such as Electronic Arts supported upstart competing consoles with less
strict licensing terms, such as the Sega Genesis and the PlayStation,
which respectively eroded and took over Nintendo's dominance in the
home console market. Consoles from Nintendo's rivals in the post-SNES
era had always enjoyed much stronger third-party support than
Nintendo, which relied more heavily on first-party games.
Unlicensed games
==================
Companies that refused to pay the licensing fee or were rejected by
Nintendo found ways to circumvent the console's authentication system.
Most of these companies created circuits that use a voltage spike to
temporarily disable the 10NES chip. A few unlicensed games released in
Europe and Australia are in the form of a dongle to connect to a
licensed game and use its 10NES chip for authentication. To combat
this, Nintendo of America threatened to revoke the supply of licensed
games from retailers who sold unlicensed games, and multiple revisions
were made to the NES PCBs to prevent unlicensed cartridges from
working.
Atari Games took a different approach with its console game subsidiary
Tengen, who attempted to reverse engineer the lock-out chip to develop
its own "Rabbit" chip. Tengen also obtained a description of the
lock-out chip from the United States Patent and Trademark Office by
falsely claiming that it was required to defend against present
infringement claims. Nintendo successfully sued Tengen for copyright
infringement; however, Tengen's antitrust claims against Nintendo were
never decided.
Color Dreams made Christian video games under the subsidiary name
Wisdom Tree. Historian Steven Kent wrote that "Wisdom Tree presented
Nintendo with a prickly situation. The general public did not seem to
pay close attention to the court battle with Atari Games, and industry
analysts were impressed with Nintendo's legal acumen; but going after
a tiny company that published innocuous religious games was another
story."
Game rentals
==============
As the NES grew in popularity and entered millions of American homes,
some small video rental shops began buying their own copies of NES
games and renting them out to customers for around the same price as a
video cassette rental for a few days. Nintendo received no profit from
the practice, beyond the initial cost of their game; unlike movie
rentals, a newly released game could circulate and be available for
rent on the same day. Nintendo took steps to stop game rentals, but
did not take any formal legal action until Blockbuster Video began to
make game rentals a large-scale service. Nintendo claimed that
allowing customers to rent games would significantly hurt sales and
drive up the cost of games. Nintendo notably lost the lawsuit, but did
win on a claim of copyright infringement. Blockbuster was banned from
including photocopies of original, copyrighted instruction booklets
with its rented games. In compliance with the ruling, Blockbuster
printed its own short instructions, usually in the form of a small
booklet, card, or label on the back of the rental box, which explained
a game's basic premise and controls. Other video rental shops,
however, continued the practice of renting video games.
Reception
======================================================================
By 1988, industry observers stated that the NES's popularity had grown
so quickly that the market for Nintendo cartridges was larger than all
home computer software combined. 'Compute!' reported in 1989 that
Nintendo had sold seven million NES systems in 1988 alone, almost as
many as the number of Commodore 64s sold in that system's first five
years on the market. "Computer game makers [are] scared stiff", the
magazine said, stating that Nintendo's popularity caused most
competitors to have poor sales during the previous holiday season, and
resulted in serious financial problems for some.
In June 1989, Peter Main, Nintendo of America's vice president of
marketing, said that the Famicom was present in 37% of households in
Japan. By 1990, the NES was present in 30% of households in the United
States, compared to 23% for all personal computers. By 1990, the NES
had outsold all previously released consoles worldwide.
In the early 1990s, some predicted that competition from
technologically superior systems such as the 16-bit Mega Drive would
mean the immediate end of the NES's dominance. Instead, during the
first year of the Famicom's successor, the Super Famicom (named Super
Nintendo Entertainment System outside Japan), the Famicom was the
second highest-selling video game console in Japan, outselling the
newer and more powerful PC Engine and Mega Drive by a wide margin. The
console remained popular in Japan and North America until late 1993,
when the demand for new NES software abruptly plummeted. The final
licensed games for the console were 'Adventure Island IV' in Japan
(released on June 24, 1994), 'Wario's Woods' in North America
(December 10, 1994), and 'The Lion King' in Europe (May 25, 1995). In
the wake of ever decreasing sales and the lack of new games, Nintendo
of America officially discontinued the NES in 1995. Nintendo produced
new Famicom units in Japan until September 25, 2003, and continued to
repair Famicom consoles until October 31, 2007, attributing the
discontinuation of support to insufficient supplies of parts.
The NES was initially not as successful in Europe during the late
1980s, when it was outsold by the Master System and ZX Spectrum in the
United Kingdom. By 1990, the Master System was the highest-selling
console in Europe, even as the NES was beginning to have a
fast-growing user base in the UK. During the early 1990s, NES sales
caught up with and narrowly overtook the Master System overall in
Western Europe; however, the Master System maintained its lead in
several markets such as the UK, Belgium, and Spain.
Legacy
======================================================================
The NES was released two years after the video game crash of 1983,
when many retailers and adult consumers regarded electronic games as a
passing fad, so many believed at first that the NES would soon fade.
Before the NES and Famicom, Nintendo was known as a moderately
successful Japanese toy and playing card manufacturer, but the
console's popularity helped the company grow into an internationally
recognized name almost synonymous with video games as Atari had been,
and also set the stage for Japanese dominance of the video game
industry in the 1980s and 1990s. With the NES, Nintendo also changed
the relationship between console manufacturers and third-party
software developers by restricting developers from publishing and
distributing software without licensed approval. This led to
higher-quality games, which helped change the attitude of a public
that had grown weary from poorly produced games for earlier systems.
The hardware design of the NES is also very influential. Nintendo
chose the name "Nintendo Entertainment System" for the US market and
redesigned the system so it would not give the appearance of a child's
toy. The front-loading cartridge input allowed it to be used more
easily in a TV stand with other entertainment devices such as a
videocassette recorder.
The system's hardware limitations led to design principles that still
influence the development of modern video games. Many prominent game
franchises originated on the NES, including Nintendo's own 'Super
Mario Bros.',| 'The Legend of Zelda', and 'Metroid', as well as
Capcom's 'Mega Man', Konami's 'Castlevania', Square's 'Final
Fantasy',| and Enix's 'Dragon Quest'.|
The imagery of the NES, especially its controller, has become a
popular motif for a variety of products, including Nintendo's Game Boy
Advance. The original NES controller has become one of the most
recognizable symbols of the console. Nintendo has mimicked the look of
the controller in several other products, from promotional merchandise
to limited edition versions of the Game Boy Advance.
At the Tokyo Game Show in 2023, the 'Famicom' was bestowed "The
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award" in honor of the
console's influence and for laying down the foundations for the game
industry.
In 2011, IGN named the NES the greatest video game console of all
time.
Emulation
===========
The NES can be emulated on many other systems. The earliest known NES
emulator was known simply as the Family Computer Emulator. Developed
by Haruhisa Udagawa, it was made available in 1990 for the FM Towns
computer. The earliest emulator for IBM PC compatibles was the
Japanese-only Pasofami. It was soon followed by iNES, which is
available in English and is cross-platform, in 1996. It was described
as being the first NES emulation software that could be used by a
non-expert. The first version of NESticle, an unofficial MS-DOS-based
emulator, was released on April 3, 1997. Nintendo offers licensed
emulation of select NES games via its Virtual Console service for the
Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U, and via its Nintendo Classics service
for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Re-release
============
On July 14, 2016, Nintendo announced the November 2016 launch of a
miniature replica of the NES, known as the Nintendo Entertainment
System: NES Classic Edition in the United States and as the Nintendo
Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and Australia.
The emulation-based console, released on November 10, 2016, includes
30 pre-installed games from the NES library, including the 'Super
Mario Bros.' and 'The Legend of Zelda' series. The system has HDMI
display output and a new replica controller, which can also connect to
the Wii Remote for use with Virtual Console games. It was discontinued
in North America on April 13, 2017, followed by the rest of the world
on April 15, 2017. However, Nintendo announced in September 2017 that
the NES Classic Mini would return to production on June 29, 2018, only
to be discontinued again permanently by December of that year.
See also
======================================================================
* History of Nintendo
* Nintendo hard
* Nintendo World Championships
External links
======================================================================
*
*
*
* [
https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic NES Classic Edition official
website]
* [
https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/index.html Famicom official
website] (Japanese)
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System
