NES & SNES History

Known as "Famicom" (Family Computer) in Japan, Nintendo's first console made its debut in 1983 in Japan and in 1985 in the U.S. It sold 500,000 copies in its first two months in Japan. For its American debut, Nintendo desperately tried to get a partner for the system's release and had trouble convincing retailers to carry the product after the "great video game crash" of 1984. In fact, it even tried to get Atari to help market the system. Instead, Nintendo decided to go it alone.

The NES enjoyed a nationwide launch in 1986. The company hired Worlds of Wonder (maker of Teddy Ruxpin and Laser Tag) to help market the product. The system debuted in two varieties: One, a $249 bundle with R.O.B., the light gun, and three games (Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and Gyromite). Two, a $199 bundle with Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. went on to sell over 40 million copies worldwide.

In 1986, two competitors entered the market. Sega released its Master System and Atari released its 7800. By the end of the year, Nintendo emerged as the clear market leader, outselling its competition by a ten-to-one ratio. In 1987, the NES had become the number one toy in America. The company also released The Legend of Zelda, which became the first new generation home video game to sell over one million units.

By the time 1988 arrived, Nintendo had blew away the competition. There were more than three million NES systems in American homes. Companies such as Atari took Nintendo to court, claiming that Nintendo had a monopoly on the market. The NES game library grew to over 60 titles, and Nintendo owned 85% of the video game market worldwide.

In 1989 alone, Nintendo sold over 9 million systems and 50 million pieces of software. In 1990, Nintendo sold another 7.5 million systems and another 70 million games. Nintendo had successfully placed the NES in over 25% of American homes. The climax of the system's life cycle also occurred in 1990 when Super Mario Bros. 3 was released, becoming the best-selling, non-pack-in game of all time. It was 1991 when the NES started its decline stage. Only 2.7 million systems were sold this year.

The NES used to be the most popular video game system of all time - until Game Boy eclipsed it. Estimates place the NES at over 70 million units sold worldwide. Surprisingly, Nintendo continued to support the NES sporadically until 1994. Now the NES is considered the spark that revitalized an entire industry.

*Information courtesy of: Archive 64

A year after Nintendo's 8-bit NES peaked, the 16-bit Super NES was released into the American market. Called "Super Famicom" for its Japanese release in 1990, the Super Nintendo hit the U.S. shelves in late August of 1991. It had a retail price of $249.95 and came with two controllers and Super Mario World. Arriving almost two years later than Sega's 16-bit Genesis, analysts are stunned when the Super NES does not dominate the Genesis. Nevertheless, the SNES is a success.

Just as Sega and Sonic the Hedgehog started to pull ahead, Nintendo scored a major coup in 1992 and got a one-year exclusive agreement with Capcom to bring the most popular arcade game in a decade, Street Fighter II, to the Super NES. In addition, high-profiles games such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Mario Kart were released. This shifted momentum to Nintendo's side. Nintendo also released the Super Scope and Mouse accessories this year.

Unfortunately, 1993 was a down year for Nintendo. The company did release Star Fox, which was based on the breakthrough Super FX chip. On the other hand, Nintendo did not have many blockbuster hits and was lambasted by the gaming public and press for forcing Mortal Kombat to be censored. Sega strengthened its hold on the 16-bit market.

Nintendo was out to regain its market share in 1994. First, Super Metroid was released to rabid fans everywhere. Then Nintendo shocked the world by allowing Mortal Kombat II to arrive on the Super NES uncensored. Finally, it surprised everyone with Donkey Kong Country, a game that had the looks to compete with Nintendo's new technological threats. With the runaway success of Donkey Kong Country, Nintendo was able to take the 16-bit lead back from Sega.

From 1995 through 1997, the Super Nintendo's popularity slowly declined. The company tried to release some blockbusters each year—most of which were based on the ACM graphics technology first used by Donkey Kong Country. The system reached its peak in 1994, though. The Genesis/Super Nintendo war is considered legendary, but the Super NES emerged as the winner, if only because Nintendo supported the 16-bit generation longer than Sega. In the end, nearly 50 million SNES units were sold worldwide.

*Information courtesy of: Archive 64

The Nintendo Entertainment System