Third generation of video game consoles

Last updated

In the history of video games, the third generation of video game consoles, commonly referred to as the 8-bit era, began on July 15, 1983, with the Japanese release of two systems: Nintendo's Family Computer (commonly abbreviated to Famicom ) and Sega's SG-1000. [1] [2] When the Famicom was released outside of Japan, it was remodeled and marketed as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This generation marked the end of the video game crash of 1983, and a shift in the dominance of home video game manufacturers from the United States to Japan. [3] Handheld consoles were not a major part of this generation; the Game & Watch line from Nintendo (which started in 1980) and the Milton Bradley Microvision (which came out in 1979) that were sold at the time are both considered part of the previous generation due to hardware typical of the second generation.

Contents

Improvements in technology gave consoles of this generation improved graphical and sound capabilities, comparable to golden age arcade games. The number of simultaneous colors on screen and the palette size both increased which, along with larger resolutions, more sprites on screen, and more advanced scrolling and pseudo-3D effects, which allowed developers to create scenes with more detail and animation. Audio technology improved and gave consoles the ability to produce a greater variation and range of sound. A notable innovation of this generation was the inclusion of cartridges with on-board memory and batteries to allow users to save their progress in a game, with Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda introducing the technology to the worldwide market. This innovation allowed for much more expansive gaming worlds and in-depth storytelling, since users could now save their progress rather than having to start each gaming session at the beginning. By the next generation, the capability to save games became ubiquitous—at first saving on the game cartridge itself and, later, when the industry changed to read-only optical disks, on memory cards, hard disk drives, and eventually cloud storage.

The best-selling console of this generation was the NES/Famicom from Nintendo, followed by the Master System from Sega (the successor to the SG-1000), and the Atari 7800. Although the previous generation of consoles had also used 8-bit processors, it was at the end of the third generation that home consoles were first labeled and marketed by their "bits". This also came into fashion as fourth generation 16-bit systems like the Sega Genesis were marketed in order to differentiate between the generations. In Japan and North America, this generation was primarily dominated by the Famicom/NES, while the Master System dominated the Brazilian market, with the combined markets of Europe being more balanced in overall sales between the two main systems. The end of the third generation was marked by the emergence of 16-bit systems of the fourth generation and with the discontinuation of the Famicom on September 25, 2003. However, in some cases, the third generation still lives on as dedicated console units still use hardware from the Famicom specification, such as the VT02/VT03 and OneBus hardware.

Overview

1983–1984

The Japanese video game market was still a growing "wide open" market for video game consoles in 1983. Japan had a relatively small console market, where only 300,000 consoles had been sold up until 1983, compared to the millions that had been sold in the United States up until then. A number of Japanese manufacturers attempted to compete for the "wide open" Japanese console market with their own consoles. [4] The Epoch Cassette Vision, released in 1981, was the best-selling console in Japan at the time. [5] It was followed by the Bandai Arcadia (priced ¥19,800), a Japanese version of the Arcadia 2001 released in 1982, and the Atari 2800 (priced ¥24,800), a Japanese version of the Atari 2600 marketed in May 1983. [4]

The third generation of consoles began when two Japanese companies, Sega and Nintendo, decided to enter the console gaming market. On July 15, 1983, they both released new consoles in Japan, Sega's SG-1000 and Nintendo's Famicom. [6] Both companies previously had success as arcade game companies. Sega, one of Japan's largest arcade companies, was intending to compete in both the console and personal computer markets, with a home computer version called the SC-3000 released at the same time. [4] Meanwhile, Nintendo focused on making the Famicom more powerful than competing home systems so that it would be comparable to their Donkey Kong (1981) arcade video game hardware, [7] while at the same time selling it for cheaper than the Cassette Vision, selling the Famicom for ¥14,800 (about $150). [5] Nintendo unveiled the Famicom shortly before the Tokyo Toy Show in June 1983, becoming a sensation among toy show exhibitors, prior to Sega unveiling the SG-1000 at the Tokyo Toy Show. [8]

The Famicom went on to become very popular in Japan, where it quickly beat the Cassette Vision to become Japan's all-time best-selling console. [5] Sega would become Nintendo's main competitor for console sales during the era. [9] Sega's SG-1000, which preceded Sega's more commercially successful Master System, initially had little to distinguish itself from earlier consoles such as the ColecoVision and contemporary computers such as the MSX, although it was able to achieve advanced visual effects, including parallax scrolling in Orguss and sprite-scaling in Zoom 909 . [1]

To enter the worldwide market, Nintendo approached the American company Atari, which had the majority share of the home video game market in North America, with a proposal for Atari to license the Famicom and distribute it. [10] An agreement was concluded, which was to be signed at the Consumer Electronics Show in July 1983. [11] At the same CES, however, Coleco exhibited its Coleco Adam home computer, which featured a version of Nintendo's Donkey Kong. At that time, Atari had exclusive rights to distribute Nintendo games on home computers, and Coleco had exclusive rights to distribute the game on consoles. [12] However, since Atari understood that Adam was a home computer, they postponed signing the agreement with Nintendo and asked the company to resolve the issue with rights. [13] The problem was resolved, but during this time, the video game crash of 1983 had occurred and Atari began to lose influence in the market. With this, Nintendo had no competitor left and the company eventually decided to enter the market on its own. [14]

1984–1986

Nintendo were initially discouraged after the crash, with Nintendo of America's market research being met with warnings to stay away from home consoles and US retailers refusing to stock game consoles. As a result, Nintendo instead introduced the Famicom to North America in the form of an arcade hardware, the Nintendo VS. System, in 1984. It became a major success in North American arcades, giving 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. [5]

The company introduced a version of the Famicom in January 1985 at the Winter CES as the Nintendo Advanced Video System, short for NAVS. The gamepads were wireless and worked with it using an infrared port, and the bundle would also include a light gun. It was planned that the NAVS would be available in the spring of 1985. [15] However, this did not happen and the console was shown again at the summer CES in June of that year, as an updated version called the Nintendo Entertainment System. [16] The system was released in October 1985 as an experiment within New York City bounds with Super Mario Bros. game bundled. The experiment was successful and showed that people still wanted to play games despite the 1983 crisis. After that the system was released in all North America in February 1986 at a price of US$159. [17]

In 1985, Sega succeeded the SG-1000 with the Master System, which incorporated hardware scrolling, alongside an increased color palette, greater memory, pseudo-3D effects, and stereoscopic 3-D, gaining a clear hardware advantage over the NES. However, the NES continued to dominate the North American and Japanese markets, while the Master System had more success in the European and South American markets. [18]

The Family Computer (commonly abbreviated the Famicom) became popular in Japan during this era, crowding out the other consoles in this generation. The Famicom's Western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System, dominated the gaming market in North America, thanks in part to its restrictive licensing agreements with developers. This marked a shift in the dominance of home video games from the United States to Japan, to the point that Computer Gaming World described the "Nintendo craze" as a "non-event" for American video game designers as "virtually all the work to date has been done in Japan." [3] The company had an estimated 65% of 1987 hardware sales in the console market; Atari Corporation had 24% (including the Atari 7800, 2600 Jr. and XEGS), Sega had 8%, and other companies had 3%. [9]

1986–2007

The popularity of the Japanese consoles grew so quickly that in 1988 Epyx stated that, in contrast to a video game-hardware industry in 1984 that the company had described as "dead", the market for Nintendo cartridges was larger than for all home-computer software. [19] Nintendo sold seven million NES systems in 1988, almost as many as the number of units the Commodore 64 sold in its first five years. [20] In 1988, The Los Angeles Times reported that the rise of video game consoles had a positive impact on computer games, sales of which grew 37% during the first quarter of 1988. [21] In 1989, however, Compute! reported that Nintendo's popularity caused most computer-game companies to have poor sales during Christmas that year, resulting in serious financial problems for some, [22] and after more than a decade making computer games, in 1989 Epyx converted completely to console cartridges. [23] By 1990 30% of American households owned the NES, compared to 23% for all personal computers, [24] and peer pressure to have a console was so great that even the children of computer-game developers demanded them despite parents' refusal and the presence of state-of-the-art computers and software at home. As Computer Gaming World reported in 1992, "The kids who don't have access to videogames are as culturally isolated as the kids in our own generation whose parents refused to buy a TV". [25]

This era contributed many influential aspects to the history of the development of video games. The third generation saw the release of many of the first console role-playing video games (RPGs). Editing and censorship of video games was often used in localizing Japanese games to North America. [26] It was during this time that many successful video game franchises began, which went onto to becoming mainstays of the video game industry. Some examples are Super Mario Bros. , Final Fantasy , The Legend of Zelda , Dragon Quest , Metroid , Mega Man , Metal Gear , Castlevania , Phantasy Star , Megami Tensei , Ninja Gaiden , and Bomberman .

In Europe during the late 1980s, the Master System had a stronger start than the Nintendo Entertainment System in some areas, with NES sales lagging behind the Master System in the United Kingdom. [27] By 1990, the Master System was the biggest-selling console in Europe, though the NES was beginning to have a fast-growing user base in the United Kingdom and this position had reversed by the end of the run of both consoles. [28]

The third generation also saw the beginning of the children's educational console market.[ citation needed ] Due to their reduced capacities, these systems typically were not labeled by their "bits" and were not marketed in competition with traditional video game consoles.

In North America, the Atari 7800 and Master System were discontinued in 1992, while the NES continued to be produced until 1995. In Europe, the Master System was discontinued in the late 1990s. However it has continued to sell in Brazil through to the present day. In Japan, Nintendo continued to repair Famicom systems until October 31, 2007. [29] [30]

Home systems

SG-1000

On July 15, 1983, the SG-1000 was released in Japan, the first console to be created by Sega. [31] It was released alongside the Famicom, making them the first two consoles of the third generation. While it did not sell as well as other consoles of the generation, it was considered important to the development of Sega as a console manufacturer. [32]

Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System

The Famicom, released on July 15, 1983, in Japan and in the North American region in October 1985 as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), [33] : 449  is an 8-bit cartridge-based console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It became the most popular console of the generation, selling over 60 million units. It was the first home system to feature a controller with a directional pad (designed by Gunpei Yokoi), which became an industry standard. While the NES was discontinued in North America on August 14, 1995, it was not until September 25, 2003, that the Famicom was discontinued in Japan.

Sega Mark III/Master System

The Sega Mark III was released on October 20, 1985, for the Japanese market and was the third iteration of the SG-1000. [34] The name was changed to the Master System and the design altered for release outside of Japan. It was designed to be more powerful than the NES in an attempt to give it an edge over the competition but despite good sales, it did not match the success of the NES, making it the second best selling console of the generation. This was the case in all regions apart from Brazil, where it continued to sell for years after the end of the generation.

Atari 7800

The Atari 7800 was released in May 1986 [35] and was the successor to the Atari 5200. [36] It was the first console to be backward compatible without additional hardware. It was originally due for launch on May 21, 1984, [37] but due to the sale of the company the launch did not happen until two years later and, coupled with a small library of games, the console did not sell as well as the Master System or NES. [33] : 52 

Comparison

Comparison of third-generation video game home consoles
Name SG-1000 Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom Master System/Mark III Atari 7800
Manufacturer Sega Nintendo Sega Atari Corporation
Image(s) Sega-SG-1000-Console-Set.jpg
SG1000Mk2.jpg 		Nintendo-Famicom-Console-Set-FL.jpg
NES-Console-Set.jpg
NES-101-Console-Set.jpg 		Sega Mark III.jpg
Sega-Master-System-Set.jpg
Master System II.jpg 		Atari-7800-Console-Set.jpg
Atari-7800-wControl-Pad-L.jpg
Release date
  • JP: July 15, 1983
  • NZ: 1983
  • JP: July 15, 1983
  • NA: October 18, 1985
  • BR: October 20, 1985
  • EU: September 1986
  • WW: 1987
  • JP: October 20, 1985
  • NA: October 1986
  • WW: June 1987
  • BR: September 4, 1989
  • NA: May 1986
  • WW: July 1987
Launch prices US$ -
  • US$180 (equivalent to US$510in 2023) [38] [39]
  • US$199.99 (equivalent to $560in 2023)
US$140 (equivalent to $390in 2023)
GBP -
  • £99.95 (equivalent to £360in 2023) [40]
A$
JP¥ JP¥15,000 (equivalent to ¥18,600in 2019) [41]
  • JP¥14,800 (equivalent to ¥18,400in 2019) [42]
  • JP¥15,000 (equivalent to ¥17,800in 2019) [34]
Media Type
  • Cartridge
  • Data card (first model only)
Cartridge
Regional lockout UnrestrictedRegion lockedRegion lockedRegion locked
Backward compatibility N/AN/A Sega SG-1000 (Japanese systems only) Atari 2600
Top-selling games N/A
 Pole Position II (pack-in) [46]
Accessories
(retail)
  • Bike Handle Controller
  • Card Catcher
  • Sega Handle Controller
  • Sega Rapid Fire Unit
  • SK-1100
CPU
clock speed 		NEC 780C (Z80-derived)
(3.58 MHz (3.55 MHz PAL) [48] 		Ricoh 2A03 (6502-derived)
(1.79  MHz (1.66 MHz PAL)) [49] : 149 		 Zilog Z80A
(4 MHz)		Custom 6502C
(1.19 MHz or 1.79 MHz)
GPU Ricoh PPU (Picture Processing Unit) Yamaha YM2602 VDP (Video Display Processor)
Sound chip(s)

Famicom Disk System:

Japan only:

Optional cartridge chip:

Memory

3 KB RAM [48]

4.277 KB (4380 bytes) RAM

  • 2 KB main RAM) [49] : 149 
  • 2 KB video RAM [53]
  • 256 bytes sprite attribute RAM
  • 28 bytes palette RAM

Upgrades:

  • MMC chips: Up to 8 KB work RAM and 12 KB video RAM [54]
  • Famicom Disk System: 32 KB work RAM, 8 KB video RAM [51]

24.031 KB (24,608 bytes) RAM

  • 8 KB main XRAM
  • 16 KB video XRAM [55]
    (256 bytes sprite attribute table)
  • 32 bytes palette RAM [56]

4 KB RAM

Video Resolution 256×192 [57] 256×240 [58] 256×192, 256×224, 256×240160×200 or 320×200
Palette 21 colors [48] 54 colors [49] : 149 64 colors256 colors (16 hues, 16 luma)
Colors on screen16 simultaneous (1 color per sprite)25 simultaneous (4 colors per sprite)32 simultaneous (16 colors per sprite)25 simultaneous (1, 4 or 12 colors per sprite)
Sprites
  • 32 on screen (4 per scanline)
  • 8×8 or 8×16 pixels
  • Integer sprite zooming up to 16×32 pixels
  • 64 on screen (8 per scanline) [59]
  • 8×8 or 8×16 pixels [59]
  • Sprite flipping [60] : 119 
  • 64 on screen (8 per scanline)
  • 8×8 to 16×16 pixels
  • Integer sprite zooming up to 32×32 pixels [61]
  • Display list
  • 100 sprites (30 per scanline without background)
Background Tilemap playfield, 8×8 tilesTilemap playfield, 8×8 tilesTilemap playfield, 8×8 tiles, tile flipping [56] N/A
Scrolling N/ASmooth hardware scrolling, vertical/horizontal directions
MMC chips: IRQ interrupt, diagonal scrolling, line scrolling, split‑screen scrolling		Smooth hardware scrolling, vertical/horizontal/diagonal directions, [62] IRQ interrupt, line scrolling, split‑screen scrolling [61] Coarse scrolling, vertical/horizontal directions
Audio Mono audio with: [63] Mono audio with: [64]

Japan only upgrades:

Mono audio with:
  • Three square wave channels
  • One noise generator

Japan only:

Mono audio with: [60] : 121 
  • Two square waves

Optional cartridge chip:

  • Four square wave channels
  • One noise generator

Other consoles

Sales comparison

The NES/Famicom sold by far the most units of any third generation console, particularly in Japan and North America. In North America in 1989, between Nintendo and Sega, there was a 94% to 6% split in market share between the NES and the Master System, in Nintendo's favor. [65] The NES sold 1.1 million units in North America during 1986, much more than the Master System (125,000) and Atari 7800 (100,000) combined. [66] By 1990, Nintendo had a 93% North American market share, followed by Sega with a 3.8% share, NEC with 1.3% and Atari with 1.1% share. [67] Nintendo maintained its North American lead through 1991, when it had a market-share of 80% that year, much more than Atari (12%) and Sega (8%) combined. [68] This was due to Nintendo's strong lineup of both first-party titles (such as Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Duck Hunt, and The Legend of Zelda) and third-party titles along with Nintendo's strict licensing rules that required NES titles to be exclusive to the console for two years after release, putting a damper on third-party support for other consoles. [69]

In Europe, competition was much tougher for the NES, which was trailing behind the Master System up until 1990, despite the former's hegemony of the North American and Japanese markets. [28] [27] NES sales began picking up from about 1990, [28] after which sales were more evenly split between the NES and Master System through 1994; the NES eventually overtook the Master System in Western Europe by a narrow margin, though the Master System maintained its lead in several markets such as the United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain. [70] In other regions, the Master System was the most successful console in Brazil, [71] South Korea, [72] and Australia, [73] while the Dendy (a Taiwanese Famiclone of the NES/Famicom) was the most successful in the former Soviet Union. [74]

ConsoleFirmUnits sold worldwide Japan Americas Other regions
Nintendo Entertainment System
(Family Computer / Famicom / NES)		 Nintendo 61.91 million (2009) [75] [76] 19.35 million (2009) [75] 34 million (2009) [75] 8.56 million (2009) [75]
Master System
(including licensed Tectoy variants)		 Sega 19.17 million (2016)1 million (1986) [77] United States: 2 million (1992) [78]
Brazil: 8 million (2016) [71] 		Western Europe: 6.8 million (1993) [70]
South Korea: 720,000 (1994) [72]
Australia: 650,000 (1994) [79]
Dendy
(unlicenced Famiclone)		 Micro Genius 6 million (1998)—— Former USSR: 6 million(1998) [74]
Famicom Disk System Nintendo4.5 million (1990)4.5 million (1990) [80] ——
Atari 7800 Atari 1 million (1988)Un­known1 million (1988) [81] Un­known
Sega SG-1000 Sega400,000 (2007)400,000 (2007) [82] —Un­known
Super Cassette Vision Epoch Co. 300,000 (2007)300,000 (2007) [82] —Un­known
Atari XEGS Atari130,000 (1989)—100,000 (1987) [83] France: 30,000 (1989) [84]

Software

Milestone titles

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ColecoVision</span> Second-generation home video game console

ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of video games</span>

The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. Spacewar! was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student hobbyists in 1962 as one of the first such games on a video display. The first consumer video game hardware was released in the early 1970s. The first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, and the first arcade video games were Computer Space and Pong. After its home console conversions, numerous companies sprang up to capture Pong's success in both the arcade and the home by cloning the game, causing a series of boom and bust cycles due to oversaturation and lack of innovation.

The video game crash of 1983 was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985 in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including market saturation in the number of video game consoles and available games, many of which were of poor quality. Waning interest in console games in favor of personal computers also played a role. Home video game revenue peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983, then fell to around $100 million by 1985. The crash abruptly ended what is retrospectively considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. To a lesser extent, the arcade video game market also weakened as the golden age of arcade video games came to an end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master System</span> Home video game console

The Master System is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 with improved graphical capabilities compared to its predecessors. The Master System launched in North America in 1986, followed by Europe in 1987, and then in Brazil and Korea in 1989. A Japanese version of the Master System was also launched in 1987, which features a few enhancements over the export models : a built-in FM audio chip, a rapid-fire switch, and a dedicated port for the 3D glasses. The Master System II, a cheaper model, was released in 1990 in North America, Australasia and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SG-1000</span> Home video game console

The SG-1000 is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nakayama, president of Sega's Japanese arm, and was released on July 15, 1983, the same day that Nintendo released the Family Computer in Japan. It also had a limited release in Australia and New Zealand.

1983 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Mario Bros. and Pole Position II, along with new titles such as Astron Belt, Champion Baseball, Dragon's Lair, Elevator Action, Spy Hunter and Track & Field. Major events include the video game crash of 1983 in North America, and the third generation of video game consoles beginning with the launch of Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom) and Sega's SG-1000 in Japan. The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pole Position, while the year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch for the third time since 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo VS. System</span> Arcade cabinet series

The Nintendo VS. System is an arcade system that was developed and produced by Nintendo. It is based on most of the same hardware as the Family Computer (Famicom), later released as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). As Nintendo was planning to release the NES in North America, they were aware of the video game crash of 1983 and its effects on the home console market. By March 1984 the arcade industry recovered enough for a plan to introduce NES titles there, with the VS. System later being a presentation to players who did not yet own the console. It became the first version of the Famicom hardware to debut in North America.

In video game parlance, a famiclone is a hardware clone of the Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System. They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the Famicom and NES. Hundreds of unauthorized clones and unlicensed game copies have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s. The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones feature a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones utilize single-chip designs, with a custom ASIC which simulates the functionality of the original hardware, and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in China and Taiwan, and less commonly South Korea. Outside China and Taiwan, they are mostly widespread across emerging markets of developing countries.

The history of video game consoles, both home and handheld, began in the 1970s. The first console that played games on a television set was the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey, first conceived by Ralph H. Baer in 1966. Handheld consoles originated from electro-mechanical games that used mechanical controls and light-emitting diodes (LED) as visual indicators. Handheld electronic games had replaced the mechanical controls with electronic and digital components, and with the introduction of Liquid-crystal display (LCD) to create video-like screens with programmable pixels, systems like the Microvision and the Game & Watch became the first handheld video game consoles.

Tengen Inc. was an American video game publisher and developer that was created by the arcade game manufacturer Atari Games for publishing computer and console games. It had a Japanese subsidiary named Tengen Ltd..

1986 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario Bros. 2, along with new titles such as Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Dragon Quest, Ikari Warriors, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Out Run and R.B.I. Baseball. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Hang-On in Japan, Hang-On and Gauntlet in the United States, and Nemesis (Gradius) in London. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games in Western markets were Super Mario Bros. in the United States and Yie Ar Kung-Fu in the United Kingdom.

1985 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario Bros. and Kung Fu, along with new titles such as Commando, Duck Hunt, Gauntlet, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gradius, Hang-On, Space Harrier, Tetris and The Way of the Exploding Fist. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Hang-On and Karate Champ in the United States, and Commando in the United Kingdom. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for a consecutive year, while the year's best‑selling home video game was Super Mario Bros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Nintendo Entertainment System</span>

The history of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) spans the 1982 development of the Family Computer, to the 1985 launch of the NES, to Nintendo's rise to global dominance based upon this platform throughout the late 1980s. The Family Computer or Famicom was developed in 1982 and launched in 1983 in Japan. Following the North American video game crash of 1983, the Famicom was adapted into the NES which was launched in North America in 1985. Transitioning the company from its arcade game history into this combined global 8-bit home video game console platform, the Famicom and NES continued to aggressively compete with next-generation 16-bit consoles, including the Sega Genesis. The platform was succeeded by the Super Famicom in 1990 and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, but its support and production continued until 1995. Interest in the NES has been renewed by collectors and emulators, including Nintendo's own Virtual Console platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassette Vision</span> Home video game console

The Cassette Vision is a second generation home video game console made by Epoch Co. and released in Japan on July 30, 1981. A redesigned model called the Cassette Vision Jr. was released afterwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sega Genesis</span> Home video game console

The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as the Mega Drive, and in 1989 in North America as the Genesis. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tectoy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung Electronics as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.

In video gaming parlance, a conversion is the production of a game on one computer or console that was originally written for another system. Over the years, video game conversion has taken form in a number of different ways, both in their style and the method in which they were converted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Home video game console

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) 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 1980s was the second decade in the industry's history. It was a decade of highs and lows for video games. The decade began amidst a boom in the arcade video game business with the golden age of arcade video games, the Atari 2600's dominance of the home console market during the second generation of video game consoles, and the rising influence of home computers. However, an oversatuation of low quality games led to an implosion of the video game market that nearly destroyed the industry in North America. Most investors believed video games to be a fad that had since passed, up until Nintendo's success with its Nintendo Entertainment System revived interest in game consoles and led to a recovery of the home video game industry. In the remaining years of the decade, Sega ignites a console war with Nintendo, developers that had been affected by the crash experimented with PC games, and Nintendo released the Game Boy, which would become the best-selling handheld gaming device for the next two decades. Other consoles released in the decade included the Intellivision, ColecoVision, TurboGrafx-16 and Sega Genesis.

In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and general marketing around their consoles. While console manufacturers are generally always trying to out-perform other manufacturers in sales, these console wars engage in more direct tactics to compare their offerings directly against their competitors or to disparage the competition in contrast to their own, and thus the marketing efforts have tended to escalate in back-and-forth pushes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Entertainment System models</span> Overview of NES model variants

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo, had numerous model variants produced throughout its lifetime. It was originally released in 1983 as the Family Computer in Japan, with design work led by Masayuki Uemura. Nintendo intentionally redesigned it as the NES in North America in an attempt to avoid the stigma of video game consoles lingering from the video game crash the same year; while it was initially conceptualized as a home computer, it was ultimately modeled after a videocassette recorder (VCR) for its debut there in 1985. Nintendo subsequently exported the NES to Europe and Oceania via local distributors.

References

  1. 1 2 Fahs, Travis (April 21, 2009). "IGN Presents the History of SEGA: Coming Home". IGN. p. 2. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  2. ↑ Mark J. P. Wolf (2008), The video game explosion: a history from PONG to Playstation and beyond, ABC-CLIO, p. 115, ISBN   978-0-313-33868-7 , retrieved April 19, 2011
  3. 1 2 Daglow, Don L. (August 1988). "Over the River and Through the Woods: The Changing Role of Computer Game Designers". Computer Gaming World . No. 50. p. 18. I'm sure you've noticed that I've made no reference to the Nintendo craze that has repeated the Atari and Mattel Phenomenon of 8 years ago. That's because for American game designers the Nintendo is a non-event: virtually all the work to date has been done in Japan. Only the future will tell if the design process ever crosses the Pacific as efficiently as the container ships and the letters of credit now do.
  4. 1 2 3 "Overseas Readers Column: Sega Unveiled "SC-3000" The First Personal Computer" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 214. Amusement Press, Inc. June 15, 1983. p. 28. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Horowitz, Ken (July 30, 2020). "Nintendo "VS." the World". Beyond Donkey Kong: A History of Nintendo Arcade Games. McFarland & Company. pp. 115–28. ISBN   978-1-4766-4176-8.
  6. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (January 19, 2012). "The Story of Sega's First Console, Which Was Not The Master System". Kotaku . Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  7. ↑ "【任天堂「ファミコン」はこうして生まれた】 第6回：業務用ゲーム機の挫折をバネにファミコンの実現に挑む" [How the Famicom Was Born – Part 6: Making the Famicom a Reality]. Nikkei Electronics (in Japanese). Nikkei Business Publications. September 12, 1994. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Overseas Readers Column: Atari, Sega Exhibited Its Home Video Games At The Tokyo Toy Show" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 217. Amusement Press, Inc. August 1, 1983. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Katz, Arnie; Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce (August 1988). "Video Gaming World". Computer Gaming World. p. 44.
  10. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 115, 2: "approached Atari with the opportunity to license the Famicom"
  11. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 115, 3: "[..] final signings would be made at the CES [..]"
  12. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 115.
  13. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 116, 4: "Atari representatives told Nintendo to clear it up with Coleco"
  14. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 116, 5: "[..] Atari was no longer the threat Nintendo feared [..]"
  15. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 116, 6: "Its controllers used infrared [..] light gun was also going to be sold with the unit"
  16. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 116.
  17. ↑ Herman 2007, p. 116, 7: "The $159 system was released nationally in February 1986"
  18. ↑ Travis Fahs (April 21, 2009). "IGN Presents the History of SEGA: World War". IGN. p. 3. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  19. ↑ "The Nintendo Threat?". Computer Gaming World. June 1988. p. 50.
  20. ↑ Ferrell, Keith (July 1989). "Just Kids' Play or Computer in Disguise?". Compute!. p. 28. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  21. ↑ Gellene, Denise (June 13, 1988). "The Joystick Lives: New Technology, Better Marketing Give Video Games a Second Life". The Los Angeles Times . p. 57. Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  22. ↑ Keizer, Gregg (July 1989). "Editorial License". Compute!. p. 4. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  23. ↑ Ferrell, Keith (December 1989). "Epyx Goes Diskless". Compute!. p. 6. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Fusion, Transfusion or Confusion / Future Directions In Computer Entertainment". Computer Gaming World. December 1990. p. 26. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  25. ↑ Reeder, Sara (November 1992). "Why Edutainment Doesn't Make It In A Videogame World". Computer Gaming World. p. 130. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  26. ↑ Altice, Nathan (2015). I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform. MIT Press. p. 115. ISBN   9780262028776. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  27. 1 2 "The rise and rise of Nintendo". New Computer Express . No. 39 (August 5, 1989). August 3, 1989. p. 2.
  28. 1 2 3 "The Complete Machine Guide". Computer + Video Games: Complete Guide to Consoles . Vol. 4. November 1990. pp. 7–23.
  29. ↑ 初代「ファミコン」など公式修理サポート終了. ITmedia News (in Japanese). ITmedia. October 16, 2007. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  30. ↑ RyanDG (October 16, 2007). "Nintendo of Japan dropping Hardware support for the Famicom". Arcade Renaissance. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  31. ↑ Pettus, Sam; Munoz, David; Williams, Kevin; Barroso, Ivan (December 20, 2013). Service Games: The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition. Smashwords Edition. p. 12. ISBN   9781311080820. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  32. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (January 19, 2017). "The Story of Sega's First Console, Which Was Not The Master System". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  33. 1 2 Wolf, Mark J. P. (2012). Encyclopedia of Video Games: A-L. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9780313379369. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  34. 1 2 "Mark III" (in Japanese). Sega Corporation. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  35. ↑ Wardyga, Brian J. (August 6, 2018). The Video Games Textbook: History • Business • Technology. CRC Press. ISBN   9781351172349. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  36. ↑ Sanger, David E. (May 22, 1984). "Atari Video Game Unit Introduced". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  37. ↑ Goldberg, Marty (2012). Atari, Inc . Carmel, New York: Syzygy Co. ISBN   978-0985597405.
  38. ↑ Levin, Martin (November 20, 1985). "New components add some Zap to video games". San Bernardino County Sun. p. A-4.
  39. ↑ "Video Robots - The Nintendo Entertainment System, now at Macy's". New York Times. November 17, 1985.
  40. ↑ ACE Magazine- Master System Advert. November 1987. p. 85.
  41. ↑ "SG-1000" (in Japanese). Sega Corporation. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  42. ↑ Sendov, Blagovest; Stanchev, Ivan (May 17, 2014). Children in the Information Age: Opportunities for Creativity, Innovation and New Activities. Elsevier. p. 58. ISBN   9781483159027. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  43. ↑ Linneman, John (July 27, 2019). "Revisiting the Famicom Disk System: mass storage on console in 1986". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  44. ↑ "Best-Selling Video Games". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on March 17, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  45. ↑ "All Time Top 20 Best Selling Games". May 21, 2003. Archived from the original on February 21, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  46. ↑ "Pole Position II for Arcade (1983) - MobyGames". MobyGames (in German). Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  47. ↑ "-Sega Emulation Overview - another overview". Retrocopy.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  48. 1 2 3 "SG-1000 data". Sega.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  49. 1 2 3 Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (February 24, 2014). Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time. CRC Press. ISBN   9781135006518. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  50. 1 2 McAlpine, Kenneth B. (November 15, 2018). Bits and Pieces: A History of Chiptunes. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780190496098. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  51. 1 2 Altice, Nathan (May 2015). I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform. MIT Press. p. 164. ISBN   9780262028776. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  52. ↑ Maxim, Charles MacDonald (November 12, 2005). "SN76489 sightings". SMS Power!. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  53. ↑ Amos, Evan (November 6, 2018). The Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox. No Starch Press. p. 68. ISBN   9781593277727. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  54. ↑ "NES Specifications". Problemkaputt.de. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  55. ↑ "RAM - Development - SMS Power!". Smspower.org. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  56. 1 2 Charles MacDonald. "Sega Master System VDP documentation". Cgfm2.emuviews.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  57. ↑ "Famitsu August 8, 2013". Sega Consumer 30th Anniversary Book. Famitsu (in Japanese). August 8, 2013. p. 12.
  58. ↑ Espineli, Matt; Thang, Jimmy (July 15, 2019). "Evolution Of Nintendo's Consoles: Switch, Switch Lite, 3DS, Wii, SNES, And More". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  59. 1 2 Hugg, Steven (August 8, 2019). Making Games for the NES. Puzzling Plans LLC. p. 31. ISBN   978-1-07-595272-2. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  60. 1 2 Wardyga, Brian J. (August 6, 2018). The Video Games Textbook: History • Business • Technology. CRC Press. ISBN   978-1-351-17234-9. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  61. 1 2 "Sega Master System Technical Information". Smspower.org. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  62. ↑ "Master System" マスターシステム 各種データ. Sega (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  63. ↑ Altice, Nathan (May 2015). I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform. MIT Press. p. 253. ISBN   978-0-262-02877-6. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  64. ↑ D'Argenio, Angelo (January 15, 2018). "Gaming Literacy: An introduction to NES sound and 8-bit sound illusions". Gamecrate. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  65. ↑ "How Sonic Helped Sega to Win the Early 90s Console Wars". Kotaku UK. October 30, 2014. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  66. ↑ "Comparing the New Videogame Systems" (PDF). Computer Entertainer . February 1987. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  67. ↑ Ramirez, Anthony (December 8, 1990). "Waiting for the Zapping of Nintendo". The New York Times . Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  68. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; Nintendo Suit by Atari Is Dismissed". The New York Times . May 16, 1992. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  69. ↑ "The 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming". GameSpy. June 13, 2003. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  70. 1 2 "Consoles: Active Installed Base Estimates". Screen Digest : 60. March 1995. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  71. 1 2 Azevedo, Théo (May 12, 2016). "Console em produção há mais tempo, Master System já vendeu 8 mi no Brasil" (in Portuguese). Universo Online. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2016. Comercializado no Brasil desde setembro de 1989, o saudoso Master System já vendeu mais de 8 milhões de unidades no país, segundo a Tectoy.
  72. 1 2 게임월드[Game World] (in Korean). 1994.
  73. ↑ Biggs, Tim (July 11, 2017). "Nintendo's NES launched 30 years ago this month in Australia, or did it?". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  74. 1 2 "Приставка Dendy: Как Виктор Савюк придумал первый в России поп-гаджет" [Dendy Prefix: How Viktor Savyuk Came Up With The First Pop-gadget In Russia]. The Firm's Secret (in Russian). August 9, 2016. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  75. 1 2 3 4 "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  76. ↑ "NES". Classic Systems. Nintendo. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  77. ↑ Nihon Kōgyō Shinbunsha (1986). "Amusement". Business Japan. 31 (7–12). Nihon Kogyo Shimbun: 89. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  78. ↑ Sheff, David (1993). Game Over (1st ed.). New York: Random House. p. 349. ISBN   0-679-40469-4. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  79. ↑ "Statistics: Sega Hardware in Oz". Mega Zone . No. 45. November 1994. p. 23.
  80. ↑ McFerran, Damien (November 20, 2010). "Feature: Slipped Disk - The History of the Famicom Disk System". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  81. ↑ "Press Release: Axlon To Develop New Video Games For Atari; Bushnell Returns". Atari Corporation. June 1, 1988. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  82. 1 2 Kamada, Shun; Tanaka, Hidenori; Kanazawa, Masatake (2007). 2007 年度三田祭論文 〜 家庭用テレビゲーム産業と [2007 Mita Festival Paper: With the Home Video Game Industry](PDF) (in Japanese). Keio University. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 20, 2009.
  83. ↑ "The Ever-Changing Atari Marketplace: Six Antic Years". Antic . Vol. 7, no. 1. May 1988. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  84. ↑ "Guerre Dans Le Salon" [War in the Living Room]. Science & Vie Micro (in French). No. 67. December 1989. pp. 126–8. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  85. ↑ Junior Sagster (June 2012). "Alex Kidd - O mascote "renegado" da Sega". Neo Tokyo (77). Editora Escala. ISSN   1809-1784.
  86. ↑ "ラインナップ" ラインナップ ドラゴンボール ゲームポータルサイト バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト. Dragonball Game Portal (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  87. ↑ "Ninja Gaiden Review", GameSpot, archived from the original on January 8, 2022, retrieved January 8, 2022
  88. ↑ Semrad, Steve (February 2, 2006). "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  89. ↑ Pettus, Sam; Munoz, David; Williams, Kevin; Barroso, Ivan (December 20, 2013). Service Games: The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition. Smashwords Edition. p. 26. ISBN   9781311080820. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  90. ↑ Iwata, Satoru (June 4, 2009). "Iwata Asks: Wii Sports Resort". Nintendo. p. 4. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2019. As it's sold bundled with the Wii console outside Japan, I'm not quite sure if calling it "World Number One" is exactly the right way to describe it, but in any case it's surpassed the record set by Super Mario Bros., which was unbroken for over twenty years.
  91. ↑ Gilbert, Henry\ (August 15, 2012). "Why Super Mario Bros 3 is one of the greatest games ever made". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.