Remembering the Nintendo NES Game Console From the 1980s

In the early 1980s, video games needed a boost. In 1983, post-Atari, there seemed to be a void, a void that the NES would fill. The Nintendo Entertainment System was an 8-bit console that marked the entry of Nintendo into the game industry and became one of the best-selling game consoles in history.

The Games Industry Crash

The year 1983 was a debacle for the gaming industry. Then, the video game industry crashed as a plethora of substandard titles flooded the market. Perhaps the most notable was the abysmal E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial game based on the blockbuster Spielberg ET movie. Atari, a company then at the forefront of the industry, had become increasingly obsessed with gaming marketing rather than developing quality games. Atari lost approximately $356 million in 1983 because of the games industry crash.

The most infamous moment of this gaming industry crash was when Atari buried thousands of unsold game cartridges in a New Mexico landfill site. This mass burial was originally dismissed as a myth. However, an Atari: Game Over documentary excavation of the Alamogordo landfill site in 2014 revealed the mass cartridge burial to be genuine, with thousands of retro games dug up from the ground.

Nintendo gave the industry hope when it released the Famicom (later rebranded NES) in 1983. The 8-bit Nintendo NES console was technically superior to the Atrai 2600. Aside from its faster processor, the NES boasted 2 KB RAM, 256×240 resolution, a five-channel audio unit, and 512 KB cartridges. The Atari 2600 had only 128 bytes of RAM, a 192×160 resolution, 4 KB cartridges, and two sound channels. The Famicom became popular in Japan during 1983 and 1984, when Nintendo sold millions of console units.

The NES Conquers America With Mario

However, the American launch of that console was its watershed moment. In 1985, Nintendo unleashed a redesigned Famicom console called the NES in the United States, which was Atari’s home market stronghold. Nintendo enforced stricter licensing standards on the NES, amounting to a seal of approval for third-party games released for it. This regulation of third-party developer games released on the NES was Nintendo-implemented quality assurance.

The game that would launch the Nintendo NES console in America, Super Mario Bros, brought the plucky plumber from Donkey Kong to the forefront for the first time. This 2D platform game was a big hit and one of the first side-scrolling platform games. It became one of the best-selling video games in history because of its terrific gameplay value. With this game, the NES would become the console of choice in the era for many and revitalize the video game scene.

The next two Mario games would also do very well. While Mario 2 was a USA title and somewhat different from the original, with the Mario characters, it was still well received. Super Mario 3 went back to Nintendo and was a classic title. It was the best-selling non-launch title for the NES.

The NES Games Lineup

It seemed Nintendo could do little wrong with this early cartridge-based console. It had a fairly small, blocky console unit and rectangle game controllers that were quite small. The console also had an innovative light gun for specific shooting games like Duck Hunt, where the player would aim the gun at the screen to shoot the ducks down. All were very original at the time.

Mario aside, Nintendo would further prove to have a knack for creating innovative and exciting games. Zelda would also make its debut on the NES as a top-down adventure game, where Link picked up items and progressed through dungeons. This was a very original game at the time and was one of the earliest role-playing type games, referred to as RPG.

It was another big Nintendo hit, marking the beginning of a great game franchise going strong today. Its sequel, Adventures of Link, would make use of a 2D perspective. This sequel mixed platform game with role-play but was still very popular. It was another top NES title.

Aside from Nintendo’s line of games, the console also received good backing from third-party support (despite greater regulation). Such was its popularity that game developers were in the queue to produce games for it. Games like Bionic Commando, Castlevania, Double Dragon, and Mega Man were popular titles on the Nintendo NES console.

The NES grew to have a near-industry monopoly by 1989 despite some competition from the Sega Master System. However, despite SEGA’s best attempts, its 8-bit console did not present great competition to the NES in North America and Japan. SEGA’s 16-bit Genesis console did eventually break the NES stranglehold of America with its Sonic the Hedgehog games and a slicker marketing campaign.

With an estimated 60-million-unit sales, the Nintendo NES was one of the most popular game consoles released, and the 16-bit Super NES would sequel it. A string of classic NES games that started famous series like Mario and Zelda gave Nintendo a strong foothold in the industry, which has lasted despite stronger competition from Sony. The Switch, like other Nintendo consoles, has its own Mario and Zelda games that started on the NES. Few consoles have shaped the industry as this one did, so you have to say — top marks to the NES!