NintendoGeneration 3
Nintendo Entertainment System
1983
AU Release
1 July 1987
AU Launch Price
$199 AUD
~$580 today
Units Sold
62M
Technical Specifications
Processor
8-bit Ricoh 2A03 (1.79 MHz)
Memory
2 KB
Storage
Battery-backed cartridge save
Media
ROM Cartridge
Best-Selling Nintendo Entertainment System Games
Global lifetime sales
Cultural Impact
The Nintendo Entertainment System literally saved the video game industry. After the catastrophic North American video game crash of 1983 wiped out an industry worth US$3.2 billion, retailers refused to stock game consoles. Nintendo disguised the NES as a 'toy' robot set (the R.O.B.) to get into stores, then delivered Super Mario Bros. — a game so perfect that it rekindled mass consumer trust in gaming. The NES established Nintendo's first-party dominance and introduced the world to Mario, Link, Samus, and Donkey Kong.
Did You Know?
The NES's R.O.B. robot accessory was a marketing trick to get toy stores to stock it post the 1983 crash
Super Mario Bros. has sold over 40 million copies across all platforms
The NES used a lockout chip (10NES) to prevent unlicensed games — Tengen (Atari) reverse-engineered it and released unlicensed NES cartridges
Original Launch Commercial
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