Exhibit: Nintendo Entertainment System — NES (1983–2003)
Released: July 15, 1983 (Japan as Famicom) · 1985 (North America) · 1986 (UK)
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Units Sold: 61.91 million worldwide
Status: The console that saved the video game industry
The Resurrection of Gaming
In 1983, the North American video game market collapsed. Atari's dominance had bred complacency, the market was flooded with poor-quality games, and consumers lost faith entirely. The industry lost an estimated $3 billion in two years.
Then Nintendo arrived. The NES — marketed as a toy rather than a games console to avoid the stigma of the crash — rebuilt the industry from the ground up. Its strict quality control, its licensing system, and above all its games restored consumer confidence and created the modern video game industry as we know it.
Iconic Games
- Super Mario Bros. — the game that defined platforming and sold a console
- The Legend of Zelda — open-world adventure before open-world was a genre
- Metroid — atmospheric, lonely, and revolutionary
- Mega Man 2 — action platforming perfected
- Contra — two-player run-and-gun at its finest
- Castlevania — gothic horror gaming born on the NES
- Tetris — the puzzle game that transcended gaming entirely
Collector's Corner
NES cartridges and hardware are among the most collectible in gaming. Sealed, graded NES games have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Even loose cartridges of rare titles command significant premiums. The NES is the foundation of serious retro collecting.
Own a Piece of History
The NES is the beginning of everything. A console whose influence is felt in every game made today.