Nintendo Entertainment System

Nintendo Entertainment System
A Nintendo Entertainment System
Manufacturer	Nintendo
Type	Home video game console
Generation	Third
Release date	Family Computer: July 15, 1983 Nintendo Entertainment System: October 18, 1985 1986 1986
Discontinued	August 14, 1995 September 25, 2003
CPU	Ricoh 2A03 8-bit processor (MOS Technology 6502 core)
Media	Cartridge ("Game Pak")
Controller input	Family Computer: Integrated into the system Nintendo Entertainment System: Two controller ports
Units sold	61.91 million (worldwide)
Best-selling game	Super Mario Bros. (40.24 million, pack-in) Super Mario Bros. 3 (18 million, standalone)
Predecessor	Color TV-Game
Successor	Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit home console developed and released by Nintendo in 1985 as the overseas counterpart to the Family Computer (or Famicom), which itself originally released in Japan in 1983. Only one Metroid game has ever been released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the first Metroid, in 1987. Prior to its overseas release, Metroid was first released in Japan in 1986 as a Family Computer Disk System title. Metroid would later be included as one of the thirty games for the NES Classic Edition.

Some games have had connections to the Metroid franchise. In Kid Icarus, there is a smaller variant of the Metroid species named Komayto. In Tetris, Samus makes a cameo appearance, and her helmet makes a cameo in the Famicom-exclusive title Famicom Wars.

Hardware

The game controller used for both the NES and the Famicom featured an oblong brick-like design with a simple four button layout: two round buttons labelled and , a button, and a button. Additionally, the controllers utilized the cross-shaped , designed by Nintendo employee Gunpei Yokoi for Nintendo Game & Watch systems, to replace the bulkier joysticks on earlier gaming consoles’ controllers.

The original model Famicom featured two game controllers, both of which were hardwired to the back of the console. The second controller lacked the and buttons, but featured a small microphone. Relatively few games made use of this feature. The earliest produced Famicom units initially had square and buttons. This was changed to the circular designs because of the square buttons being caught in the controller casing when pressed down, and glitches within the hardware causing the system to freeze occasionally while playing a game.

The NES dropped the hardwired controllers, instead featuring two custom 7-pin ports on the front of the console. Unlike the Famicom, the Nintendo Entertainment System Controllers are identical to each other, as the second controller does not include the microphone that was present on the Famicom model and features the same and buttons as the primary controller.

A number of special controllers designed for use with specific games were released for the system, though few proved particularly popular. Such devices included, but were not limited to, the NES Zapper (a light gun), the Power Pad, R.O.B., and the Power Glove. The original Famicom featured a deepened DA-15 expansion port on the front of the unit, which was used to connect most auxiliary devices. On the NES, these special controllers were generally connected to one of the two control ports on the front of the unit.

Near the end of the NES's lifespan, upon the release of the AV Famicom and the top-loading NES 2, the design of the game controllers was modified slightly. Though the original button layout was retained, the redesigned device abandoned the "brick" shell in favor of a "dog bone" shape reminiscent of the controllers of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In addition, the AV Famicom joined its international counterpart and dropped the hardwired controllers in favor of detachable controller ports. However, the controllers included with the Famicom AV, despite being the "dog bone" type, had cables which were a short three feet long, as opposed to the standard six feet of NES controllers.

The original NES controller went on to become one of the most recognizable symbols of the system, and Nintendo has mimicked its appearance un several products, from merchandise to limited edition versions of the Game Boy Advance SP and the Game Boy micro.

Gallery

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  A Family Computer

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  Metroid