The Evolution o
f Nintendo Gaming Systems – 40+ Years of Successfully Entertaining our Families.
Nintento’s Triumphant Timeline
1980
Nintendo Computer TV-Game
This was a home version of the Othello Arcade Version released two years prior. It was a two player head to head arcade style interaction utilizing your television as the monitor source for your Othello game board. In all reality this systems technology and sophisticated algorithms in many ways surpasssed its time and technology was not truly ready for such a home entertainment unit.
Nintento Game & Watch
Inspired by its creator watching a bored Japanese businessman playing with an LCD calculator, the Game & Watch was the first machine ever to use the + pad to move characters, a design that is now used throughout the world on millions of games consoles and other products. Thanks Nintendo.
1981
Nintendo released the Donkey Kong arcade video game in the US and the Donkey Kong Craze begins. To this day Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo’s Most popular titles and known faces amongst a variety of age ranges for the sheer fun home entertainment it brings to families all over the world.
1983
Nintendo releases the Family Computer (Famicom) video game system in Japan. The system is a phenomenal success, with 500,000 units selling in the first two months
1985
Nintendo releases the Super Mario Bros. video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the US. Total worldwide sales: 40.24 million, the best-selling game of all time, slowly resurrecting the video game industry. The system comes with a two-button and “plus” pad controller, a Zapper light gun, and Robotic Operating Buddy mechanical robot (Power Glove) that can interact with a few games such as Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. Total sales of the NES over the product’s lifetime reach 36% total market.
1986
Nintendo releases the Metroid video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. The Star of this game was Samus one of the first two female game characters. Can you remember who the other one was? I will give you a hint, she had a bow on the top of her head and liked to eat pills and blue ghosts. You got it Mrs. Pac-man.
Nintendo also relseased the Nintendo Family Computer Disc System this year a.k.a. the Famicom Disk System (FDS) This was a peripheral for the Famicom console in Japan and was never released though announced in North Ameraca, as well as various other PAL Region Nintendo Entertainment Systems.
1987
Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. This is another of Nintendo’s most popular titles to this day, with 25+ games including guest appearances in the exclusive Gamecube edition of Soul Calibur where you can Battle using Link and his mighty sword and even having a spot on daytime television running a television series for multiple months.
Square releases the first Final Fantasy video game for the Famicom system in Japan. Again starting a craze and following of gamers to continue the Final Fantasy saga taking it to online levels in the future consoles and new exciting adventures within each original game. as the game progressed the cinematics continued to get better and better until you almost beleived you weree watching a real movie aat some points. Speaking of movies this games has also spawned multiple movie title releases.
1988
Konami releases the first Metal Gear video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US as well as the Super Mario Bros. 2 game adding yet again something for everyone.
1989
Nintendo releases the hend-held Game Boy video game system in Japan. Games are played on a 2.5-inch monochrome screen but you would not hear anyone complain back then as it was the first handheld game console to permit users to swap and change game cartridges on the fly. The Nintendo Gameboy was initially bundled with Tetris, a shape related puzzle game which started a revolution across the world with more than 118 million units sold.
Shorlty after the release of the Gameboy, Nintendo followed it up with the elease of the Super Mario Land video game for the Game Boy in the US allowing us to finally bring mario with us where ever we would go. The Gameboy colour was also released out in late 1989 allowing you to use both your original gameboy games while also being able to purchase new colour games removing the monochrome concept of handheld gaming from our lives for good.
1991
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System a.k.a. Super NES, SNES and Super Nintendo was a 16-bit video game console system that integrated with your television for a more advanced colour spectrum and a better resolution then the original NES gaming system.
1996
Nintendo 64 a.k.a. Nintendo 64 brought a totally new controller design to the table not only adding more buttons but also various analog joysticks to the equation a well. This system was a massive hit and brought a whole new level to gaming for the Nintendo Followers to enjoy. With added elemetns like the rumble pak and expansion pak, memory cards, etc you were truly able to take your home entertainment console game to new heights while enjoying the graphics of a 64-bit system.
2001
Nintendo’s Gamecube allowed the possibility of Nintendo users to connect online and interact in games such as Phantasy Star Online and even Mario Kart.
Gameboy Advanced wass a 32-bit handheld gaming console and was backward compatible with gameboy and gameboy colour games
2003
Gameboy Advanced SP and the Gameboy Advanced SP+ which included much needed visual backlights boasted a large variety of colour options nad an even more stylish flip closed clamshell design for screen protection.
2004
The Nintendo DS arises to the market bringing with it two LCD screens the bottom being a stylus included touchscreen for even further gaming interactivity. To say the least the Nintendo DS was a true successor and advancement from the Gameboy Advance family.
2005
The Nintendo Gameboy Micro was the final release in the Gameboy Family of handheld gamiing consoles allowing you to use your Gameboy Advanced Cartridges in this newly sleek design that created the design and nostalgia of the original NES Controllers. To learn more about the Gameboy Micro, Click Here
2006
The DS Lite was the Nintendo DS with a slimmer body, lighter weight and brighter screens that went on to sell more than 85 million units.
Also released later taht year was the forever popular Nintendo Wii Entertainment System bringing a whole new element to gaming allowing the world to get up off the couch and really interact with their games for one of the first times in a home entertainment scenerio
2008
The Nintendo DSi upgrades included two cameras, SD card capability to play music and the DSi Shop that allows users to download and play titles directly to their DSi console.
2009
The DSi XL boasts a bigger screen and stylus make gameplay easier
2011
3DS the newest installment to the Nintendo DS Family and what an advancced piece of technology allowing the effect of 3d gaming without the need for 3d glasses of any kind.
2012
What will they come up with next you ask?
Read about the Wii U coming late 2012, Click Here