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The '''[[nwiki:Nintendo Vs. System|Nintendo Vs. System]]''' is a collection of coin-operated VS. UniSystem or VS. DualSystem arcade systems that arose in the 1980s. As their name implies, the video games are designed for two-player competitive play. They can be either stand-up or sit-down arcade machines, and usually have two screens and controls joined at an angle. The games are all ports of [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] home console games, although many have notable changes in their graphics, gameplay and difficulty.
{{system infobox
|image=[[File:VS Super Mario Bros Arcade Machine.jpg|250px]]<br>''[[VS. Super Mario Bros.]]'' in a VS. Table cabinet
|release=February 1984<ref name=February84GM>[https://archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19840215p/page/n1/mode/1up ''Game Machine''. February 15, 1984 issue. Page 3.]</ref>
|discontinued={{release|Japan|Late 1985<ref name="gm"/><ref name="pm"/>|USA|July 31, 1992<ref name="cb1"/><ref name="cb2"/>}}
|successor=[[Nintendo PlayChoice-10]]
}}
The '''{{wp|Nintendo VS. System|VS. System}}''' is a collection of coin-operated VS. DualSystem or VS. UniSystem arcade systems, and the games were designed for competitive play. The VS. DualSystem comes with two screens and four sets of controls, meaning it had support for four simultaneous players, which only the launch title, ''{{wp|Tennis (1984 video game)|VS. Tennis}}'', takes advantage of, not any games of the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]]. The first model is the red sit-down type that lets players face each other and was later renamed VS. Table.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/vsdr.mario/mode/1up ''VS. Dr. Mario'' installation manual]</ref> The upright type looks like two machines conjoined at an angle. The VS. UniSystem is like a conventional upright arcade cabinet with two sets of controls and a single screen, and it can either come as a dedicated gray cabinet or be a conversion from ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'',  ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. (game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'', or ''{{wp|Popeye (game)|Popeye}}'' cabinets. It is not possible to convert the dedicated wide-body ''[[Mario Bros. (game)|Mario Bros.]]'' cabinets or the ''{{wp|Punch-Out!! (arcade game)|Punch-Out!!}}'' cabinets. In Japan, there are conversion kits for cocktail cabinets.<ref>{{media link|VS. Golf Pinball Japanese flyer back.jpg|Cocktail conversion kit flyer}}</ref>


==List of ''Mario'' games==
The VS. System was designed in response to the {{wp|video game crash of 1983}} and the collapse of a proposed deal with Atari to distribute the [[Famicom]] in the United States. Knowing that arcade gaming was still commercially successful in North America, [[Nintendo]] president [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] conceived the VS. System as a way to gauge consumer interest in Nintendo's home console games.<ref>Stark, Chelsea (October 19, 2015). [https://mashable.com/archive/nintendo-nes-launch-atari How Nintendo brought the NES to America -- and avoided repeating Atari's mistakes]. ''Mashable''. Retrieved January 20, 2024.</ref><ref>Horowitz, Ken (July 30, 2020). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3D0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA119 "The Vs. System (1984)"]. ''Beyond Donkey Kong: A History of Nintendo Arcade Games''. McFarland & Company. pp. 119–28. ISBN 978-1-4766-4176-8.</ref> The precursor to the VS. System line are the Nintendo-Pak conversion kits. ''Mario Bros.'' was the first to be available as a Nintendo-Pak, in addition to selling the dedicated wide-body cabinets.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/mariobrospak/mode/1up ''Mario Bros.'' Nintendo-Pak'' manual]</ref> ''[[Donkey Kong 3]]'' was available only as a Nintendo-Pak, which spared operators from having to buy the cabinet.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/donkeykong3/mode/1up ''Donkey Kong 3'' Nintendo-Pak manual]</ref>
*''Vs. [[Dr. Mario (game)|Dr. Mario]]''
*''Vs. [[Pinball]]''
*''Vs. [[Golf]]''
*''[[Vs. Super Mario Bros.]]''
*''Vs. [[Wrecking Crew]]''
{{NIWA|NWiki=1}}


{{BoxTop}}
The VS. System games were the last arcade games Nintendo of Japan released before leaving the business in late 1985. This was despite the high demand of ''[[VS. Super Mario Bros.]]'', which never had a physical arcade release in the country.<ref name="gm">[https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19860301p.pdf#page=13 "Coin-Op "Super Mario" Will Shop To Overseas"]. Game Machine. Amusement Press. Published March 1, 1986.</ref><ref name="pm">[https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-12-number-5-april-1986-600DPI/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%2012%2C%20Number%205%20-%20April%201986%20%28Compressed%29/page/9/mode/1up Play Meter - Volume 12, Number 5 - April 1986]</ref> The system had a longer life in North America; new games were released for it as late as 1990, and it was successful enough to spur the development of the [[Nintendo PlayChoice-10]]. By the time Nintendo of America announced it would stop producing arcade equipment on July 31, 1992,<ref name="cb1">[https://archive.org/details/cashbox56unse_0/page/28/mode/1up "Nintendo Will No Longer Produce Coin-Op Equipment"]. Cashbox.</ref><ref name="cb2">[https://archive.org/details/cashbox56unse_1/page/29/mode/1up "Nintendo Stops Games Manufacturing; But Will Continue Supplying Software"]. Cashbox.</ref> however, no new VS. games were coming out.
{{consoles}}
 
[[Category:Video Game Systems]]
The VS. System games are mostly ports of [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] games, although many have notable changes in their graphics, gameplay, and difficulty. One exception is ''[[VS. Wrecking Crew]]'', released a year before its NES counterpart ''[[Wrecking Crew]]'', from which it greatly differs.
 
==List of ''Super Mario'' games==
{| class="wikitable"
!Arcade game
![[Nintendo Entertainment System]] game
|-
|''[[VS. Wrecking Crew]]''
|''[[Wrecking Crew]]''
|-
|''[[VS. Pinball]]''
|''[[Pinball (game)|Pinball]]''
|-
|''[[Stroke & Match Golf|VS. Golf]]''
|''[[Golf]]''
|-
|''[[VS. Super Mario Bros.]]''
|''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''
|-
|''[[VS. Dr. Mario]]''
|''[[Dr. Mario (game)|Dr. Mario]]''
|}
 
''VS. Dr. Mario'' is the only arcade version unavailable on the ''[[Arcade Archives]]''.
 
==Gallery==
===Cabinets===
<gallery>
VSSuperMarioBrosUpright.jpg|''VS. Super Mario Bros.'' in a dedicated VS. UniSystem cabinet
VS. DualSystem.jpg|''VS. Golf'' / ''VS. Super Mario Bros.'' in an upright VS. DualSystem cabinet
Dr. Mario VS cabinet.jpg|''VS. Dr. Mario'' in a VS. Table cabinet
VS. Pinball arcade.jpg|''VS. Pinball'' in a VS. Table cabinet
VS. Wrecking Crew arcade.jpg|''VS. Wrecking Crew'' in a VS. Table cabinet
</gallery>
 
===Screenshots===
<gallery>
VSSMB Title Screen.png|''VS. Super Mario Bros.''
VsWreckingCrewTitle.png|''VS. Wrecking Crew''
Vs Dr Mario Title.png|''VS. Dr. Mario''
VsPinballTitle.png|''VS. Pinball''
Vsstrokematchgolf.png|''VS. Golf''
</gallery>
 
===Flyers===
<gallery>
MarioVSSystem.jpg|Library of VS. titles flyer
VS. Golf Pinball Japanese flyer front.jpg|''VS. Golf'' / ''VS. Pinball'' flyer showing off the upright VS. DualSystem
VSWreckingCrewCabinetFlyerJP.png|Earlier Japanese flyer of ''VS. Wrecking Crew''
VSWreckingCrewScreensFlyerJP.png|Earlier Japanese flyer of ''VS. Wrecking Crew''
VSWreckingCrewCabinetFlyerJPredrawn.png|Later Japanese flyer of ''VS. Wrecking Crew''
VSWreckingCrewScreensFlyerJPredrawn.png|Later Japanese flyer of ''VS. Wrecking Crew''
SMBVS Flyer.jpg|Earlier flyer of ''VS. Super Mario Bros.'' with the title ''VS. Mario's Adventure''
VSSMB Alternate Flyer.jpg|Later flyer of ''VS. Super Mario Bros.''
</gallery>
 
==References==
{{NIWA|NWiki=Nintendo VS. System}}
<references/>
 
{{Systems}}
[[Category:Systems]]

Latest revision as of 12:09, May 3, 2024

It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this article. Remove this notice only after the additional image(s) have been added. Reason: VS. System logo

VS. System
Arcade machine of VS. Super Mario Bros.
VS. Super Mario Bros. in a VS. Table cabinet
Release date February 1984[1]
Discontinued Japan Late 1985[2][3]
USA July 31, 1992[4][5]
Successor Nintendo PlayChoice-10

The VS. System is a collection of coin-operated VS. DualSystem or VS. UniSystem arcade systems, and the games were designed for competitive play. The VS. DualSystem comes with two screens and four sets of controls, meaning it had support for four simultaneous players, which only the launch title, VS. Tennis, takes advantage of, not any games of the Super Mario franchise. The first model is the red sit-down type that lets players face each other and was later renamed VS. Table.[6] The upright type looks like two machines conjoined at an angle. The VS. UniSystem is like a conventional upright arcade cabinet with two sets of controls and a single screen, and it can either come as a dedicated gray cabinet or be a conversion from Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., or Popeye cabinets. It is not possible to convert the dedicated wide-body Mario Bros. cabinets or the Punch-Out!! cabinets. In Japan, there are conversion kits for cocktail cabinets.[7]

The VS. System was designed in response to the video game crash of 1983 and the collapse of a proposed deal with Atari to distribute the Famicom in the United States. Knowing that arcade gaming was still commercially successful in North America, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi conceived the VS. System as a way to gauge consumer interest in Nintendo's home console games.[8][9] The precursor to the VS. System line are the Nintendo-Pak conversion kits. Mario Bros. was the first to be available as a Nintendo-Pak, in addition to selling the dedicated wide-body cabinets.[10] Donkey Kong 3 was available only as a Nintendo-Pak, which spared operators from having to buy the cabinet.[11]

The VS. System games were the last arcade games Nintendo of Japan released before leaving the business in late 1985. This was despite the high demand of VS. Super Mario Bros., which never had a physical arcade release in the country.[2][3] The system had a longer life in North America; new games were released for it as late as 1990, and it was successful enough to spur the development of the Nintendo PlayChoice-10. By the time Nintendo of America announced it would stop producing arcade equipment on July 31, 1992,[4][5] however, no new VS. games were coming out.

The VS. System games are mostly ports of Nintendo Entertainment System games, although many have notable changes in their graphics, gameplay, and difficulty. One exception is VS. Wrecking Crew, released a year before its NES counterpart Wrecking Crew, from which it greatly differs.

List of Super Mario games[edit]

Arcade game Nintendo Entertainment System game
VS. Wrecking Crew Wrecking Crew
VS. Pinball Pinball
VS. Golf Golf
VS. Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros.
VS. Dr. Mario Dr. Mario

VS. Dr. Mario is the only arcade version unavailable on the Arcade Archives.

Gallery[edit]

Cabinets[edit]

  • VS. Super Mario Bros. in a dedicated VS. UniSystem cabinet

    VS. Super Mario Bros. in a dedicated VS. UniSystem cabinet

  • VS. Golf / VS. Super Mario Bros. in an upright VS. DualSystem cabinet

    VS. Golf / VS. Super Mario Bros. in an upright VS. DualSystem cabinet

  • VS. Dr. Mario in a VS. Table cabinet

    VS. Dr. Mario in a VS. Table cabinet

  • VS. Pinball in a VS. Table cabinet

    VS. Pinball in a VS. Table cabinet

  • VS. Wrecking Crew in a VS. Table cabinet

    VS. Wrecking Crew in a VS. Table cabinet

Screenshots[edit]

  • VS. Super Mario Bros.

    VS. Super Mario Bros.

  • VS. Wrecking Crew

    VS. Wrecking Crew

  • VS. Dr. Mario

    VS. Dr. Mario

  • VS. Pinball

    VS. Pinball

  • VS. Golf

    VS. Golf

Flyers[edit]

  • Library of VS. titles flyer

    Library of VS. titles flyer

  • VS. Golf / VS. Pinball flyer showing off the upright VS. DualSystem

    VS. Golf / VS. Pinball flyer showing off the upright VS. DualSystem

  • Earlier Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

    Earlier Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

  • Earlier Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

    Earlier Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

  • Later Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

    Later Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

  • Later Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

    Later Japanese flyer of VS. Wrecking Crew

  • Earlier flyer of VS. Super Mario Bros. with the title VS. Mario's Adventure

    Earlier flyer of VS. Super Mario Bros. with the title VS. Mario's Adventure

  • Later flyer of VS. Super Mario Bros.

    Later flyer of VS. Super Mario Bros.

References[edit]

VS. System coverage on other NIWA wikis:
  1. ^ Game Machine. February 15, 1984 issue. Page 3.
  2. ^ a b "Coin-Op "Super Mario" Will Shop To Overseas". Game Machine. Amusement Press. Published March 1, 1986.
  3. ^ a b Play Meter - Volume 12, Number 5 - April 1986
  4. ^ a b "Nintendo Will No Longer Produce Coin-Op Equipment". Cashbox.
  5. ^ a b "Nintendo Stops Games Manufacturing; But Will Continue Supplying Software". Cashbox.
  6. ^ VS. Dr. Mario installation manual
  7. ^ Cocktail conversion kit flyerMedia:VS. Golf Pinball Japanese flyer back.jpg
  8. ^ Stark, Chelsea (October 19, 2015). How Nintendo brought the NES to America -- and avoided repeating Atari's mistakes. Mashable. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Horowitz, Ken (July 30, 2020). "The Vs. System (1984)". Beyond Donkey Kong: A History of Nintendo Arcade Games. McFarland & Company. pp. 119–28. ISBN 978-1-4766-4176-8.
  10. ^ Mario Bros. Nintendo-Pak manual
  11. ^ Donkey Kong 3 Nintendo-Pak manual
[Edit]
Video game systems and add-ons
Nintendo home consoles Nintendo Entertainment System/Family Computer (Family BASIC, Family Computer Disk System) • Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom (Satellaview, Super Game Boy) • Nintendo 64 (Nintendo 64DD) • Nintendo GameCube (Game Boy Player) • Wii (Virtual Console, WiiWare) • Wii U (Virtual Console)
Nintendo handhelds Game & Watch • Game Boy • Virtual Boy • Game Boy Color • Game Boy Advance • Nintendo DS (Nintendo DSi, DSiWare) • Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console)
Other MS-DOS • VS. System • Nintendo PlayChoice-10 • Nelsonic Game Watch • Super Mario Bros. Watch • Gamewatch Boy • Philips CD-i • Mini Classics • Nintendo Switch • Triforce • Visteon Dockable Entertainment System • Classics • LodgeNet
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