Nintendo Entertainment System

Ads keep the MarioWiki independent and free :)

Not to be confused with Nintendo Switch, abbreviated as NS. "NES" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Ness. This article is about the first Nintendo console. For the treasure from Wario World, see List of treasures in Wario World#Greenhorn Ruins. It has been requested that this article be rewritten. Reason: Needs general reorganization Nintendo Entertainment System Generation Third generation Released Nintendo Entertainment System October 18, 1985 October 18, 1985 September 1, 1986 July 1, 1987 NES Classic Edition November 10, 2016 November 11, 2016 November 11, 2016 Discontinued August 14, 1995 1995 Ratings NES Classic Edition: ESRB: - Everyone 10+ PEGI: - Seven years and older ACB: - Parental guidance USK: - Twelve years and older Predecessor Color TV-Game Successor Super Nintendo Entertainment System “Now you're playing with power!” —Advertisement slogan for the NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (known as the NES for short) is a video game console created by Nintendo. It is the western version of the Family Computer (aka the Famicom), and has controllers that can be removed (unlike the Famicom). Games are inserted by opening a door and sliding the game in, then pushing a panel down. The NES was made because it was thought that the original system looked too much like a toy and therefore was made with a more complex appearance. It was the system that revived the video game industry after the Video Game Crash of 1983. It rivaled against the Sega Master System and the Atari 7800 until the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System ushered in the next generation of video game consoles. The NES sold over 60.91 million units worldwide during its lifetime and was discontinued in 1995. The Nintendo Entertainment System was bundled with Super Mario Bros., resulting in it being the console's most successful game. For decades, Super Mario Bros. was the highest-selling video game ever, with 40.23 million copies sold, until Nintendo packaged Wii Sports with the Wii. Eventually, Super Mario Bros. 3 was released in the USA, and it became an instant hit, making five hundred million dollars in less than twenty-four hours. It soon became the second most purchased game in the gaming world with over 18 million copies sold. Due to the lack of security, many NES games have become pirated, creating games such as 999-in-1, but as security measures improved, these games have seemingly slowed down. In America, the NES was sold in three packages: Control Deck: Contained the console, two controllers, the Super Mario Bros. cartridge and the needed connections. Action Set: This set included the console, two controllers, the Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridge, the NES Zapper, and the connections. Power Set: The most complete package, it contained the console, two controllers, a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet cartridge, the Zapper, the Power Pad, and the connections. Hardware The NES's Ricoh 2A03 (top) and a regular stock MOS 6502 (bottom). The NES uses a 6502 based processor. The NES's Picture Processing Unit video processor. The NES/Famicom hardware consists of 2 kilobytes of onboard RAM, a custom second source MOS Technology 6502 based processor (called the Ricoh 2A03 in NTSC regions and the 2A07 in the PAL regions) which has a built in sound generator on chip and is used as the main processor. The Ricoh 2A03/2A07 contains 5 channels of sound: 1 triangle channel, 2 square wave channels, 1 noise channel and 1 DPCM channel for playing samples from memory. The Ricoh 2A03/2A07 is essentially the same as a regular 6502 but with the binary code decimal mode removed. The video generator hardware is the Picture Processing Unit (PPU) (Ricoh 2C02 "NTSC"/Ricoh 2C07 "PAL") which is responsible for generating the sprites and background images onscreen. Graphical capabilities, extended RAM and even sound capabilities can be expanded with the use of memory mappers like the MMC2, 3, 4, 5 and Konami VRC6 among other mappers. For instance, the MMC5 adds 2 extra pulse wave channels and another Raw PCM channel in addition to the main 2A03/2A07 channels; the Konami VRC6 adds a sawtooth wave channel and 2 extra square waves and the VRC7 adds FM Synthesis capabilities which is based on the Yamaha YM2413 OPLL FM Synthesizer and is a derivative of the OPLL chip. The only 2 Mario games that use memory mappers are Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3 with the MMC3 mapper being used. The only Mario cameo appearance that uses memory mappers is Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! with the MMC2 being used, which is also the only NES game that uses that particular mapper. Accessories NES Controller The NES Controller. The later "dogbone" version of the NES controller which is included with the NES-101 Top Loader models. The NES controller is the basic controller that comes with the console. It has four buttons and and a directional pad on a brick shaped case. and are stationed on the right with the and in the middle. The D-pad, first used on the Game & Watch to replace bulky joysticks, are on the left of the controller. There were various versions of the NES controller. Nintendo released the NES Max and the NES Advantage, the latter of which had a "slow" button and both of which featured "turbo" buttons which, when held, would represent a button being pressed repeatedly. Nintendo later released a different form of the NES, which used a "dog-bone" design instead of the brick design. This design is very similar to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller. Power Glove The NES Power Glove. The Power Glove was a handheld glove controller that used hand movements as a controller via conductive ink. It also had a keypad that defaulted certain buttons to certain hand movements. Under it featured the normal buttons on the NES controller. It sold poorly and was criticized for being imprecise. It was featured in the movie The Wizard. Cleaning Kit Featuring Mario. Over time, pins inside the NES and game cartridges would get dirty. Nintendo released an approved cleaning kit to improve the condition of the contacts so games would play without interruption. NES Classic Edition The NES Classic Edition. Main article: Classics#NES Classic Edition Announced on July 14, 2016, the NES Classic Edition (known as the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and Australia) is a smaller version of the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first entry to the Classics series. It was released in Australia on November 10, 2016, and in the Americas and Europe on November 11, 2016. Unlike the original NES, the NES Classic Edition does not support cartridges, but rather features 30 games pre-installed, including Mario games such as Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and Dr. Mario. A version for the Japanese Family Computer, the Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, was released in Japan on the same day, and includes a slightly different software line-up than the NES Classic Edition. The NES Classic Edition was discontinued on April 2017 , but is scheduled to resume production in summer 2018. On June 26, 2017, a successor was announced in the form of the SNES Classic Edition. Game gallery Please note that this gallery also includes Japan-only Family Computer games. Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong 3 Donkey Kong Jr. Math Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Math Lesson Donkey Kong Classics Dr. Mario Golf Mario Bros. Mario is Missing! Mario's Time Machine NES Open Tournament Golf Nintendo Campus Challenge Nintendo World Championships 1990 Pinball Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. 2 Super Mario Bros. 3 Wario's Woods Wrecking Crew Yoshi Yoshi's Cookie Hardware gallery Original NES The NES-101 model. Hand holding NES Classic Edition as scale. The US packaging of the NES Classic Edition. The UK packaging of the Nintendo Classic Mini. The Australian packaging of the Nintendo Classic Mini. Appearances in the Mario series Super Smash Bros. Melee At the beginning of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode "Mama Mia Mario", as Mario and Luigi are relaxing in front of the TV, Luigi is seen holding an NES controller. At the beginning of Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!, Mario is seen playing a Famicom (the Japanese equivalent to the NES) late at night. In Super Paper Mario, one of Francis' protected rooms has a NES, along with various other Nintendo consoles. The NES appears as one of Wario's treasures in Wario World. 9-Volt has an NES in WarioWare: Twisted!. Though the console itself doesn't appear in Super Mario Odyssey, one of the filters that is available for use in Snapshot Mode is the graphics style of the NES. Name in other languages Language Name Meaning Japanese ファミリーコンピュータ Famirī Konpyūta ファミコン Famikon Family Computer Famicom Spanish (NOA) Nintendo Entertainment System Spanish (NOE) Sistema de Entretenimiento de Nintendo Literal translation. Korean 현대 컴보이 Hyeondae Keomboi Hyundai Comboy Trivia The error showing Mario Party: Island Tour to be an NES game. An NES controller appears as one of the tokens in the 2006 and 2007 version of Nintendo Monopoly. The NES is placed in the 1st spot of IGN's Top 25 Game Consoles. A large NES controller appears in Wreck-It Ralph as a door leading to the coding of the game Sugar Rush, which the character King Candy opens by putting in the Konami code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start), a very famous button input that was put in as a cheat in numerous Konami games, first appearing in Gradius (1986). An expansion port is located underneath the console. However, no accessories were used for it. Although the Famicom Disk System was planned for a North American release and if released it would have used the Expansion Port. However, the redesigned NES-101 Top Loader model lacks the expansion port entirely. For a time, the Nintendo 3DS eShop mistakenly stated Mario Party: Island Tour to be a title on the NES. The NES port of Wario's Woods is the only NES game with an ESRB rating, due to it being released so late in the console's run. References [Edit] Nintendo Entertainment System / Family Computer games Dr. Mario • Donkey Kong • Donkey Kong 3 • Donkey Kong Classics • Donkey Kong Jr. • Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Math Lesson • Donkey Kong Jr. Math • Golf • Mario Bros. • Mario is Missing! • Mario's Time Machine • NES Open Tournament Golf • Nintendo Campus Challenge • Nintendo World Championships 1990 • Pinball • Super Mario Bros. • Super Mario Bros. 2 • Super Mario Bros. 3 • Wario's Woods • Wrecking Crew • Yoshi • Yoshi's Cookie Family Computer Disk System All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. • Famicom Grand Prix: F-1 Race • Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally • Family Computer Golf: Japan Course • Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course • I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater • Kaettekita Mario Bros. • Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels • Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic [Edit] Video Game Consoles 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 Switch Nintendo Handhelds Game & Watch • Game Boy • Virtual Boy • Game Boy Color • Game Boy Advance • Nintendo DS (Nintendo DSi, DSiWare) • Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console) Other Nelsonic Game Watch • VS. System • Nintendo PlayChoice-10 • MS-DOS • Philips CD-i • Visteon Dockable Entertainment System • Classics • Triforce See here for a complete list of arcade titles and games ported to Atari 2600, Commodore, ColecoVision, Intellivision, etc.