The Console That Looked Like VCRs

The Famicom launched in Japan on July 15, 1983. It was later released as the NES.

Masayuki Uemura designed the console with an 8-bit architecture. Nintendo's president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, set a target price below $75.

Nintendo negotiated the chip price directly with Ricoh.

Lance Barr and Don James redesigned the case for Western markets to look like a VCR.

Nintendo bundled R.O.B. and the Zapper light gun to help stores accept the product after 1983.

Restrictive licensing required platform exclusivity and a 5-game-per-year limit. That triggered a 1991 FTC settlement.

Nintendo sold 61.91 million consoles worldwide. The company discontinued the original Famicom on September 25, 2003.

The NES helped revitalize American gaming. Super Mario Bros. became a major franchise in 1985.