The most successful gaming console of its time in Asia and North America (Nintendo claims to have sold over 60 million NES units worldwide), it helped revitalize the video game industry following the video game crash of 1983. It set the standard for subsequent consoles in everything from game design (the breakthrough platform game, Super Mario Bros., was the system’s first major success) to controller layout. The NES was the first console for which the manufacturer openly courted third-party developers.

Console facts
Company Nintendo
Type TV-game
Year 1983
End year 1992
CPU Custom 6502
Speed 1.79 MHz
RAM 2 KB
Media cartridge
Controllers 8-way thumbpad, 4 buttons (Start, Select. A, B)
Graphic modes 256 x 240, 64 sprites on screen (8 per scanline) sprite size: 8x8 or 8x16 pixels
Colors 52 available, 16 on screen, 4 colours per sprite
Sound 4 Channel Mono - 2 Square Waves, 1 Triangle Wave, 1 White Noise