The History of the Nintendo Entertainment System

Photograph of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

A video re-creation of a Nintendo Entertainment System advertisement that highlights the key selling points and unique marketing strategy that helped lead to the NES's financial success. For educational purposes only.

By Colin Bailey

April 7, 2021

The arrival of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) into the United States of America in 1985 played a crucial part in revitalizing the video gaming industry in North America following the video game crash of 1983, which saw the industry’s sales drop from $3.7 billion in 1982 to just $100 million by 1985. By the end of 1989, the NES had helped the video game industry’s sales climb back to $3.4 billion and approximately 80% of home video game consoles possessed in US homes were thought to be the NES ¹ .

In order to differentiate its system from failing game consoles, Nintendo updated the product's nomenclature and ran a unique marketing strategy. Instead of being referred to as a "video game system," the NES is referred to as an "Entertainment System" and is centered upon a "control deck" rather than a "console." It also features software cartridges called "Game Paks" instead of "video games.” ² .

The Zapper Light Gun allowed for the arcade experience to be recreated in the home and was included in the “Action Set” an electronic light gun accessory that allowed players to aim at their television display and "shoot" various targets that appear on the screen. This accessory allowed for “point and shoot” games such as Duck Hunt to be recreated seamlessly in the home. ³ .

The Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) was included in the “Deluxe Set” (2) was billed as “the world’s only interactive robot” by Computer Entertainer magazine’s June 1985 issue. ⁴ . (3) R.O.B. only worked with the games Gyromite and Stack-up, where players would see R.O.B. move his actual arms based on the player’s commands in slow and limited movement.

These changes allowed Nintendo to separate the NES from the other video game consoles on the market at the time and helped lead to its massive success both in the United States and globally.