Happy 40th Anniversary NES

How does it feel to know that after all these years, you realize that you may be getting old.

Before you submit TIME MACHINE related diatribes on SOCIAL MEDIA,

Let's just celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the most important Video Game console for us gamers.

That's right. The original NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM.

Better know to us people as either the NES or just the NINTENDO.

This is the console that pretty much introduced the HOME CONSOLE to many of us people back in the 1980s.

While you can say that both ATARI and COMMODORE should have claimed that title due to the Atari 2600

or the Commodore 64

The NES takes the cake for everything in terms of Mass Market Success for a Console.

And it's odd to say that it's the 40th Anniversary of this Console when I should have made this post back in 2023 just to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Japanese Original of the NES:

That's right. This is the Original Japanese version of the NES that we got in NORTH AMERICA.

The console is called the FAMILY COMPUTER....

Though it's better known to us gamers as the FAMICOM.

And the photo of the Famicom I'm showing above is not even the original 1983 model.

The Original Model of Famicom that got released in 1983 has some minor differences.

For one, the Motherboard is different in the 1983 model vs the later 1984 models.

And the 1983 Models had SQUARE Rubber Buttons instead of the more recognizable Circular Plastic Buttons.

The original 1983 release of the Famicom was riddled with problems from the start. 

The original motherboards had issues with communication with the cartridges and it all came to a crashing halt during the Holiday 1983 season.

So millions of FAMICOMS were recalled so that the motherboard could be reconfigured with a different layout.

Not only that, but they also had to redesigned the buttons so that they are round and plastic so they don't stuck on the plastic shell of the controllers.

Now flying over to the USA, things in the Video Game space were pretty grim.

By 1984, it had been 2 years since the Infamous Releases of the ATARI 2600 releases of 

&

As well as a shitload of Shovelware plaguing the likes of Atari, Intellevision, Colecovision, etc,

And the heightened popularity of Computers like the COMODORE 64,

This made many AMERICAN retailers wary of dedicated Video Game Consoles due to the issues revolving around the shovelware cartridges as well as the mentality that it's better to have an ALL-IN-ONE system that not only could be used for SERIOUS BUSINESS USE,

But they can also be used for playing video games too.

That's why Atari, despite suffering from the Aftermath of Pacman and ET, also managed to stick around thanks to their 8-bit Computers introduced back in 1979.

But NINTENDO wanted to make sure their BRAND SPANKING NEW console gets the AMERICAN exposure because just having their Arcade Games as well as their Game & Watch handhelds were not going to be enough.

And NINTENDO also wanted to control their IPs after ATARI got pissed at COLECO for violating rights holdings over their port of DONKEY KONG

But NINTENDO got wiff at their own Console

Realizing that the bright BEIGE and Red Contrasting Accents would not sit well with AMERICAN Gamers since it's not a computer and a Television Appliance should look BLACK or GREY,

NINTENDO had to redesign the console for the AMERICAN GAMER.

The first attempt to redesign the console was in the form of a COMPUTER

Clearly NINTENDO borrowed a page from ATARI's Homework on Computer Designs. 

Indeed.

As an interesting fact, I've read that NINTENDO was originally planning to release the computer under ATARI's name via a partnership.

However, that never happened.

Again, it was due to ATARI getting pissed off at NINTENDO for letting COLECO bundle DONKEY KONG with the COLECOVISION in 1982.

So Nintendo was on their own when they were making the 

ADVANCED VIDEO SYSTEM, aka AVS Computer.

The Prototype was showcased at the Winter Consumer Electronics show in January 1985.

To a lukewarm reception.

As usual, the problem was due to the aftermath of the 1983 Video Game Crash as well as people at the time wondering if NINTENDO can actually compete with both ATARI and COMMODORE in the Computer space.

(Sinclair, Acorn, & Commodore in the UK).

Plus, releasing an 8-bit 6502 Computer in 1985 would have been long in the tooth anyway due to both ATARI & COMMODORE preparing to release their new computers to compete with the then new APPLE MACINTOSH, all three which use the....

BRAND SPANKING NEW! MOTOROLA 68000 CPU.

But Nintendo didn't give up. They had to gauge interest from them gamers so in 1984, an arcade variant of the NES called NINTENDO VS. SYSTEM was released to arcades in AMERICA.

The Success of the VS. System was enough to give the company confidence to release the FAMICOM in the UNITED STATES on their own.

So the AVS Computer was scrapped, and instead, the console was redesigned to meet AMERICAN STANDARDS.

First, The console was made a grey plastic.

But they also changed the Cartridge Port to be front loading.

Just like a VCR.

Or front loading Laserdisc Player.

This is not a CD Player.

It's a Laserdisc Player with a small Disc inserted.

And yes, Small Size Laserdiscs did exist.

This however required that the Edge connector for the NES had to be changed just so that the front-loading system can be implemented.

And while THANK BALLS the connector is not soldered to the motherboard as replacement connectors can be found on AMAZON, this new system for the cartridges can be a real tossup.

For one, the Pin Layout was changed.

Shown below is what a FAMICOM Cartridge looks like:

The color can be different for each game but the size is simple as these are just 60-Pin cartridges.

However, the change for the cart connector in the USA variant required a change of pinouts.

Below is what an North American NES Cartridge looks like:

And what's the pinout?

72-Pin!

????

Why the increase?

Well it's to facilitate this infamous chip:

The much-maligned 10NES Lockout Chip!!!

This chip was the bane of our existence. 

Why?

Because of communication problems.

Nintendo thought this chip would be required to ensure that SHOVELWARE doesn't make it to the NES.

Not that it prevented bad games to begin with.

(We're looking at you LJN.)

The problem with this chip was that due to issues with the ZIF mechanism, bending of the card-edge, and oxidization, Sometimes even a legitimate cartridge would have problems reading in the unit.

The solution for the tech savvy was to either de-solder the chip from the unit or cut the 4th leg from the chip itself.

Despite these problems, the NES still proved to be a success.

And you can thank this Android shown below

This is R.O.B.

Or ROBOTIC OPERATING BUDDY for short.

This toy was bundled with the DELUXE SET for the NES until 1988 and this was what we refer to as a VIDEO GAME TROJAN HORSE.

So why was he bundled?

Well it was due to NINTENDO knowing that many a retailer were still wary of Video Game consoles that weren't in the Computer mold so NINTENDO bundled this robot with the NES and marketed the Console as a controller unit to play with the robot.

I think the idea was to release a myriad of games that took advantage of this robot.

However, only two games were released.

After his discontinuation in 1988, R.O.B would later appear as a playable character in both MARIO KART & SMASH BROS.

If you've got either the Action or Deluxe Set, you probably remember this helpful dick:

"Will you stop with the phallic gun euphemisms please!"

Sorry Zapper. I can't resist a pun.

This light gun above has provided so many memories to us gamers who play games like

DUCK HUNT,

WILD GUNMAN,

Etc.

For the first 3 years of the NES's life in the USA, the Zapper gun had grey accents just to accentuate the MACHO RAMBO aesthetic of the typical American.

But in 1988, THE FEDERAL TOY GUN LAW mandated that toy guns should distinguish themselves away from a real firearm for the sake of CHILD SAFETY.

Instead of redesigning the Light gun to be a cheap FLASH GORDON prop, the Zapper instead used the color scheme from the FAMICOM version

I can tell that some people prefer the original Grey Colors over the orange ones but that's typical for gamers who dislike when Governments get into a gamer's Bloodthirsty lusts for Competitive gameplay.

And that's not the end-all-be-all of the NES accesories.

We had things like the NES ADVANTAGE

This allowed people to play games using traditional Arcade Style Controls.

And yes, this was the controller used to control the STATUE OF LIBERTY in

1989's GHOSTBUSTERS II.

Others include the NES MAX CONTROLLER

This allowed people to play games with a grip, turbo controls, and a smoother directional pad.

Others include Foot Pads for games like Dancing or Running

Motion Controls with your fingers

Some people love this Glove because IT'S SO BAD!

..... hehehe. WIZARD reference.

Some of the peripherals were only for the Japanese side of things.

Most importantly, this DISK Add-On for the FAMICOM.

This red add-on below the Famicom is where the original versions of 

ZELDA, METROID, KID ICARUS, just to name a few, originally came from.

The DISK SYSTEM used proprietary FLOPPY DISKS that looked like this

They come in a form-factor that looks like a SONY 3.5" Floppy

 but they have exposed read areas just like the earlier 8" and 5.25" Floppies from Computers prior.

Although I have seen Blue Disks with shutters that protect the read area.

Pretty sly for a Console that uses a MOS 6502 Architecture even if it's not from MOS themselves.

The NES uses an equivalent manufactured by RICOH.

Specifically the RICOH 2A03.

It's also the system's Soundchip.

It uses a combination of 5 voices.

Two SQUARE WAVES for polyphony,

1 TRIANGLE WAVE for Low Bass Response,

1 NOISE CHANNEL for Some Percussion but mostly used for sounds like explosions,

And 1 PCM CHANNEL for things like Percussion Drums, Voices, Etc. 

The FAMICOM on the other hand had a Sixth Voice called FM SYNTH but that's only for games either using the DISK SYSTEM or it's built into the Cart.

That FM SYNTH sounds a lot like the C64's Sawtooth VOICE at times.

Why we never got that here in North America?

Because of that Stupid 10NES Lockout Chip.

No. It's not because of Licensing Issues but rather the pins would jack up the cost of manufacturing the games so the FM Synth Pins were relocated to the disused Expansion Port on the bottom of the console.

I could have shown you the games but that list would have been long..

Plus, the Only Physical cart I own is SUPER MARIO BROS. 3,

And I don't feel like taking Screenshots from the VIRTUALNES Emulator, nor taking screenshots from my NINTENDO SWITCH so instead, I encourage you to research the games.

And yes, I do have my NES in the House.

Admittingly, I never grew up with the NES due to my December 1997 birth but I do recognize the impact the system had with us gamers.(Late Gen-Xers & Early Millennials).

So I also encourage you to take out your NES Systems and play some games to celebrate the system's 40th Anniversary(42nd for the Famicom Side.)