Also known as the NES. This video gaming system was made in 1985 by Nintendo. It was marketed as a gaming toy rather than a gaming system to get more people to buy it. The NES was the reason video games were being bought at the time. In 1983 a certain event known as the "Video Game Crash" had occurred. Video games were popping up everywhere. Most of them being obscure ports of arcade classics. People got sick of video games and stopped buying them. Until the NES came along with games like Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt. Causing video games to become popular again. The NES will remain a legend forever.
Origin Of The NES
The NES was actually released in 1983 in Japan called the Famicom. Which stands for Family Computer. There was some noticeable changes made to the design of the system. The Famicoms cartridges have only 60 pins compared to the NES witch has 72 pins. And the second controller on the Famicom has volume control and a mic. The mic was used to talk into and do certain commands. However due to the deadline for the NES the mic was removed.
However there was some trouble with designing the American NES. Originally it was going to be called the Advanced Video System or AVS.
The AVS was designed as some form of a cassette player rather than a cartridge based console like the NES. It included 2 Gamepads, A Joystick, A Keyboard, and a Light Gun. Also everything was wireless (Using Infared Technology). However all of this was cancelled due to the "Video Game Crash". So instead they turned the AVS into the NES and marketed it as more of a toy than a gaming console. And thats how the NES was shaped. The AVS can still be viewed at Nintendo World in New York.
Nintendo's Mascot
The origin of Mario (Nintendo's Most Popular Plumber) was actually before the NE'S timeline. Mario was originally known as Jumpman who appeared in the 1981 game Donkey Kong. The plot of the game centers around Jumpman who was a carpenter who lived in Brooklyn New York with his girlfriend Pauline and his pet ape Donkey Kong. But then Donkey Kong broke out of his cage and kidnapped Pauline. So Jumpman has to go and rescue her.
The reason that Jumpman was renamed Mario was at the time that Donkey Kong was being published in America. Nintendo was renting a warehouse to use as their headquarters from a man named Mario Segale. However Segale had gotten angry with Minoru Arakawa (Nintendo Of Americas President) because he wasn't paying his rent. Minoru promised Segale that his rent would be paid soon and in his kindness changed Jumpman's name to Mario (Named After Mario Segale).
From Carpenter To Plumber
Because of the "Video Game Crash" in 1983 Nintendo had to create a new game in the arcades. Their idea was to have a side scrolling style game with Mario in it. However they thought it wouldn't make sense to have him be a carpenter. So instead they changed his job to a plumber. Yet there was still something missing from the game. A sidekick alongside Mario. So Donkey Kong's creator Shigeru Miyamoto decided to give Mario a brother named Luigi. Which gave them a perfect idea on what to call their new game.
The Mario Bros
Mario Bros was released in the arcade in 1983. The game had you play as Mario or Luigi. The goal was to kill all of the enemies on the screen. The main enemies in the game were called Shellcreepers (Little Turtle-Like Monsters). In the game you have to go underneath the platform the Shellcreepers were on and hit it to flip them over on their back. Then all you need to do is touch them to kick them off the screen.
Mario Bros (Like Donkey Kong) was a smash hit in the arcades. And was ported on to many different consoles (ColecoVision, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ETC).
His NES Debut
Finally in America the "Video Game Crash" had occurred. People were fleeing away from the arcades. Donkey Kong and Mario Bros became obsolete to just about everyone. So in 1985 Nintendo decided to take their plumber out of the arcades and into their new NES game console. What happend next changed the history of video games as we know it.
The Mario Bros Become Super
Super Mario Bros was released packaged with the NES in 1985. Because of this new Mario game people played video games again. The game features the two plumbers Mario and Luigi once again. However they are no longer in the Brooklyn New York sewers. And are instead in a world known as the Mushroom Kingdom. The inhabitants of this world are called Toads who live under their ruler Princess Toadstool (Later Known As Princess Peach). However the princess is captured by an evil monster named King Koopa (Referred To In Later Games As Bowser).