The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on July 15, 1983, as the Family Computer (Famicom),[note 1] and released as the redesigned NES in test markets in the United States on October 18, 1985, followed by a nationwide launch on September 27, 1986. The NES was distributed in Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia throughout the 1980s under various names. As a third-generation console, it mainly competed with Sega's Master System.
The Nintendo president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, called for a simple, cheap console that could run arcade games on cartridges. The Famicom was designed by Masayuki Uemura, with its controller design reused from Nintendo's portable Game & Watch hardware. The western model was redesigned by Lance Barr and Don James to resemble a video cassette recorder. Nintendo released add-ons such as the NES Zapper, a light gun for shooting games, and R.O.B, a toy robot.
The NES is regarded as one of the most influential gaming consoles. It helped revitalize the American gaming industry following the video game crash of 1983, and pioneered a now-standard business model of licensing third-party developers to produce and distribute games.[12] Several games released for the NES, including Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda (1986), Metroid (1986), and Mega Man (1987), became major franchises.
