Could This be the Best 80s Console Ever?
There have been many game consoles over the years, some were simply better than others. However, every now and then during this decade a real humdinger came along. What you might call a game changer.
The console we are going to look at today certainly changed the game, and also had a huge impact upon how we play games in general. Much of what happened when this console came out has been viewed as ground breaking and innovative, but the one key thing that made it big was it’s obvious hints at the future of home gaming.
Way before the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) came out, there was an initial version, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Now, the NES was no SNES, but it held clues as to what the SNES would one day become. It also had a fantastic range of games on it, which may look poorly realised graphically today, but were certainly viewed as the cutting edge of home gaming entertainment back when the NES was released.
What games were on it?
This is the key question, because we feel that the NES, more than any other console around at the time, had a wide range of easy to enjoy titles. These titles included games that we are still playing today (albeit in different incarnations). For example - and it’s a pretty good example if we may say so ourselves - the console had the very first iteration of Zelda on it. That’s Zelda, the game that garnered awards all over the place, critical acclaim and endless rave reviews. It was even voted Guinness World Records highest rated video game in history. It became a huge franchise on the Nintendo platform over the years and even today has millions of fans across the globe.
You’re also looking at original versions of Mario games, which in itself is a fantastic thing, and a true indicator of the quality of the console. But perhaps the biggest game to come out on the NES (it has seen more remakes, spin offs, TV shows and films made off the back of it than any other game) was Final Fantasy. This game is currently still being played worldwide, and the title itself has slipped into legend for anyone who has ever picked up a Nintendo controller.
So how did it do?
Well, the NES was simply one of the biggest consoles of the 80s. But it has achieved much more than that, and anyone who says it doesn't have some form of influence today is ignoring the cold, hard facts behind the sales figures.
If you want to know just how popular the NES was as a console, bear in mind that, in total, the unit has sold over 62 million individual machines since it was first released. We’re talking about a console here that has sold more units than the population of the United Kingdom. And that's an amazing feat.
The NES was truly a ground breaking piece of kit, and it was probably also the first console to have a peripheral that was effectively a sewing machine (to allow users to make Nintendo themed designs).
There aren't many consoles out there that have that sewing machine brag, but there aren't many consoles that can say they introduced the world to Zelda either.
About the author
Zeeshan Mallick
Co-Founder of SuperRetroGamer.com
