NES turns 30 on October 18

Gamers in the US are celebrating 30th anniversary of Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Exactly three decades ago on October 18, first home console of Nintendo was released in the US.

NES by Nintendo provided a platform to a number of classic franchises. There was a time when gamers love to play games like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros on the console. NES gave gamers many things to remember.

NES was originally released by Japan in 1983, but it took over two more years to get the first NES in the US. On October 18, 1985, the console was launched with just about $50 million test launch in New York City.

While talking about launch of NES in the US, Gail Tilden, who was Nintendo’s advertising manager during the time of its launch, said, “Mr. Arakawa really had this focus. His strategy was, if it’s going to work in New York, it will spread. He always had that sense that if Arakawa really believed in something; he really wanted to give it the biggest and best shot”.

The most surprising thing was that NES was launched in the US before Europe, which got retail version of the console in 1986. In the US game market, the NES was released with about 18 games, such as Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Tennis, Excitebike and Pinball. Japanese and European versions had more games like Popeye and Donkey Kong.

The console was launched in the US with an aim to get consoles in people’s home, but it started a revolution in the country.