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Nintendo Pioneer Talks NES Phenomenon

Posted by simoniker on from the mario's-box-of-tricks dept.

Thanks to Video-fenky for his article translating a recent Famitsu interview with Hiroshi Imanishi, former executive director of Nintendo, about the original launch of the Famicom/NES console, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last week. The Famicom wasn't immediately well-received, according to Imanishi: "We were the new kid on the block, and a lot of places said to us 'We've already seen Donkey Kong in the arcades and on the Game & Watch! You're putting it out again?'" He also describes how the trademark NES controller almost never came to be: "...during development the majority of Nintendo wanted to include a regular joystick with the system. However, during that time, we made the first multi-screen Game & Watch, and we introduced the control pad so you wouldn't have to keep on glancing at your hands while you're playing the game"

18 comments

  1. I love Mario by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    do-do-do, do-do DO-do!

    do, do, do, do, DO-do-do,

    do-do-DE-do-de-do-de-do-da-do

    etc.

    Whoever made that original Super Mario Bros. music is a genius, absolute genius.

  2. Donkey Kong by sofakingl · · Score: 2, Informative

    As far as I can remember, Donkey Kong was better in the arcade. The NES version lost 2 of the original levels.

    1. Re:Donkey Kong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      IMHO, donkey kong was far more better in the game & watch

    2. Re:Donkey Kong by DaBj · · Score: 1

      I might be biased (beeing a collector and all), but the Game & Watch Donkey Kong was the best IMHO. =)

      --
      "GNU's not Unix....it's Linux" / Kami "kokamomi" Petersen
    3. Re:Donkey Kong by AndyBusch · · Score: 4, Informative

      Almost. The NES version only lost one level (the pie factory). The 2600, Intellivision, etc versions also lost the elevator level. In the earliest NES games, they hadn't figured out how to use memory mappers to access larger amounts of data, so the earliest games were incredibly small. All those early carts (even through Zelda and Metroid) dump to about 40 k.

      The NES was an incredible feat, though. Since it only used a bit of internal hardware, it then relied on large amounts of processor in the cart. That's why it's so hard to emulate the console. By contrast, only a handful of SNES games (Super FX games, and Mega Man X 2 and X 3) have any processing hardware in the cart.

    4. Re:Donkey Kong by Tuzanor · · Score: 1, Informative
      By contrast, only a handful of SNES games (Super FX games, and Mega Man X 2 and X 3) have any processing hardware in the cart.

      Most of the games that came out in the last 2 years of the SNES lifetime had procs in the carts, the FX chip is the most famous, but the most well done ones were the Donkey Kong Country games. It's still amazing they pulled those off on a 16 bit system, though they prolly had interesting processors in them. I wonder what the specs of them were and how much power a cartridge was allowed to draw...time to google!

    5. Re:Donkey Kong by edwdig · · Score: 3, Informative

      Zelda 1 and Metroid were both 128k roms. In Zelda, notice that when you're in the levels, only certain combinations of enemies are possible. You'll never see Stalfos and Wizrobes in the same level. That's because the enemies are stored in seperate memory banks.

      Remember the bug in Metroid that allowed you to access "hidden areas" ? Get caught in a door, mash up & down repeated on the control pad, and you'd work your way thru the wall into the room above or below you. It would look different, but it would really be nearby areas of the map, but the graphics data of the room you started in would still be mapped in.

    6. Re:Donkey Kong by AndyBusch · · Score: 1

      Oops. You're absolutely right. Those were also the first games to use the vertical scrolling, as I recall. Metroid at least had to switch between vertical and horizontal scrolling at a bubble door, which is why that bug works (those were the areas where the scrolling switched).

  3. Toy? by TripleA · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, thet wanted the machine to look like a toy, didn't they? To take a step away from all the coputer wannabee videogames of that era. So they made the controls non-changeable and the colors very silly.

  4. if only they had used a joystick... by gl4ss · · Score: 2, Funny

    as default controller.. how many thumbs could have been saved!

    the nes arcade style stick controller that nintendo sold too was _very_ good imho especially for games like tmnt2(the arcade conversion), the 'flying stick' kind of a stick(stinger??) that nintendo sold sucked ass though imho, mostly because digital sticks like that just suck major ass.

    --
    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    1. Re:if only they had used a joystick... by phaze3000 · · Score: 1

      I can't disagree more, the Nintendo d-pad is probably the greatest gaming invention of the 80s. The arcade stick you refer to was actually manufactured by ASCII IIRC, although badged as Nintendo.

      --
      Blaming GW Bush for the Iraq war is like blaming Ronald McDonald for the poor quality of food.
    2. Re:if only they had used a joystick... by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      it was a bit of a joke(the post), the arcade stick was very good still, but the biggest gist i got about the d-pad is that it wasn't very friendly on the thumb during long, sweaty gameplay sessions, or the controller in general(sharp edges), the snes controller shows that they understood the problem though. the nes's controller was 'ok', but it wasn't _good_, also, the controllers broke easily(too thin wires, they broke near the controller) but this was a common problem with all 1980's controllers i know...

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    3. Re:if only they had used a joystick... by AvantLegion · · Score: 1
      You're talking about the NES Advantage.

      I have one of those. It was nice for some games, but for many, I found it to be useless. It's kludgy and not very responsive.

  5. Its all about the buttons by DrWho520 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I never had a problem with the d-pad. In fact, I much prefer it over an atari style joystick. The buttons, on the other hand, were murder. When I got my SNES, I was overjoyed at the convex buttons. That was a well designed gamepad. Something I never appreciated was the convex and concave buttons and how I always new exactly where I was on the pad by the feel. I still have trouble with a PS* controller today. All the buttons are exactly the same!

    I just got my GCN the other day (and promptly stayed up till 10 AM on Zelda) and was instantly hooked on that controller. Well, I guess 20 years of console building experience will do that for you. If Ninetendo ever goes the way of the SEGA, not only will they be able to continue on as a software designer, they could make some kick-ass peripherals as well.

    Here's hoping for another 20 years!

    --
    The cancel button is your friend. Do not hesitate to use it.
  6. What is up with the unicode text? by aphexbrett · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Anyone else getting a ? (should be unicode character with a questionmark inside a diamond) after the intro text? Maybe it's just me, but that kinda jumped out.

  7. Yes by AllenChristopher · · Score: 1
    Koji Kondo.

    Mind-bendingly brilliant. Note that his work is critical to all of Miyamoto's biggest hits, so he's critical to the Nintendo experience.