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Nintendo Entertainment System Turns 25

Posted by Soulskill on from the mine-still-works dept.

harrymcc writes "On October 18th 1985, Nintendo launched its NES console in the US, reviving a near-dead video game industry and establishing Nintendo as a leader in home consoles. We've celebrated with a roundup of some of the stranger spinoffs that the NES has inspired over the last quarter century, from odd controllers to a lock parents could use to disable the console to do-it-yourself projects like an NES built into a Super Mario cartridge."

164 comments

  1. Crazy... by grub · · Score: 4, Interesting


    I remember going to parties, getting pissed and stoned out of my tree, and playing NES with my buddies.

    Now we play some of the same old games on the Big Ass Emulation Disc for XBOX with the family. Minus the booze and drugs, of course. That's pretty impressive staying power for those games.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:Crazy... by PatHMV · · Score: 4, Informative

      God, I'm old. This was 5 months after I graduated high school.

    2. Re:Crazy... by Aquina · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yeah, but I disliked NES and rather chose SNES games like Terranigma, Zelda (3), Secret Of Mana, Secret Of Evermore, Illusion of Time and... oh yeah Battletoads in Battlemaniacs. ;-) Give Terranigma a try (http://www.romnation.net/srv/roms/43226/snes/Terranigma-G.html)!

    3. Re:Crazy... by Krau+Ming · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I never knew how old NES was... I was ~4 years old when my Dad came home with an NES and mario/duck hunt one day, and given my birthyear of '81, he must have bought it within the first year of release. I'm pretty sure that qualifies him as an old school tech geek...

    4. Re:Crazy... by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      I remember that Nintendo was much better than the Fairchild gaming system I had at the time.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    5. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Reminds me of Saturday night...

    6. Re:Crazy... by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Informative

      NES is actually older than the Summary suggests.

      The NES is simply the US version of the Famicom, which was released to Japan in 1983. Same hardware and specs; different plastic package. So it's really 27 years old now..... almost as old as a Commodore 64 or Atari 5200/Supersystem or Colecovision (1982).

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    7. Re:Crazy... by Hylandr · · Score: 1

      Oh FU you all geting old and all that.

      I was 13 when it came out. Blearg...

      - Dan.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    8. Re:Crazy... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      Maybe I'm Crazy...

      Or High...

      But how did Super Mario Bros turn 25 before the NES Turned 25?

    9. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not same hardware, Famicom had no Start and Select button on controller #2.

    10. Re:Crazy... by h4rr4r · · Score: 2, Funny

      When I played the NES the SNES did not exist yet.

    11. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

      SNES came much later and SNES didn't bandaid the western video game industry.

      Funny how you link to a ROM site when your home page is some open source software advocacy page behind the guise of a fictional video character's name of "J.C. Denton"

    12. Re:Crazy... by basotl · · Score: 1

      Released on the Famicon first.

      --
      HTC EVO 4G LTE w/ CM 10.2 | NookColor w/ CM 10.2 | Samsung Epic 4G w/ CM 10.1
    13. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My wife bought me an NES for my 26th birthday. It was the best birthday present I ever got. We stayed up 'til 2 or 3 in the AM playing link and mario even on work nights for a year. Got a controller and an emulator last year on the wife's computer and she played Super Mario 3 for months. Not past midnight anymore, though.

    14. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck, you really are old. Have you started telling people to get off your lawn yet?

    15. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the NES came out 6 months after i retired (@age 58)

    16. Re:Crazy... by lgw · · Score: 1

      I played Super Mario Bros as a coin-op arcade game long before I saw it on a console. Wasted a ton of quarters on it. I remember thinking it was far better than Mario Bros, which seemed like a particularly lame Donkey Kong sequel.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    17. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe I'm Crazy...

      Or High...

      But how did Super Mario Bros turn 25 before the NES Turned 25?

      The Famicom is older than the NES, and Super Mario Bros came out in Japan before the West.

    18. Re:Crazy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well, if you're missing those days -

      http://nintendo8.com/all/

    19. Re:Crazy... by Dreth · · Score: 0

      Curiously even after the Snes came out, I kept going back to the NES. Only Snes titles I can fondly remember are Beavis & Butt-Head, Mortal Kombat II, Super Street Fighter II and TMNT IV I think. The rest were on the good ole NES, classics like the Mario and Ninja Gaiden series as well as one-offs like Bionic Commando and Batman with their limited chiptunes were so beautiful.

      --
      All glory to Arstotzka!
    20. Re:Crazy... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I remember going to parties, getting pissed and stoned out of my tree, and playing NES with my buddies.

      I remember going to parties, getting pissed and stoned out of my tree, and having SEX with strangers.

      Unlike you, I can't really re-live those times with my family.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  2. up up down down by deviceb · · Score: 1

    b a select start

    --
    Kill your TV
    1. Re:up up down down by deviceb · · Score: 1

      oops forgot the left-right(s)

      --
      Kill your TV
    2. Re:up up down down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, I think it's law or something-- Konami law, if you will, that any time one recites the Konami code, it will inevitably be *wrong*

    3. Re:up up down down by mrnobo1024 · · Score: 1

      Not only that, but "select, start" isn't really part of the code. The full code is just up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A - once you've done that, you can press anything you want and you'll still get 30 lives once you start.

      "select" switches to 2-player mode (not necessary - the code works in either 1- or 2- player mode), "start" starts the game"

    4. Re:up up down down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whenever anyone restarts it as "b a start", it means they're a jerk who didn't play two-player mode.

    5. Re:up up down down by drcheap · · Score: 1

      I just enter the uuddlrlrba and then hit the power button because I know I'm going to beat the game anyway with all those lives.

  3. Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    In Soviet Russia, Mario plays YOU!

  4. wireless by snookerhog · · Score: 4, Interesting

    according to the Nintendo store in NYC, the NES was originally designed to have wireless (IR?) controllers. They have the prototype on display.

    1. Re:wireless by syphyre · · Score: 1

      And they did come out with a wireless unit later, the NES Satellite http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository/nes/peripherals/nessatellite.html Takes six C batteries :) (or was it D?...) Parents still have one. Works great. Just don't walk in front of it when my dad is trying to get that L block into place.

    2. Re:wireless by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Thanks to a lack of shielding in the original NES, I remember my friend's NES being played by remote from the basement. It's kind of disheartening, here you're trying to play a game of SMB and Mario keeps getting suicidally depressed and jumps into the nearest pit.

    3. Re:wireless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they did make a wireless infrared controller extender thingy. a friend of mine still has one from a hundred years ago.http://www.nesrepairshop.com/online_shopping/index.php?productID=314

    4. Re:wireless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had some of the IR controllers. They were(are) so bad that when wireless controllers came out for xbox and such I steered clear because of the nightmare of the NES IR controllers even tho I knew they are based on different tech.

  5. Sure makes you feel old by mirix · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I remember getting my NES for christmas when I was a child.

    Most of my favourite games are still from that era. New games seem to be missing some sort of soul... mind you, there were a lot of truly horrible games for NES too!

    --
    Sent from my PDP-11
    1. Re:Sure makes you feel old by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The thing is, games for the NES and that era were -made- to be abstract, when we got to the N64/PS1 era, developers started releasing "realistic" games which end up looking like crap when the next generation of games come out.

      Graphics were secondary to making an entertaining game, the game was developed with the concept first then the graphics followed and the graphics were what made sense. For example, the look of Mario wasn't developed to look like a specific person, but rather to compensate for the lack of advanced hardware. Today, developers take graphics first, take a storyline first, then let the game fill in the cracks.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    2. Re:Sure makes you feel old by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 1

      You knew it was going to be good if it had CAPCOM stamped on it.

      Bionic Commando had plenty of soul in its quasi-psychedelic militarily progressive rock soundtrack. It was also the only Nintendo game released in the U.S. to say the word "damn" (by Hitler^W Master-D!) and feature a close-up of an exploding head, complete with eyeball.

      Superb. Fond memories all around.

    3. Re:Sure makes you feel old by Labcoat+Samurai · · Score: 1

      This claim seems strange to me. What games back then do you think had soul? And what new games have you played that you felt lacked soul? It's a sort of nebulous concept, so I could benefit from some examples. Maybe some explanation of what gave those examples soul.

    4. Re:Sure makes you feel old by Captain+Spam · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This claim seems strange to me. What games back then do you think had soul? And what new games have you played that you felt lacked soul? It's a sort of nebulous concept, so I could benefit from some examples. Maybe some explanation of what gave those examples soul.

      I can explain it in two words: "Nostalgia filter".

      To add more words, there's really the same proportion of good games to bad games nowadays. That didn't change. But when you look at the past through the rose-tinted glasses of your own nostalgia, back to your memories of the carefree days of your youth with NES games right alongside them, it looks a lot better than your more recent memories of the cynical, stressed-out days of your adulthood with more modern games right alongside them.

      So, give it about ten or so years until we get the people who grew up on video game generation n (where n is some generation after the NES). We'll hear them wax soulful and philosophical about THOSE games, too, while deriding the current generation of the time. And then the cycle of life continues! Ah...

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    5. Re:Sure makes you feel old by Labcoat+Samurai · · Score: 1

      Well, yes, this is exactly what I thought was going on, too, but I figured I'd give him the opportunity to surprise me with a point of view I didn't anticipate :)

    6. Re:Sure makes you feel old by mirix · · Score: 1

      Well for me I think it was the fact that games could be very entertaining, while being horribly ugly and fitting in 64k of ROM. Brute and simplistic, yet I can't seem to put the controller down.

      Some of the games were truly epic, although they looked horrible, they kept you engrossed for weeks (dragon warrior was one for me). Others were ridiculously simple, but you could play them forever (tetris, dr. mario). Others were great for multiplayer compared to older systems (jackal, contra, etc.. lots of konami stuff... pretty groundbreaking for a home system.)

      I loved a lot of the music as well. Very simple (I think NES has one square, one triangle, and a white noise channel?) yet they managed to make it catchy and take next to nothing for rom.

      It seemed to me on say... SNES, the music got somewhere in between. It wasn't "real music" yet it didn't have 8bit primitive charm.

      Certainly some of it is nostalgia too, though.

      --
      Sent from my PDP-11
    7. Re:Sure makes you feel old by moortak · · Score: 1

      There is an aspect of gaming from that era that is missing now. There's no unified whole. At the height of the NES era everyone had the same system, got most of their game news from the same magazine, and shared a pretty similar experience. With three major systems, tons of magazines, and countless websites there really isn't that shared culture occurring.

      --
      Xavier Rabourdin for president 2012
    8. Re:Sure makes you feel old by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      Graphics were secondary to making an entertaining game, the game was developed with the concept first then the graphics followed and the graphics were what made sense. For example, the look of Mario wasn't developed to look like a specific person, but rather to compensate for the lack of advanced hardware. Today, developers take graphics first, take a storyline first, then let the game fill in the cracks.

      I think you're falling into the trap of comparing the classics worth remembering to the average game released today. Sure, any of the Super Marios for the NES were more fun than "Wii shovelware game #3406," but for my money, Super mario Galaxy is much better than even Super Mario Bros 3, and that's not just because it has better graphics and an extra dimension. Contra was fun back in the day, and I know this is even more blasphemous, but I actually prefer Halo 3 to it. Again, not just graphically. I'm sorry, I know it's wrong to like MS products and I feel like I'm betraying my generation, but that's how it is.

      Compare classics to classics or average shlock to average shlock and I think you'd have to agree that games have improved graphically, in terms of plot mechanics, game mechanics and features, and it's overall made better games.

    9. Re:Sure makes you feel old by Narishma · · Score: 1

      You're remembering things incorrectly. Graphics have always been a big deal in video games. I remember when the SNES first came out people were calling it's graphics revolutionary and realistic... It's not something new.

      --
      Mada mada dane.
    10. Re:Sure makes you feel old by phek · · Score: 1

      i can give you two answers. the first is that there may have been the same ratio, but there were a lot less games so when a good one came out, it was exciting.

      the second was that games then were short so they made games much harder. you had to become proficient at button combinations and knowing what was about to happen and the physics of the game. once you learned it for that game you felt a sense of accomplishment. with current games, your character just learns new skills so you can't just start the game over and be way better at level 1 than you were when you first started playing.

      Then there were games like zelda which didn't consist of a map (other than the realistic looking one that came with the game) there was cool shit hidden all over. So you just had to wander around aimlessly not really even having much of an idea of where you were in comparison to where you started until you played enough that you had a good map in your head. With current games you get a map and even though it may not be filled in to start, once it does start getting filled in you can tell, "oh well i need to go left 5 screens down 1 and i'm at that place where i get healed."

    11. Re:Sure makes you feel old by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I can explain it in two words: "Nostalgia filter".

      Or three: blue remembered hills.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    12. Re:Sure makes you feel old by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      I can explain it in two words: "Nostalgia filter".

      It's the same for movie buffs that compare Citizen Kane to Biodome, forgetting that comparisons could also be made between Spielberg and Ed Wood.

  6. Slashdot Turns 20 or Something !!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    time to call it quits, Slashbot. Your stories are old AND duplicated.

    Yours In Ufa,
    K. Trout.

  7. Mach Rider by Krau+Ming · · Score: 1

    Did anyone ever beat Mach Rider? I think that game just went on forever with increasing difficulty at each stage. And what was with the random super powers?

  8. No mention of R.O.B. by rwa2 · · Score: 1

    The robot was the only thing I remember from the early TV advertisements. No mention of it in TFA.

    Then I moved to Thailand and it was all Famicom... which seemed a lot sleeker at the time... smaller carts and integrated controller holsters. But Nintendo America knew their market wouldn't go for anything that didn't remind them of a VCR.

  9. Mine still works... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    And my original NES still works. My PS1 or first XBox, not so much.

    1. Re:Mine still works... by Applekid · · Score: 1

      Mine died about 2 months ago. :(
      Solid red light, blue screen with a "wave" of darkness creeping down screen. I found a schematic online but it's kind of hard to figure out where the problem is without a list of test points. I'm considering replacing the capacitors as a cheap and relatively easy thing to try before I give up and hold the funeral.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    2. Re:Mine still works... by twoallbeefpatties · · Score: 1

      And my original NES still works.

      Yeah, but do you ever have to blow on your PSX CDs? Hell, I remember the magical day when I discovered that rubbing a damp cotton swab over the contact of the cartridge would grant a +50% bonus chance of game operation. And just what was up with that blinking reset-button light?

      --
      Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.
    3. Re:Mine still works... by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      No, my PSX disks got scratched to oblivion after about a decade.

      Plus, I've never had a loading screen on an NES, with a PS1/2 I swear I've spent several days of my life looking at nothing but loading screens.

      If Nintendo decided to make a console without the lockout chip and a top-loading console like the NES2 or Famicom, things would have been a whole lot better for us retrogamers.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    4. Re:Mine still works... by ProppaT · · Score: 1

      I wish that blowing on a PSX disc worked. If so, I wouldn't have gone through 3 PSXs and 2 PS2s due to laser failure.

      In retrospect, its a shame we didn't know that blowing on the NES cartridges was actually making the situation worse instead of better. If we would have used a decent, non-harsh cleaning solution (not alcohol or ammonia) when our games started acting up, instead of blowing (which corrodes the contacts over time), the issue wouldn't have been nearly as bad. I have new pins in my NES and many of my old games won't play due to abuse (blowing and cleaning with rubbing alcohol too often).

      --
      Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
    5. Re:Mine still works... by tepples · · Score: 1

      If we would have used a decent, non-harsh cleaning solution (not alcohol or ammonia) when our games started acting up

      The manual for the NES Cleaning Kit actually recommends using diluted isopropyl rubbing alcohol when cleaning Game Pak edge connectors if water doesn't get all the gunk off.

    6. Re:Mine still works... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      The connectors get ever looser and eventually the NES lockout chip does not talk to the cartridge, thus the reset cycle. You can replace them easily and cheaply.

    7. Re:Mine still works... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually my NES, SNES, Sega, and N64 all still work. Just the PSX and XBox died.

    8. Re:Mine still works... by Applekid · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hey, it's already pretty good. The lockout inside the console is easily neutered (cut pin 4 on the DIP IC with "CIC" on the silkscreen), the cartridge connector -- while flawed -- is straightforward to repair and you can buy replacements for about $5, and the console can be opened up with regular old Phillips screwdriver.

      If it were made today, it would use security screws under rubber feet and labels, have a sticker about voiding the warranty, and disabling any kind of protection device would either brick it, make it impossible to play with more than one player at a time, or get you in trouble under DMCA.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    9. Re:Mine still works... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      You can clean up the contacts and lay down some solder if you they really act up.

      How are they not working?

      So far I have never had a game system die on me.

    10. Re:Mine still works... by mirix · · Score: 1

      I don't think alcohol should be a problem, it's what I clean circuit boards with all the time.

      The main flaw was... well kinda two fold. one was that the cart moved (quasi-ZIF, i guess), instead of being straight in, which reduces the self-cleaning aspect a normal edge connector (think ISA slot) has.
      The second flaw was that the connector in the NES didn't have gold flash/plate, just tin, which gets pretty ugly after 1000000 mate/unmate cycles. Realistically tin connectors are generally only rated for like.. 50 cycles, if that.

      I don't think famicoms had the problem, because of their straight-in cart. They didn't have the security chip either (blink... blink... blink...)

      --
      Sent from my PDP-11
    11. Re:Mine still works... by Toonol · · Score: 1

      Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.

      This apparent conflict goes away when you realize governments should be weaker than individuals.

    12. Re:Mine still works... by kehren77 · · Score: 1

      Same here except I never had a PSX or Xbox. My NES, SNES, Genesis, N64 and PS2 all still work. I'm pretty sure my TurboGrafx-16 still works too.

  10. Obituary != Birthday Card by Veggiesama · · Score: -1, Troll

    You don't really say, "My grandma turns 86 today" if she died 15 years ago.

    1. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unlike grandma, my NES still functions just fine.

    2. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't really say, "My grandma turns 86 today" if she died 15 years ago.

      I don't know what you're talking about. I've got a system next to my tv that still works perfectly fine.

    3. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by Sowelu · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Me and my roommates still huddle around it to play Mario. When the gray screen and flashing light got too prevalent, I went down to my local retro game store (more NES games than you used to be able to buy in the old days!) and picked up a brand new 72-pin connector, and replaced my old one. It works like it's new again, and I got some new games, too. Wizards and Warriors is hard. All my old battery games still work, and when I bought Wizardry used, it came with the last owner's dead party members in the dungeon still. I found them and hauled them back to the surface, and now they're in my party; it's almost like I was playing Shadows of Yserbius. My PS2 died. The only console I now own is my NES. Hell, it's the only thing I use my TV for since it doesn't get that new digital whatever (and I wouldn't watch it anyway). I beat both quests of Zelda on my NES while waiting on some long downloads and compiles over the course of a long weekend.

    4. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by Darkness404 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      ...Except for the fact the NES isn't dead or abandoned.

      Nintendo sells NES Roms for $5 a piece on the Wii, the NES still has a thriving homebrew scene, new versions of the NES/Famicom hardware shows up nearly daily from replicas of other systems made to con unwary buyers (PolyStation anyone?)to portable consoles.

      Just about every one of Nintendo's NES titles have gone on to spawn successful franchises the majority of which continue to this day (Mario Bros, Zelda, Punch-Out, Metroid, etc.)

      I don't think there has been an older system with as healthy of a community and such surrounding it. Just because Nintendo isn't churning out any more NES consoles doesn't mean the NES is dead.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    5. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by aldo.gs · · Score: 1

      Unless your grandma is John Lennon or something.

    6. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As others have mentioned, the NES isn't technically a dead platform, but I still got a chuckle out of this, and am not at all surprised you've been modded down. Better not mess with nerds and their nostalgic gaming. Everyone else in this thread is acting like the NES remains the pinnacle of gaming, and everything since represents selling out in some way. I can't count the number of times I've heard frothing idiots exclaim that games back then were all about *fun* and they didn't need graphics. Like "fun" is somehow a missing quantity in modern gaming. Modern games have all the elements of classic games and then some. The only reason to prefer the classic is nostalgia... I'm not even saying it's a bad reason. I do things for nostalgia as well. I just think it's patently absurd that people genuinely seem to think that games were better then than they are now.

      And in 25 years, presumably we'll have it happening all over again, only there likely won't be any working Wiis, PS3s, or Xbox360s floating around. But if you played a PS3 as a kid, you won't care about Zelda 1 or the original Super Mario Bros. Maybe you'll remember the good old days of LittleBigPlanet, back when games hadn't sold out and stopped being fun.

    7. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      >>>the NES isn't dead or abandoned.

      On the day when a console stops being manufactured on the assembly line, that's when it's dead. For example Atari 2600/VCS stopped in 1992. Ditto the C=64 computer. Off the top of my head, I recall NES ceased manufacture in 1996.

      Sure the games might still live-on via emulation, just like some people still drive Model T's, but the model has been retired from production.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    8. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by phek · · Score: 1

      I think i still have my self made maps of wizardry in some box somewhere from when i was like 10.

    9. Re:Obituary != Birthday Card by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      ...Except for the fact that NES consoles are still being made, just not by Nintendo.

      Take this for instance http://www.amazon.com/Retron-Genesis-Triple-System-Nintendo-Entertainment/dp/B003O3EFY2/ref=pd_sbs_t_4 it is a third-party NES, third-party SNES and third-party Sega Genesis (MegaDrive outside of the US). Or the "FC Mobile" a third-party portable NES ( http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Portable-System-White-Nintendo-DS/dp/B0027ESBCG/ref=pd_sim_sbs_vg_2 ).

      The NES is not dead because it is still being produced. It might not have the Nintendo name, it might not have the "toaster" design, it might not have identical controllers, but it still is a NES.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  11. Missing options by demonbug · · Score: 1

    U-Force. God, that thing was useless.

    Also - no power glove?

    Maybe I'm just confusing "strange" with "bad".

    1. Re:Missing options by kd5zex · · Score: 1

      "I love the power glove... It's so bad..."

  12. Mario vs. Duck Hunt by coolmoose25 · · Score: 1

    I never had any interest in the Mario Bros. game(s)... Everyone else seemed to though. I was perhaps the only one of my friends who really liked Duck Hunt. I LOVED that game! I only wish that you could have shot the dog when he laughed at you for missing.

    --
    Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
    1. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      Duck hunt was fun... till you eventually realized you could just shoot at a lightbulb and hit every single time.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    2. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by Unkyjar · · Score: 1

      This, I never realized...if this works I will tithe to you.

    3. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      You can just use a sheet of white paper if the room you are in is well lit.

    4. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by Unkyjar · · Score: 1

      These both sound like much better methods than my old 1 inch from the screen method.

    5. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by Dwedit · · Score: 1

      Duck Hunt does not work that way. If you watch carefully, the game displays a black screen for one frame before the white target appears. The zapper must see both the black screen as well as the white target.

      The zapper is constantly sending light information to the game regardless of whether the trigger is pulled or not. It's looking at the screens that happen after you pull the trigger, and the game processes that. Pulling the trigger does not send a "Hit" or "No hit" to the game.

    6. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by JDeane · · Score: 1

      Or turn the brightness of your TV way up, (was probably easier back in the day since most TV's used knobs.)

      At least thats how I did my cheating lol

    7. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > The zapper must see both the black screen as well as the white target.

      Maybe he had florescent lights? (They blink on & off really fast.)

    8. Re:Mario vs. Duck Hunt by JDeane · · Score: 2, Informative

      Nahhh the post your replying too was incorrect, the only thing Duck Hunt checked for was the brightness of the square thats all it did.

      The screen did not go black then black with a white square, all it did was go black with a white square in the position of the sprite you where shooting at, if your gun was pointed at one of the white squares when you pulled the trigger you scored a "hit" if it was in the black area it was a "miss"

      "The light detection flag gets set when sensing light emission from the display, ie. when the cathode ray beam outputs a bright color (preferably white) at the location where the gun is pointed to.
      Most video controllers are latching the current cathode ray beam coordinates at the time when the light detection flag gets set - that's not supported by the NES/Famicom video controller - it could be eventually implemented by software, ie. by counting the number of clock cycles between vblank and light detection.
      Otherwise, the following trick can be used: Output a black picture, with a white field at the desired target location, wait for 1-2 frames, then check the light detection flag to see if the zapper was pointed to the target area or not. The downside is that the normal picture cannot be displayed during that time, so one should check the zapper position only when necessary, ie. typically only at the moment when the trigger gets pulled."

      Pulled from a site that has way more information about the NES then most mortals need to know.

      http://nocash.emubase.de/everynes.htm

  13. Wait, what? by Chaonici · · Score: 1

    Didn't Super Mario Bros. (the original) turn 25 last month?

    Is the game really older than the console on which it runs?

    1. Re:Wait, what? by Trent+Hawkins · · Score: 1

      Yes, Mario was an arcade game first.

    2. Re:Wait, what? by mrnobo1024 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Only if you look at the release of each in a different country.

      July 1983: NES (actually, "Famicom") released in Japan
      September 1985: Super Mario Bros. released in Japan
      October 1985: NES released in US
      March 1986: Super Mario Bros. released in US

    3. Re:Wait, what? by mattack2 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, "Mario" the character was in an arcade game first. (Retroactively named Mario in Donkey Kong, where he was called Jump Man [exact case possibly incorrect].)

      However, *Super* Mario Bros. was not an arcade game first(*). "Mario Bros." was.. Where they were in the sewers, jumping into turtles and such from below, then walking over them so they'd go off the screen.

      (*) I think it was later. IIRC, there were NES-in-arcade-cabinet systems.

  14. The mark of good games... by Darkness404 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The mark of good games is when you can still pick up and play them 5, 10, 15 or even 25 years from now and they are just as good as the first time you picked them up.

    I can't say that many Xbox or PS1 games can say that. On the other hand, almost the entire NES library seems to be filled with examples that are just as fun today as they were back in the day without having to put on rose-tinted glasses of saying that this game was fun for its time.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    1. Re:The mark of good games... by CronoCloud · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's nostalgia talking, there was plenty of crap on the NES, and plenty of great games on the PSone.

    2. Re:The mark of good games... by syphyre · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I sense exaggeration. There are what, perhaps 20-25 games that could still be considered just as good today (if that many)? There were what, just under 800 games published in the US for the NES? Small sample selection. Same thing goes for the Xbox, PS2, SNES, etc. Huge libraries, few games that will last and last and last.

    3. Re:The mark of good games... by grumbel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The problem with the PSone, as well as most other 3D consoles, is that their graphics age extremely badly. NES still look quite ok, SNES games can even look pretty good, PSone games on the other side just look really ugly. Same goes for the controls, there is only so much you can do wrong in 2D with a Dpad, but in 3D things have improved a lot over the years and many PSone titles are borderline unplayable by todays standard, even the good ones.

    4. Re:The mark of good games... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're just playing the wrong PS1 games. Castlevania SotN is still kicking ass and taking names.

      But to be fair, that series did start on the NES...

    5. Re:The mark of good games... by nu1x · · Score: 1

      You are just a graphics whore.

      There is also artistic direction department, where few games today even touch something like Vagrant Story or Chrono Cross.

      --
      I have nothing to lose but my bindings.
    6. Re:The mark of good games... by QJimbo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There are plenty of PS1 games that are still very fun to play now. Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Tomb Raider are just some examples.

    7. Re:The mark of good games... by Fallingcow · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There are around 1000 NES games playable in English, counting fan-translation ROM patches. Maybe 1100.

      I just finished sorting through mine to weed out the ones that suck or that I'm otherwise not interested in (by which I mean I favorited the good ones and set my emulator manager to only show favorites--the things are so small that there's no sense in deleting any).

      Even being pretty aggressive in removing games--cutting the ones that were and are good on the system, but which exist in a better form on another platform (mostly arcade ports like TMNT:Arcade, for example) and damn near all the sports games, many of which were fine then but aren't something I'm going to play now (all of the football games got cut--Sega systems all the way for that--but a few other gems like Ice Hockey are so damn good that I couldn't cut 'em) I still only got it down to a bit over 130. Cut out some that few others like but that I left on because they're personal favorites from my days playing on an actual NES (like High Speed and To the Earth) and you're looking at a bare minimum of 100 English-language games that are best on (or exclusive to) the NES and are still fun to play.

      10% after 25 years in the US isn't so bad, IMO. Probably twice that many would have been considered top-notch back in 1993 or so when there weren't a lot of options on newer systems to displace NES games, and things like MAME didn't exist. I was surprised there were that many that were still good, personally; I'd never dug through the whole library like that before, and had assumed nostalgia was making the system better in my mind than it had been. It's no SNES, Playstation, or PS2 in the games-library department, but there are tons of good titles there.

    8. Re:The mark of good games... by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      About 100, actually. See my post upthread--I just finished digging through my NES rom library to weed out the crap, and couldn't get it under 130. Even if you had damn high standards (and I didn't tolerate the mediocre, mind you, nor games that are better on another platform) there's no way you're getting that number under 50, and even that would be tough.

    9. Re:The mark of good games... by xtracto · · Score: 1

      That's nostalgia talking, there was plenty of crap on the NES, and plenty of great games on the PSone.

      Note that GP is not saying otherwise. Oh how I hated those wrestling games (where nothing happened as you pressed the buttons).

      What GP is referring to IMHO is some of the good games that are so classic (SMB1, SMB3, chip'n'dale rescure rangers, Ninja Gaiden2 [IMO] etc) which a lot of people still play and enjoy.

      I am sure there should be some of those in other consoles, but even in Nintendo consoles, games (for me) became use-and-throw. I skipped 1 generation (N64) and when I finally got it, I tried playing Mario 64, Golden Eye and all that... but it was boring. (because the main appeal of the game were the graphics... and when I played them there were games with muuuch better graphics)

      --
      Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
    10. Re:The mark of good games... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

      I can't say that many Xbox or PS1 games can say that.

      Oh, I don't know. I just played through the first couple of Resident Evil games on the PSX. I suppose that's "not many" though.

    11. Re:The mark of good games... by don_carnage · · Score: 1

      I have to agree that Spyro was probably the best game series made for the PS1. The colors and textures pretty much blew everything else out of the water.

      --
      Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
    12. Re:The mark of good games... by Draek · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, almost the entire NES library seems to be filled with examples that are just as fun today as they were back in the day without having to put on rose-tinted glasses of saying that this game was fun for its time.

      True, but only because for most NES games "as fun as they were back in the day" means "not at all". I'll give the NES that one at least: all its horrid trash were at least readily recognizable as such, there were no Crysis back then that turned into generic crap only around the halfway mark.

      --
      No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
    13. Re:The mark of good games... by eharvill · · Score: 1

      Care to share your final list? I'd love to see it and possibly go back and play some that I might have missed. I have a gazillion ROMs, but only go back and play 15 or so personal "classics" from time to time.

      --
      At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend I don't care that you're not here with me
    14. Re:The mark of good games... by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      Sure. Mind you, I'm still slowly weeding some out, as I hadn't played a few of them before, so I judged them based on a minute or two of play and what I could find about them online. Some on the list are also personal favorites, and likely not to be everyone's idea of a good game--I'll mark those with an asterisk. There are (IIRC) two light gun games that won't work very well unless you've got some sort of gun-like pointer for your PC, or if you play them on a real NES hooked up to a CRT television, using a Zapper; I'll mark those with a dollar sign.

      Note also that many very good games didn't make the cut because they are ports of games that are better on another system, or because a good re-make has been done. Some that have been re-made are still on the list, generally because the re-makes are in some way inferior (the Mega Man games, for example, the first three of which were re-made on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive) or because the NES version is just that good or important (e.g. Contra).

      Sorry about the crap on each item, lameness filter was bitching about not having enough characters per line. Should be able to take the junk out in a text editor with find & replace; have it replace both "- asdf -" and "- asdfghjkl" with nothing.

      • - asdf -Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - Dragon Strike- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Adventures in the Magic Kingdom- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Adventures of Lolo (1,2, and 3)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Air Fortress- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Amagon- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Bad News Baseball *- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Base Wars- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Bases Loaded *- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Batman- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Battle of Olympus, The- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Battletoads- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Bionic Commando- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Blaster Master- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Boy and His Blob, A - Trouble on Blobonia- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Bucky O'Hare- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Castlevania (I, II, and III)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Caveman Games *- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers (1 and 2)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Clash at Demonhead- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Cobra Command- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Code Name: Viper- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Commando- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Conflict- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Contra Force- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Contra- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Crash n' the Boys: Street Challenge- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Crystalis- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Daisenryaku (Japanese)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Darkwing Duck- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Desert Commander *- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Double Dragon (I-III; II is by far the best)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Duck Hunt $- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Ducktales (1 and 2)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball *- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Earthbound Zero (A.K.A. Mother, Japanese)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Excitebike- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Famicom Wars (Japanese)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Faxanadu- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Felix the Cat- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Final Fantasy I & II (Japanese, single cartridge)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Fire Emblem Gaiden (Japanese)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -G.I. Joe- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Getsufuu Maden (Japanese)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Ghoul School (not sure about this one, but seems interesting)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Golgo 13 - Top Secret Episode- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Guardian Legend, The- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Gun Nac- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -High Speed *- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Hudson's Adventure Island (I-III)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Ice Climber- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Ice Hockey- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Ike Ike Nekketsu Hockey Bu - Subette Koronde Dai Rantou (Japanese) *- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Immortal, The- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Jaws- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Joy Mech Fight (Japanese)- asdfghjkl
      • - asdf -Jurassic Park- asdfghjkl
    15. Re:The mark of good games... by eharvill · · Score: 1

      ROFL. Thank you for the list, there are many of my personal favorites on there; will definitely have to check some of these out that I've never played. Sorry you had such a pain posting them. :(

      --
      At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend I don't care that you're not here with me
  15. NES In a Cartridge Design Flaw by uzd4ce · · Score: 1

    I thought it was very interesting -- nice and compact, although now I wonder if you'd have to blow it to get the whole system to work instead of just a rogue cartridge... (yes, i know the real problem was with the contact fingers wearing out and no longer making contact....)

  16. 1mod Up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    again. there Are

  17. To Celebrate by rakuen · · Score: 1

    We should all play a nice, relaxing round of Battletoads.

    ...guys? Where are you all running off to? Come back!

    1. Re:To Celebrate by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Damn, that was the hardest game ever.

      Does the hovercycle thing actually ever end?

    2. Re:To Celebrate by JDeane · · Score: 1

      Yes the hovercycle level does end.... I did manage to beat that game but holy hell it required you to sacrifice your life and memorize large patterns of precise timing!

      I am not sure if its harder then Ninja Gaiden, thats another game that was "Nintendo" hard.

    3. Re:To Celebrate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I never understood why people hate that level so much. It's only level 3 and with a little memorization it's nothing.
      There are many levels coming after it and they're much harder...

    4. Re:To Celebrate by moortak · · Score: 1

      Fuck Ninja Gaiden. That game stole way too much of my life.

      --
      Xavier Rabourdin for president 2012
    5. Re:To Celebrate by JDeane · · Score: 1

      lol yeah I am one of the few people who managed to beat that game back when it was new, it was hard so very very hard...

      Oh and by beating Ninja Gaiden I mean I was able to beat it like 5% of the time.... Even knowing how to do it and having the skill did not guarantee a win.

      I wish I still had my VHS tape of me beating it... yeah I was so obsessed I would video tape my video games and analyze them looking for mistakes. (I was a creepy little kid... lol)

      That last boss was not right, it had to have been designed by Satan or some other hell spawn.

    6. Re:To Celebrate by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Ninja Gaiden was easier. I actually made it more than two levels into that.

    7. Re:To Celebrate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can only recommend you to watch some of this on Speeddemosarchive.com

  18. Awesome by Stargoat · · Score: 1

    That's awesome. Someone gave the NES a chastity belt!

    --
    Hoist Number One and Number Six.
  19. Near-dead video game industry? by ZXDunny · · Score: 1

    I'm confused by the phrase "near-dead". I distinctly remember back in 1985 seeing masses of new game releases from some of the real great publishers of the day, released in stores up and down the country. Nothing was "near-dead" at all - the Commodore 64 and Sinclair Spectrum were really going well, and looked unstoppable. Was this "near-dead" thing a US problem, or worldwide? I have some of my fondest gaming memories from 1982 to 1989. I'm talking about the UK of course.

    --
    10 PRINT "SCUNTHORPE"(2 TO 5): GO TO 10
    1. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      It is a myth that was generated because the Atari 2600 finally died, and many of the big chain stores had huge amounts of money in Atari 2600 cartridges. This was compounded by several big companies trying to introduce their own systems and being completely trounced by the C64. The video game crash was a lot like the internet crash. A bunch of people jumped in with low value offerings, and lost money on it while the high value offerings continued to grow at the same rapid pace.

    2. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by pandrijeczko · · Score: 1

      I think we in the UK (and Europe) had things slightly different to the USA & Japan.

      I do remember a few people having systems like NES & the Sega Master System, but most people (myself included) had the ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64.

      I don't think I've ever played a Mario game more than a few minutes - it's not that I didn't enjoy it but games like Mario & Sonic The Hedgehog just were not ported to 8-bit computers in great numbers; my memorable games were Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, the Ultimate games (Jetpac, Jetman, Sabre Wulf, etc.) and, of course, Lords of Midnight.

      I went from the Spectrum to the Amiga but I think, by that time, the consoles had started to take hold in the UK - that's why the SNES & Mega Drive were a lot more popular here than the NES ever had been.

      --
      Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
    3. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by pandrijeczko · · Score: 1

      Not wishing to sound like a fanboi but in the UK, the ZX Spectrum was about the biggest selling games platform with the Commodore 64 a close second & the BBC Micro in third place.

      I recall Spain had a big ZX Spectrum user base also but for the rest of Europe it was mainly the C-64, though I know the Russians and parts of Eastern Europe had their own version of the Spectrum - the Hobeta??? - as well.

      --
      Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
    4. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Captain+Spam · · Score: 1

      Was this "near-dead" thing a US problem, or worldwide? I have some of my fondest gaming memories from 1982 to 1989.

      I'm talking about the UK of course.

      Was a US-only problem, as I understand it. Once everyone, their brother, and their dog had to jump on the video game bandwagon (there was even a time when Quaker Oats, a grain company, wanted a video game division), store shelves were filled with crap games (retailers couldn't tell the difference) that never sold and took space from potentially good games that never got a chance to sell, and the whole thing soured everyone on this side of the pond to video gaming enough that it knocked video games out of stores entirely.

      Then along comes a small Japanese electronics company with R.O.B., claiming that it's a toy, not a video game console (so really, R.O.B. was a trojan horse), and the rest is history. Well, that and a rather draconian policy of content control to stave off the same too-many-games glut from happening again, a policy which many would argue they held on to for WAY too long, but still.

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    5. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      >>>It is a myth that was generated because the Atari 2600 finally died

      Sorry. Not a myth. For whatever reason* consumers lost interest in videogame consoles, and Christmas 1982 barely sold any games at all. 1983 was even worse. It killed Mattel's Intellivision, killed Colecovision, and almost killed Atari 2600, 5200 and 7800 too. You can read more about it on Wikipedia if you search for 1983 Videogame Crash.

      In 1984 the game console market was considered as "dead" as pinball. Then came the Japanese Nintendo & Sega companies in 1985-86 who revived it.

      *
      * One theory is people bought computers instead of consoles.
      * Another is that it was just a side effect of the 1982-83 economic recession - people stopped spending money on "toys" like game consoles.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    6. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Hatta · · Score: 1

      The video game industry is to be considered different than the computer game industry as far as the video game crash is concerned. Home computers becoming affordable and powerful alternatives to consoles is one big reason the video game crash happened.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    7. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      Yes, the OP asked if video games were near dead in the US. That is the only market I was really talking about.

    8. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      The C64 was where people were playing video games in the 1983. Video games where not dead, and trying to draw a line between console gaming a computer gaming is silly at best since you could put keyboards and floppy drives on many of the consoles, and you could put cartridges in many of the computers.

      While Wikipedia is frequently a very good source of information, in this case, it is simply wrong. The 2600 was killed by the C64, and the Colecovision/Intellevision/5200/7800 never really caught on. I was there, and I can tell you that there were more games being released than anyone could play.

    9. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by retrorogue · · Score: 1

      As someone who was there as well, and has actually taken the time to research market figures and reports, I can say hogwash. The c64 had very little impact on the 2600, what it had an impact on was Atari's 8-bit computer line. Two completely different markets. Likewise the 2600 was never killed, Atari Inc. and Atari Corp. continued to have and rely on strong 2600 sales. In fact when Atari Corp. found the magic price point of $50 in the Christmas season of '85 (the same time the NES was being test marketed) it came to dominate the low end console market during the NES/7800/SMS's lifetime. And likewise, none of the consoles had "floppy drives". A few had simplistic keyboard/computer "expansions" if you could call it that. Coleco's Adam was a standalone computer that was also sold in a CV "attachment" model that simply used the CV for it's A/V out As for the Intellivision never really catching on, sales during it's lifetime would say otherwise. It was the number 2 player behind Atari. Atari's issue was simply it's dual management with Warner. Warner management often superseded Atari's own management, and made decisions to ignore warehouses full of stock and the overcrowded console market and 3rd party games market to falsely create higher stock earnings for itself. It was a bubble that burst. This first signs of what had been going on appeared to the public in early December of '82, foreshadowing the market wide crash that was to come when most of the video game industry also suffered big market value dips after Atari's announcement Interestingly, it was a problem Morgan could have rectified with NATCO if given a chance.

    10. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by retrorogue · · Score: 1

      That is correct, as far as in regards to them being different industries. That's a myth though as far as them being the major reason for the market crash. Atari was 80% of the market when the crash first started, so when Atari imploded over a year and a half period, investor confidence in the market as a whole also declined - especially when there had been constant calls by some in the financial market that video games had just been a fad and a bubble waiting to burst. Atari's implosion had more to do with it's dual management with Warner, caring more about it's own stock prices vs. Atari's long term viability.

    11. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      there was even a time when Quaker Oats, a grain company, wanted a video game division

      While that does seem strange, take note that Nintendo itself was originally a playing card company. They too had bizarre businesses. From wikipedia:

      By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel.

      Also, Mitsubishi sell/sold cars & VCRs. Aren't those about as disparate as a grain company wanting a video game division?

    12. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by thyrial · · Score: 1

      Spot on , For a good chunk of the 80's video gaming in the states WAS the NES basically. But for us Europeans in the console wars the Sega Master System was neck and neck if not ahead of the NES, given that it was cheaper , had slightly better looking games and in a lot of places you couldn't buy the damn NES anyway, The big N did feck all to promote the system here or bother with any kind of competitive pricing cos as well all know Nintendo hates Europe:) Oh and in Britain and Ireland anyway home computers hoovered up most of the games market :The C64 , the (overrated ;)!) ZX spectrum, the Amstrad CPC and the Atari 8 bits were probably more widespread than the consoles.

    13. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by ZXDunny · · Score: 1

      I dunno, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that for me and my social circle at least, the video gaming industry was thriving during those years with the only problem being how a teenager with limited income could actually find the cash to spring for the many fantastic games produced during the "crash" for the C64 and Sinclair machines that we owned. It's well worth taking a wander through the magazine archives at www.worldofspectrum.org for that period to see just how many games were produced which were worth playing for the spectrum alone (I assume that the C64 had similar publications). Each month there were more and more, sometimes more than thirty new games with reviews over 75%. That doesn't seem to represent a video-game crash to me, unless we're only talking about consoles and the companies that solely supported them - home computing (as opposed to video games) was taking off in a very big way and had a very healthy market here in the UK.

      --
      10 PRINT "SCUNTHORPE"(2 TO 5): GO TO 10
    14. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by retrorogue · · Score: 1

      It was a US crash, had nothing to do with the UK.

    15. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by commodore64_love · · Score: 0, Troll

      >>>Video games where not dead,

      Right. People just write multi-page articles about things that never happened? I guess this article I'm about to quote is an ILLUZIONS and doesn't exist? You're probably one of those NUTTERS who thinks the moon landing enver happened either, or that the Dot-Com Crash of 2000 is mythology. Dumb fuck.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_video_game_crash_of_1983

      The '''North American video game crash of 1983''' (sometimes known as the '''[[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] Debacle''' or the '''video game crash of 1983 and 1984''' because it was in that year that the full effects of the crash became apparent to consumers) brought an abrupt end to what is considered the [[History of video game consoles (second generation)|second generation]] of console video gaming in North America. It almost destroyed the then-fledgling industry and led to the [[bankruptcy]] of several companies producing [[home computer]]s and [[video game console]]s in [[North America]]. It lasted about two years, and many business analysts of the time expressed doubts about the long-term viability of video game consoles. The video-game industry was revitalized a few years later, mostly due to the widespread success of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES), which was released in North America in {{vgy|1985}} and became extremely popular by {{vgy|1987}}.{{cite journal |author=Consalvo, Mia |year=2006 |title=Console video games and global corporations: Creating a hybrid culture |journal=New Media Society |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=117-137 |doi=10.1177/1461444806059921 |url=http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/8/1/117 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080228191914/http://intl-nms.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/8/1/117.pdf |archivedate=2008-02-28 |format=PDF}}

      There were several reasons for the crash, but the main cause was supersaturation of the market with hundreds of mostly low-quality games.

      == Causes and factors ==

      The American video game console crash of 1983 was caused by a combination of factors. Although some were more important than others, all played a role in saturating, and then imploding, the video game industry.

      === Plethora of games and consoles ===
      At the time of the US crash, there were numerous consoles on the market, including the [[Atari 2600]], the [[Atari 5200]], the [[Bally Astrocade]], the [[ColecoVision]], the Coleco Gemini (a 2600 clone), the [[Emerson Arcadia 2001]], the [[Fairchild Channel F|Fairchild Channel F System II]], the [[Odyssey 2|Magnavox Odyssey2]], the [[Mattel]] [[Intellivision]] (and its just-released update with several peripherals, the [[Intellivision II]]), the [[Sears]] Tele-Games systems (which included both 2600 and Intellivision clones), the TandyvisioN (an Intellivision clone for [[Radio Shack]]), and the [[Vectrex]].

      Each one of these consoles had its own library of games, and many had large third-party libraries. Likewise, many of these same companies announced yet another generation of consoles for {{vgy|1984}}, such as the [[Odyssey3]], and [[Atari 7800]].{{cite news| last = Taylor| first = Alexander L. III| title = Pac-Man Finally Meets His Match| publisher = Time Magazine|date=1982-12-20| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923197,00.html| accessdate = 2006-12-04 }}

      Adding to the industry's woes was a glut of poor titles from hastily financed startup companies. These games, combined with weak high-profile Atari 2600 games, such as the [[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (video game)|video game version]] of the hit movie ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' and an [[Pac-Man (Atari 2600)|infamous port]] of the popular [[arcade game]] ''[[Pac-Man]]'', seriously damaged the reputation of the industry. Finally, Atari's market-leading [[Atari 2600|2600]], now in its sixth year, was starting to approach [[market saturation|saturation]]

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    16. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      >>>While Wikipedia... is simply wrong.

      Even if we assume wiki is wrong, there's TONS of other references. Google finds *several million* of them. So are these millions of writers (plus the FACT Mattel, Coleco, Atari were bankrupted) are completely wrong? And a solitary /. dude is right? Suuuuuure.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    17. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      The US was in the same boat as the UK. There may have been a few companies that tried to jump into a thriving market and failed at the attempt, and people were shifting from Atari to C64, but that doesn't mean that there was a video game crash. Particularly from a user point of view.

      When the Atari Jaguar, 3DO, and Sega Saturns flopped, while the Genesis and SNES started to fade, it wasn't a "crash" either, although it was a very similar situation. Playstation took over, just as the C64/Spectrum did in the early 80's.

    18. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      So, the C64 and Spectrum never existed? There was no Commodore? The Vic-20 was introduced in 1980, and with the introduction of the upgraded C64 in, suprise, suprise, 1982, there was a huge shift from the Atari to the C64. With the C64 being an open platform, it no longer required a huge company to bankroll game development, and a slew of new developer entered the market.

      It only looked like a crash because the huge companies that were required for the economics of cartridge only systems lost money, while independents took their customers.

      Wikipedia can also verify the existence of the C64. Google will also find several million references to the huge library of games released in 1982-1983.

      Urban myths happen. The Video game crash is one of them. Once they take on a life of their own, people start looking at whether they are plausible or not.

      If there was a crash, how do you explain the C64? And don't forget the TI-99/4A which sold almost 3 million units during the so called crash and existed almost solely during the so called crash Q3-1981 through Q1-1984.

    19. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      One product name. C64.

      No doubt there were some painful financial situations for companies that picked the wrong horse in the video game industry, but the shift from large corporate controlled primarily cartridge based systems to more independent primarily tape and disk based systems doesn't make it a crash.

      If everybody switched to Linux tomorrow (I know that isn't going to happen), and Microsoft went under, that wouldn't be a "PC crash". The same is true for when people went form Atari to C64. Most of the other systems you mention were only blips on the screen anyway.

    20. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by theaveng · · Score: 1

      The Apple II and Atari 400/800 were released in 1978 and 79 respectively.

      If computers were the cause, why didn't the game consoles crash in 1979? Also if cartridge-based game consoles were "obsoleted" by these new home computers, why did NES go on to sell twice as many units as the Atari 2600 (60 million versus 30 million)? Your theory has a lot of holes that don't stand-up to examination.

      --
      FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
    21. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Belial6 · · Score: 1

      Because the Apple II and Atari 400/800 were not the dominant gaming platform at the time. The Atari 2600 was. In '83 the C64 became the dominant gaming platform. Later the NES became the dominant gaming platform. What part of that is difficult to understand, or is a "hole".

      And since you don't seem to know it, the C64 was also a cartridge based system. The difference between "console" and "computer" has always been more marketing that technical.

    22. Re:Near-dead video game industry? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Nokia originally produced paper, and later on (after the turn of the 20th century) Rubber boots.

  20. did this make anyone else feel really old? by PJ6 · · Score: 1

    I loved the Nintendo but christ, 25 years? Has it been that long?

  21. That was only the test release by NotSoHeavyD3 · · Score: 1

    They didn't do the full US release until Feb/Mar of 86. (Before that they only place you could get it was NYC or LA.) Also back then no internet so no going on the web and having one shipped to you.

    --
    Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
    1. Re:That was only the test release by retrorogue · · Score: 1

      Little off on that. February was first the LA test release, it was not available in LA before that - just the NY area test launch. Interestingly according to some of the press covering the Winter CES, word from retailers in the NY area was that the NY test market was a failure. The LA one obviously did better. The actual official national launch of of the NES was in Sept. of '86, though they slowly started spreading it to other major cities over Spring and Summer.

  22. Mario Bros. for the WIN! by BMAPARTS · · Score: 0

    Oh Super Mario, You never get old :)

    --
    Need Auto Parts? Check us out here! http://www.bmaparts.com
  23. Most ported game of the 8-bit era? by pandrijeczko · · Score: 1

    Did the NES have Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy ported across to it? It was on just about every 8-bit computer platform.

    I'd probably hedge my bets on "Elite" being ported to more platforms than any other game, though it was strictly a non-console game due to the number of command keys needed.

    I'm scratching my head to think of any titles that appeared on the consoles & computers as well - maybe Bobble Bubble or New Zealand Story?

    --
    Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
    1. Re:Most ported game of the 8-bit era? by pandrijeczko · · Score: 1

      Don't forget also that there were a large number of 8-bit computer platforms, many with tiny user bases - ZX Spectrum, Commodore Vic-20 & C-64, BBC Micro & Electron, Oric 1 & Atmos, Dragon 16 & 32, Texas Intruments TI-99, Camputers Lynx, and possibly a couple more that escape me for the moment.

      --
      Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
    2. Re:Most ported game of the 8-bit era? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There was an official commercial version of Elite for the NES.
      I have the UK PAL cartridge here.
      The control system works surprisingly well.

      "The best way to re-experience the feel of 8 bit Elite is to run the NES (Famicon) version using an emulator. " -Ian Bell

    3. Re:Most ported game of the 8-bit era? by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      >>>"Elite" being ported to more platforms than any other game, though it was strictly a non-console game due to the number of command keys needed.

      "Strictly" a non-console game?
      Elite does exist on the NES console.

      As for most-ported game it's probably "Ms. Pac-Man" which exists on all 3 Atari consoles, possibly Jaguar too?, Intellivision, Colecovision, all the 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit computers of the 1980s, plus the NES, PS1, N64, PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    4. Re:Most ported game of the 8-bit era? by Dwedit · · Score: 1

      Elite was ported to the NES, but it was only compatible with the PAL NES, since that had more draw time than the NTSC NES. In order to work on a US system, the bottom 50 scanlines would need to be blanked out to get the same amount of draw time. (approximate)

  24. Speaking for all the Sega folks out there... by avatar139 · · Score: 1

    ...Bah, wake me up when Sonic turns 20 next year! Meantime to all the new youngsters playing on your Wii's, quit Duck Hunting on my Lawn!

    --
    I'm honest enough to admit I lie to myself.
  25. Down memory lane by Paspanique · · Score: 1

    Ahh the memories!

        I was 10 years old and the only looser who's parents bought him the Sega master system. Sure, hand-on & safari hunt, alex kidd or wonder boy were good games for a 10 years old, but finding someone to trade or just talk about a game was painful. The seemed to have all the fun!!!

    --
    I don't have an intelligent phone, so I need to be.
  26. Famiclone by tepples · · Score: 1

    PolyStation

    On the day when a console stops being manufactured on the assembly line, that's when it's dead. [...] I recall NES ceased manufacture in 1996.

    Nintendo no longer makes the NES, but third-party Famiclones are still manufactured. Your mileage may vary on the quality, however, especially as to sound and compatibility with some of the later titles such as Castlevania 3 and Koei's turn-based war sims.

  27. So many pages by The_mad_linguist · · Score: 1

    The articles is split across fourteen pages.

    Seriously, who thinks that's a good idea?

    1. Re:So many pages by CityZen · · Score: 1

      The guy who sells their advertising?

  28. So Texas Instruments isn't the only Dairy Maid? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Milking the old crusty hardware onto Americans in the form of a TI-85 Graphics Calculator, only they are 13 years behind the JAPS. This only proves that countries that have been irradiated by US Navy nuclear bombardment only repeat the same dogshit over time. So does this prove that Texas Instruments was nuked also some time ago, like how the prior Slashdot article said US almost nuked itself like 5 times in mishandling the transport of nuclear-tipped missiles and bombs?

  29. I *bought* mine. by Darth_brooks · · Score: 1

    My NES was the first thing that I can really remember saving up my money for. Allowance money, xmas cash. At my 7th birthday I so happy to be able to tell everyone that I had finally saved enough to get the box....only to get a bunch more cash from relatives that knew I was saving for it. So in a way it kinda muted the whole idea of saving in the first place, but with the extra cash I was able to get the add on Power pad too.

    I never should have sold that set. Or Zelda, 1943, Pinball, Donkey Kong jr, or any of the other slew of shitty, snark fodder games that I had that had meaning to me. "Don't sell your NES." That's actually on my list of "stuff i'd go back in time and tell my younger self." Forget all that stuff about lousy girlfriend's, super bowl winners, and chicks that you need to go out of your way to make a pass at. I've seen enough scifi to know about altering the time line. But having that box. That specific box, not the one I picked up years later, that would mean something to me. I *bought* my NES.

    --
    There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
    1. Re:I *bought* mine. by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      Hahaha, same here--with the regretting selling, I mean, not with the saving to buy it on my own.

      I've considered picking up a new one--probably a toploader, an upgrade from what I had--but I'm not sure it would be the same. The worst part is the controllers, since I just know any I'd get now wouldn't quite feel right, and my Zapper was a known-good one, while any I'd buy used would be likely to have calibration issues.

      I even forgot to copy my best High Speed score that I wrote on the top of the machine, from that time I managed to run through the machine's "story" twice in one game, and well through a third one before I lost my last ball. Damnit. Gone forever.

      I hate to think what a complete copy of Crystalis, including the box and its big, nice manual in good condition would run, and I wouldn't even bother to buy that game without the manual.

    2. Re:I *bought* mine. by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 1

      The worst part is the controllers, since I just know any I'd get now wouldn't quite feel right...

      You fool! You sold the controllers? My well-maintained NES MAX is my oldest possession, and I have every plan to be buried with it. Having lost everything else in a fire, I have managed to preserve the controller.

      In truth, its touch is as comforting as an old friend's voice, and I am considering shelling out for a NES-USB adapter. After all, we seem to be in the dark age of video game controllers, when the d-pad has become forgotten technology from a golden age. Curse you, decalibrated analog joysticks and blind spots in 3d camera systems.

      Thanks for 25 great years, NES. Oh, and also for being my friend when I was growing up in the bible belt in the 80's and was too strange for any carbon-based life form to befriend. ;)

      As for you, you controller-seller... I can think of no punishment more fitting than contemplating what you've already lost.

    3. Re:I *bought* mine. by Theoboley · · Score: 1

      I hate to think what a complete copy of Crystalis, including the box and its big, nice manual in good condition would run,

      9.99 on ebay at the moment. everything included, in good condition.

      --
      Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
    4. Re:I *bought* mine. by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      After all, we seem to be in the dark age of video game controllers, when the d-pad has become forgotten technology from a golden age.

      There are Wii Classic Controller to USB adapters. I haven't used the old style classic controller (the one that looks like an SNES controller) but the new model is possibly the best controller Nintendo's ever produced. It's that good. Excellent D-pad.

      It's a shame it isn't the Wii's default input device, or at least more common and capable of attaching to the Wiimote so it could be used in games that require motion controls but still need a real controller, like NSMBW. The Wiimote is awful for stuff like that, an ergonomic nightmare with too-small and weird-feeling buttons.

    5. Re:I *bought* mine. by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      Holy crap. Well, maybe I will rebuild my collection...

    6. Re:I *bought* mine. by Theoboley · · Score: 1

      If you need a link, i'll post it quick. let me know

      --
      Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
    7. Re:I *bought* mine. by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 1

      I purchased the classic controller, and was dismayed to find that, on many Virtual Console titles, the A and B buttons are mapped in alphabetical order, rather than the classic "b to the left of a" layout, as seen on the authentic NES controller*. How Nintendo could have screwed this up is a question that keeps me awake nights... of course they provide no option to remap the buttons, either.

      End result: Even after I pay the nintendo tax (buy the Classic controller, re-purchase Super Mario Bros. 3), I still get worse results than playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on the wii port of FCEU.

      Also, while I have no complaints with the d-pad on the classic controller, the all-convex buttons are an absolute downgrade from the "x and y concave, b and a convex" scheme found on the original SNES controller, which allows greater tactile feedback.

      *-Yes, I know the classic controller is labeled the same as the SNES controller, but lo and behold, when you boot the Virtual Console version of SMB3, you have to hold 'A' to run and press 'B' to jump. An abomination!

  30. http://www.jerseys-2010.com by amanda5211 · · Score: -1

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  31. That explains alot actually by NotSoHeavyD3 · · Score: 1

    I mean I think I originally got my NES in the Boston area in March of 86. But after I got it no new games came out for months. As I remember it I didn't see any new games until the September'ish so what you say makes a whole load of sense.

    --
    Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
  32. Duck Hunt by flyingkillerrobots · · Score: 1

    Just last week I found myself playing Duck Hunt briefly, for the first time in probalby around 18 years. Is there any equivalent sort of game on any other system? I don't see how that genre could have possibly been a dead end.

    --
    "It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations..." -Winston Churchill
    1. Re:Duck Hunt by damagemanual · · Score: 1

      Just last week I found myself playing Duck Hunt briefly, for the first time in probalby around 18 years. Is there any equivalent sort of game on any other system? I don't see how that genre could have possibly been a dead end.

      If you're talking about light gun games in general.... PS1(?) and PS2 both had Time Crisis and Point Blank (a Great game) The Wii has the House of the Dead series. I seem to remember the Dreamcast having a fair amount of shooters on it as well. Not sure about the PS3 but I've yet to see anything for the Xbox360 (or a gun for that matter)