Chapter 2.5

Nintendo Super NES (1991)

History

As the 1980s drew to a close, Nintendo was at the top of its game, easily dominating both the console and the new handheld market thanks to its Game Boy. While the Game Boy easily fended off all comers, the NES was feeling its age. Nintendo was losing ground in both Japan and America to NEC’s PC Engine series and Sega’s Genesis, respectively. The company was naturally reluctant to threaten its well-established NES with a new, non-compatible console. However, when Nintendo finally struck with the Super Famicom on November 21, 1990, it never looked back: 8-bit was dead.

The Super Famicom was designed by master Famicom creator Masayuki Uemura, who was brought back from retirement to direct its creation. ...

Get Vintage Game Consoles now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.