Known as "Famicom" (Family Computer) in Japan, Nintendo's first console made its debut in 1983
in Japan and in 1985 in the U.S. It sold 500,000 copies in its first two months
in Japan. For its American debut, Nintendo desperately tried to get a partner for the system's release and had trouble convincing retailers
to carry the product after the "great video game crash" of 1984. In fact, it even tried to get Atari to help market the system. Instead,Nintendo opted to go it alone. After a successful late 1985 test-market debut in New York, with about 90,000 units sold, the NES enjoyed a nationwide launch in 1986. The company hired Worlds of Wonder
(maker of Teddy Ruxpin and Laser Tag) to help market the product. The system debuted in two varieties: One, a $249 bundle with R.O.B., the light gun, and three games
(Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and Gyromite). Two, a $199 bundle with Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. went on to sell over 40 million copies worldwide. In 1986, two competitors entered the market. Sega released its Master System and Atari released its 7800. By the end of the year, Nintendo emerged as the clear market leader,
outselling its competition by a ten-to-one ratio. In 1987, the NES had become the number one toy in America. The company also released The Legend of Zelda,
which became the first new generation home video game to sell over one million units. By the time 1988 arrived, Nintendo had steamrollered the competition, There were more than three million NES systems in American homes. Companies such as Atari took Nintendo to court,
claiming that Nintendo had a monopoly on the market. The NES game library grew to over 60 titles, and Nintendo owned 85% of the video game market worldwide. The exponential growth continued. In 1989 alone, Nintendo sold over 9 million systems and 50 million pieces of software. In 1990, Nintendo sold another 7.5 million systems and another
70 million games. Nintendo had successfully placed the NES in over 25% of American homes. The climax of the system's life cycle also occurred in 1990 when Super Mario Bros. 3 was released, becoming the best-selling, non-pack-in game of all time.
It was 1991 when the NES started its decline stage. Only 2.7 million systems were sold this year. The NES used to be the most popular video game system of all time -- that is, until Game Boy eclipsed it. Estimates place the NES at over 70 million units sold worldwide.
Surprisingly, Nintendo continued to support the NES sporadically until 1994. Now the NES is considered the spark that revitalized an entire industry.