The New NES

This article was originally printed in the October 1993 issue of Nintendo Power (Issue #53).

Why Mess With Perfection?

Having sold over 30 million units since it's introduction in 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is the most popular video game system in history. So you might wonder why Nintendo decided to redesign it. Nintendo wanted to create an 8-bit configuration for first-time video gamers that would also have an entry-level cost. Another reason was to make it easy for players to make use of the vast library of NES titles. At present, there are more than 700 NES games. You may find it surprising, but not everyone has played many of the classics like Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Mega Man, Castlevania, Double Dragon, Dragon Warrior, and dozens of other games that are just as challenging and fun as many 16-bit games. The new suggested retail price of $49.95 should make it easy for players to experience the classic NES.

A New Look

The old, box-shaped NES was designed in 1984 by Lance Barr, Nintendo of America's design engineer. At that time, the mission was to create a simple, clean-lined Control Deck. This time around, Lance began fooling around with a number of ideas including one Control Deck that looked like Mario's head. The final design, though, was sleek and sophisticated like a sports car. The most obvious change is that the Game Pak manually loads into the top. The new Controller makes use of angled buttons like the Super NES Controller and a rounded, easy-to-grip shape. The new look and narrow profile of the NES makes it an attractive companion to the Super NES.

Internal Changes

The insides of the new NES also changed. A more consolidated circuit board makes the unit simpler to assemble and repair. Gone are the A/V outputs and a number of components that have been combined into a single, custom chip. The Central Processing Unit and Picture Processing Unit - the real brains and brawn of the NES - remain unchanged. Another noticeable change is the absence of a port in the bottom of the unit.

Lance Barr, the Nintendo designer who created the new look for the NES as well as the original NES, wanted to simplify the system in many less obvious ways. One of those changes is in the way you load the Game Pak. In the original NES Control Deck, the spring-loaded mechanism that popped down to lock-in the Game Pak was expensive and could wear out with extended use or misuse. The new push-in/pull-out format eliminates those problems.

Benefits of Change

For less than the cost of most Super NES games, you can enter the worlds of Zelda or Mario or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Although the lion's share of game development these days is for the Super NES, many licensees continue to support new NES titles. Check out the list of upcoming NES games for the rest of 1993. Even more important to new video gamers is the number of games already available for the NES. This unmatched library contains action, adventure, sports, puzzle, RPG, and edutainment titles.

Classic NES Titles:

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Battletoads
Battletoads & Double Dragon
Metroid
Mega Man (I through V)
Castlevania (I through III)
Ninja Gaiden (I through III)
TMNT (I through III)
Dragon Warrior (I through IV)
Tecmo Super Bowl
Blades of Steel
Bases Loaded (1 through 4)
Tecmo NBA Basketball
R.C. Pro-Am
R.C. Pro-Am II
Kirby's Adventure
Tetris
Top Gun
Solar Jetman
Maniac Mansion
Super C
Contra
Final Fantasy
Nobunaga's Ambition
The Chessmaster
Crystalis
Donkey Kong
Blaster Master
Bionic Commando
Batman Returns

And hundreds more...

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