Nintendo Entertainment System: Difference between revisions

The Famicom was planned to be released in the {{wp|United States}}, and the initial planning was for {{wp|Atari}} to distribute the system in America, with Nintendo of Japan receiving a royalty check for every unit sold. While Atari and Nintendo were enthusiastic about the deal, Atari eventually backed out of the deal entirely due to a skirmish between {{wp|Coleco}}, Atari, and Nintendo for the home computer and console rights for ''[[mariowiki:Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'', and Atari's dire financial state during the [[wikipedia:Video game crash of 1983|video game crash of 1983]]. As a result, Nintendo had to market and distribute the American Famicom themselves. <ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/Phoenix/duITAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Phoenix:%20The%20Fall%20and%20Rise%20of%20Videogames</ref> To the chagrin of Nintendo, American retailers were adamant about not selling any video game system ever again because of the crash of 1983. To remedy this, the system was redesigned multiple times to appear more like a consumer electronic device on the behest of the president of Nintendo of America (NOA for short) at the time, {{wp|Minoru Arakawa}}. The name for the American Famicom was originally the Advanced Video System, with multiple prototypes of the system being showcased throughout various electronic trade shows in 1984 and 1985. The device was conceived to have multiple applications, with several add-ons for the console being a tape deck/data recorder, a piano keyboard, a joystick, a programmable BASIC cartridge, and a typewriter keyboard. <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3VzlMR29qcDVVNHc?resourcekey=0-spwTMki9kcex7Yh2pEXf5Q</ref> The system was touted as less of a toy and a video game console and more as a high-end revolutionary entertainment system capable of "images that actually appear three-dimensional". It was also touted as being the first system to be "designed to fit in with other fine audio and video components", the first system "that allows play of music as well as games", and the first system that was "more than a toy". <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3V3dlRVBLbVJIZ3M?resourcekey=0-8RMGGPSO_UBdoOhcjUa7GQ</ref> The Advanced Video System (or AVS) also came with two infrared wireless controllers, (the AVS was meant to have no wires for the system and its applications at all, the only wires for the AVS being the ones that would plug the "cartridge controller" into the wall and into the television. <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3V3dlRVBLbVJIZ3M?resourcekey=0-8RMGGPSO_UBdoOhcjUa7GQ</ref>), and a sleek and futuristic "Light Wand", which could be used as a "Light Gun" in target games such as the hit Famicom game ''{{wp|Duck Hunt}}'', which was also showcased at the events along with the Famicom titles ''[[wikipedia:Baseball (1983 video game)|Baseball]]'', ''{{wp|Excitebike}}'', ''[[wikipedia:Golf (1984 video game|Golf]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Tennis (1984 video game)|Tennis]]'', and ''{{mw|Donkey Kong Jr. Math}}''. NOA's sole marketing staff member {{wp|Gail Tilden}} also announced that the AVS would come with 25 launch games <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3VzlMR29qcDVVNHc?resourcekey=0-spwTMki9kcex7Yh2pEXf5Q</ref>, with the AVS itself supposedly launching in June. <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3VzlMR29qcDVVNHc?resourcekey=0-spwTMki9kcex7Yh2pEXf5Q</ref> An article also claimed that Nintendo stated that "a wide range of software would be marketed for all age levels" <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3VzlMR29qcDVVNHc?resourcekey=0-spwTMki9kcex7Yh2pEXf5Q</ref>.

However, the potential retailer's receptions at the various trade show events were lukewarm at best; while they enjoyed the system and its titles, they saw through the AVS being a high-end entertainment system and saw it for what it really was: another video game console that had a very high probability of crashing and burning in a market that had excised new video game consoles and titles from it only a scant year earlier. As such, they were extremely skeptical of its chance at success in the U.S. and refused to place any orders, with additional critiques going out to the keyboards and infrared controllers on the basis that children would hate them. <ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/gxyXUi336egC?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj535fUuLGAAxWlMEQIHXLFBxYQre8FegQIAxAY</ref> In response, Nintendo decided to create a trojan horse that would bring the AVS into the homes of American children and would make it appear more of a toy and a uniquely sophisticated futuristic electronic device rather than have it bear the stale and damaged perception of video game consoles in general; a robot buddy accessory named R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy), who could play Famicom titles like [[wikipedia:R.O.B.|Robot Gyro]] and [[wikipedia:R.O.B.|Robot Block]] (Gyromite and Stack-Up in the U.S., respectively) alongside you as a second player. The trade show adverts by Nintendo highlighted R.O.B. and his functions in particular: "He's the star of a new entertainment system that's programmed to make you rich." <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3bjc5NDV2YnVXajg?resourcekey=0-zSsoHfeaeakZqr0c9EPULg</ref> While the robotic persona reportedly "worked like a charm" to drive intrigued visitors to Nintendo's booth <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20051124042223/http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/nes20th/</ref>, R.O.B. was merely a marketing gimmick, and retailers saw through the pretense of a robotic buddy (R.O.B.'s original name was OTTO, a play on the word "auto"; however, Gail Tilden settled on the name R.O.B. instead <ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=VuA7DQAAQBAJ</ref>) and still did not advocate for the system's American release. Despite Nintendo of America's staff calling R.O.B "hysterically slow" and it being difficult to make the sales-pitch "exciting", most of the staff agreed that the robot was indeed "cool" and that "it was fun to play! But again, like Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, I wouldn't want to do it for 40 hours", according to product designer [[wikipedia:Don James (executive)|Don James]]. <ref>https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/10/19/in-their-words-remembering-the-launch-of-the-nintendo-entertainment-system</ref> Simply put: it could fulfill its mission as a trojan horse for the AVS (probably). The AVS itself also underwent several changes in response to the 1984 CES reception: the tape deck/data recorder, the keyboards (both musical and typewriter), the programmable BASIC cartridge, and the joystick were all removed from the fray, leaving only the console, its controllers (now with wires), R.O.B., and the "Light Wand" (now the Light Gun). The number of launch games for the AVS decreased from 25 to 20 games, and then down to only 18, which were hand-picked by Nintendo of America warehouse manager [[wikipedia:Howard Phillips (consultant)|Howard Phillips]] on the basis of what games would be the most fun for an American market. <ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/Super_Mario/9_JvDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0</ref> The AVS's name was also changed to the Video Entertainment System (or the VES). <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3WWlZS3RwWEZWY3c?resourcekey=0-ARjdobY9nq0UzqSAeZu5ag</ref> In addition to the changes to the VES itself, Nintendo began intensely centering the VES's marketing around R.O.B. on the front of advertisements and other promotional materials for the VES, believing him to be the epitome of the NES's futuristic and sophisticated marketing skew which continued until mid-1986.

In the face of continued opposition from American retailers, the VES was changed into its final design around June 1985 <ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/gxyXUi336egC?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj535fUuLGAAxWlMEQIHXLFBxYQre8FegQIAxAY</ref>, with the console, controllers, and the Light Gun (now the NES Zapper) undergoing major cosmetic and functional changes, with R.O.B. receiving only minor differences in coloration and structuring. The VES's top-loading cartridge acceptance, like the Famicom, was removed, and replaced with a side-loading deck system similar to a VCR device. To support the new side-design, the VES became significantly less sleek and refined and more angular and blocky. The VES controllers' flat directional pad was changed to a plus sign-shaped D-Pad, which was brought over from the Famicom controller. (Another thing to note is that the NES's controllers both contained START/SELECT buttons and the first-player controller did not include a microphone throughout all of its designs, unlike the Famicom's controllers.) The console's color aesthetic remained mostly the same, though the light/dark gray and black color scheme received more prominent red highlights throughout the design. The launch line-up was whittled down from 18 to 17 games, with two being included with the console: ''{{wp|Duck Hunt}}'' and ''[[wikipedia:R.O.B.|Gyromite]]''. The NES Zapper was also changed from an angular and detail-barren gun to a more simple and practical design, with the words "Nintendo Zapper" being emblazoned on the side of it. The words "Nintendo Entertainment System" were also emblazoned on the deck flap of the NES console itself in red, to reflect the console's newest and final name. (The POWER and RESET buttons also had their words in red.) The NES cartridges and boxes were also changed: To fit the console's side-loading cartridge function, the NES cartridges were changed from being squat and rectangular-shaped like the Famicom cartridges and were instead redesigned to be tall and long. (Later NES games could take advantage of this by upgrading its hardware inside the spacious cartridge shell.) The boxes were also designed to be longer than the cartridges themselves in order to show more detail on the boxes regarding the game; a single block of styrofoam was packaged in the box so the cartridge and other materials wouldn't move around an excessive amount inside the box. This was all done to make the games seem more like {{wp|VHS}} tapes, which played into Nintendo's "entertainment system' marketing strategy. The boxes also displayed game-accurate graphics on the front to avoid misleading customers on the game's graphical capabilities; Nintendo felt that Atari had erred by showing lavish paintings of the games on their game boxes. And finally, the NES console would be packaged with two controllers, ''Duck Hunt'' and ''Gyromite'', the Zapper, and R.O.B. in a bundle that would retail for the price of $130. <ref>https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3RXVMcVBfZTdjeUk?resourcekey=0-VCsIJ69_Dtcct8MGPBikJA</ref> Despite these changes, the reaction at the trade shows did little better to encourage retailers to place orders; in addition, a focus-group test showed that children hated the console, with a typical 8-year-old's reaction being: "This is s**t!" A solemn Arakawa had to be reinvigorated by Yamauchi, who told Arakawa: "Try to sell the system in one American city. Then, if it fails, it fails. But we must get it into the hands of the customer. That is the only test that matters." After consideration between Arakawa and other Nintendo of America heads, Yamauchi decided to release the NES in {{wp|New York City}} first, as it would be the most difficult place to sell NES systems in: it had been hit the hardest by the 1983 crash, and its buyers were among the most "cynical" and "savvy" buyers in the U.S. Yamauchi then granted Nintendo of America a budget of $50,000,000 to get the job done. <ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/gxyXUi336egC?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj535fUuLGAAxWlMEQIHXLFBxYQre8FegQIAxAY</ref>