Nintendo Entertainment System: Difference between revisions

The NES received multiple accessories throughout its lifetime, beginning with the NES Zapper and R.O.B., which were both bundled alongside the system in October 1985. The NES Zapper functions as a light gun, which could play NES titles like ''[[wikipedia:Gumshoe (video game)|Gumshoe]]'', ''{{wp|Duck Hunt}}'', ''{{wp|Wild Gunman}}'', and ''[[wikipedia:Hogan's Alley (video game)|Hogan's Alley]]''. The NES Zapper functions as a receiver: when the finger trigger on the Zapper is pressed, the game causes the entire screen to become black for one frame. On the next frame, all valid targets that are on screen are drawn all white as the rest of the screen remains black. The Zapper detects this change in light level and determines if any of the targets are in its hit zone. If a target is hit, the game determines which one was hit based on the time of the flash, as each target flashes for one video frame, one after another. <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NES_Zapper</ref> The Famicom version of the NES Zapper, titled the Light Gun, was a near-perfect replica of an old-style western revolver (even releasing alongside a Light Gun holster individually for sale). While this was perfectly acceptable in Japan, American concerns over the misidentification of a realistic toy gun and the regulations surrounding toy weaponry led to the design being completely redone in the U.S. by NOA designer Lance Barr <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NES_Zapper</ref>, with the Light Gun becoming a sleek, futuristic "Zapper". <ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/Power_Up/VuA7DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0</ref> The NES Zapper would also be bundled along with other NES system sets, including the NES Action set, the most popular NES system bundle in the console's history.

The NES was also bundled with R.O.B. the robot in 1985, a battery-powered accessory to the NES system that could purportedly play games alongside you on the system. A seeming cross between {{wp|R2-D2}} and {{wp|E.T.}} <ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/Power_Up/VuA7DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0</ref>, R.O.B. functioned by using a series of flashing LED lights emitted from the TV set during the games ''[[wikipedia:R.O.B.|Gyromite]]'' and ''[[wikipedia:R.O.B.|Stack-Up]]'' to manually maneuver round objects to place on plastic parts connected to a standard NES controller, acting as its inputs. R.O.B. was short-lived, as he merely served as a trojan horse to get the NES into American homes, but he helped to give the NES a beginning, which led to the system becoming an American phenomenon only a year later. Along with being bundled with the NES system, [[ROBSTANDALONE.webp|a standalone R.O.B.]] was also released in 1986, which was released alongside [[BIGBOXGYROMITE.jpeg|a big box version of ''[[wikipedia:R.O.B.|Gyromite]]'']] that contained the R.O.B. attachments included in the 1985 set. The standard (and only) ''[[wikipedia:R.O.B.|Stack-Up]]'' release also contained a set of colorful gyro blocks, which could be used by R.O.B. to play ''Stack-Up''. In short, you could acquire R.O.B. and all of his accessories in two ways: you could purchase the October 1985 bundle/NES Deluxe Set and ''Stack-Up'', or you could purchase R.O.B., the big box ''Gyromite'', and ''Stack-Up'' individually. The same R.O.B., Stack-Up, and Gyromite bundles were released for the Famicom in Japan as well, with R.O.B. having the same maroon and cream color scheme as the Famicom; this would later be present as an alternate color option in R.O.B.'s subsequent [[sw:R.O.B|''Super Smash Bros.'' appearances]].