NOW
YOU'RE
PLAYING
WITH POWER
A TRIBUTE TO
From playing card to
a hybride gameconsole
'Now you're playing with power' was the payoff Nintendo of America used for the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System. This payoff is still remembered by a lot of people who grew up in the eighties. Since the release of the NES, Nintendo released a lot of successful systems like the Gameboy, Nintendo DS & Wii. It's latest release, the Nintendo Switch, turns out to be the next big thing. I had trouble finding a nice timeline of all the consoles the company ever made. So I decided to create one, as a tribute to Nintendo. For their important role in videogame history.
Color TV-Game 6
Nintendo’s first game system that players could connect to their TV. Included six variations of Light Tennis, based on the then popular Pong. The two controllers of this first version weren’t detachable
1977
Game & Watch
A series of handheld electronic games, each featuring a single game. There were 59 variations produced between 1980 and 1991. Some versions had two screens, or were build like a tabletop arcade machine
1980
Famicom
Nintendo’s first console with swappable cartridges. The best selling video game system of its time. Home of the original Metroid, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros.
1983
Did you know? The name Famicom stands for Family Computer, emphasizing the difference with a personal computer
Nintendo Entertainment System
The US NES came with two gamepads, a R.O.B., a Zapper and the games Gyromite and Duck Hunt. The European NES included two gamepads, a Zapper and the games Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. The NES revitalized the video game industry after the video game crash of 1983.
1985
Did you know? The R.O.B. accessory later became a playable character in Mario Kart DS and several Smash Bros. games
Nintendo’s first handheld with swappable cartridges. Came as a standalone console or bundled with the popular Tetris. Near the end of it’s life cycle, the Game Boy became a very hot item thanks to the release of Pokémon
Nintendo Game Boy
1989
Did you know? The Game Boy was the first game console in space – a Russian astronaut played Tetris on it during his trips
Super Nintendo USA
The best selling console of the 16-bit era. Came bundled with Super Mario World. Included an advanced, pseudo-3D effect called Mode 7
1991
Did you know? In 1994 Nintendo released an accessory for the Super Nintendo that let you play Game Boy games on TV
Super Nintendo (Europe)
The European SNES had a rounder design and different power and reset buttons. European launch games included Super Mario World, F-Zero and Pilot wings. In 1994 Nintendo released Donkey Kong Country, with visuals that rivaled that of 32-bit competitors
1992
Did you know? In South Korea the SNES was released by Hyundai Electronics as the Super Comboy
Virtual Boy
1995
Did you know? The Virtual Boy was designed by the same Gunpei Yokoi that designed the Game Boy and Game & Watch series
A 32-bit table-top console with a red monochrome display. The first console capable of displaying stereoscopic 3D graphics. Only launched in the US, with Mario’s Tennis as a pack-in game
Nintendo Gamecube
The first Nintendo console to use optical discs as primary storage medium. Launched with Luigi’s Mansion. Supports online gaming via the broadband or modem adapter
2001
Did you know? When you turn on the GameCube with the Z button pressed on controller 1, you get a different startup sound.
Nintendo DS
This handheld featured two screens, the bottom one being a touchscreen. It became the best selling handheld to date. The system attracted a lot of new players with unconventional titles like Nintendogs and Brain Training
2004
Did you know? Prior to its release and success, the Nintendo DS was marketed as an experimental ‘third pillar’, meant to compliment the Game Boy Advance and GameCube
Nintendo 64
This 64 bits console was Nintendo’s first one dedicated to 3D graphics. Home to the 3D evolutions of Zelda, Mario and Donkey Kong. The four controller ports made it a great machine for multiplayer games like GoldenEye 007 and Mario Kart 64
1996
Did you know? In 1997 Nintendo released the Rumble Pak, an attachment for the controller that provided force feedback while playing games like Star Fox 64
Wii
The Wii caused a revolution by introducing motion controls into console gaming. Came bundled with Wii Sports. Introduced Mii characters and an TV like channels
2006
Did you know? In 2012 Nintendo released the Wii Mini, a smaller, cheaper version of the Wii
Nintendo 3DS
The successor to the Nintendo DS. Capable of displaying stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of special glasses. The 32 bits CPU made complex 3D games available for playing on the go.
2011
Did you know? Nintendo already experimented with 3D effects in the eighties, resulting in the Famicom 3D System
Wii U
The first Nintendo console to support HD graphics. The second screen on the controller offered new ways to play games. Backwards compatible with Wii software and controllers
2012
Did you know? When game data is transferred from Wii to Wii U, the icons of the transferred data are carried by Pikmin
NES Classic Edition
A miniature replica of the original NES. Including 30 built-in games from the NES library. Choose for an old school display or pixel perfect look
2016
Did you know? The Japanese version has 8 games that differ from the US and European version
Nintendo Switch
A hybrid of a handheld and a home console. Including two Joy-Con that can function as wireless controllers. The 16 cm LCD screen supports resolutions up to 720p
2017
Did you know? The cartridges for the Nintendo Switch have a ‘bittering agent’ coating, to prevent kids from accidentally swallowing them
SNES Classic Edition
A miniature replica of the original SNES. Including 21 built-in games from the SNES library. Distributed in three variations for Japan, the US and Europe respectively
2017
Did you know? The SNES Classic Edition includes the never before released Star Fox 2