In the early eighties, the video gaming industry was brought to its knees. It seemed that every man and his dog wanted in on the video gaming action. These fly-by-night cowboys flooded the market with mediocre products, subsequently leading to the great video games crash!
In the midst of the video gaming ruins, one bold company, Nintendo, had plans of their own. Undeterred, they were quietly tinkering away creating their own home video gaming system, the ‘Family Computer’ (Famicom).
Nintendo had offered Atari the rights to market, brand and sell the Famicom outside of Japan. Imagine if Atari had taken up Nintendo’s offer! They would most probably still be in business and not become a derelict company ripe for pillaging.
On this day (July 15) in 1983, Nintendo released (in Japan), what was to become a video gaming revolution, the Family Computer (Famicom). What happened after that, well, as they say, the rest is history. Happy anniversary to the Famicom, and thank you Nintendo for resuscitating the home video gaming market!
Vital Stats:
Released: July 15, 1983 (Japan)
Generation: Third Generation (8-bit)
CPU: Ricoh 2A03 8-bit (MOS Technology 6502 core)
Media: ROM cartridge
Retail Price: ¥34,800
Units sold: 61.91 million (combined Famicom & NES)
Vital Stats source: Wikipedia
