Nintendo: Through the Ages

By Sam Leitch

Come with us as NZGamer takes a trip down memory lane. Ahhh memory lane...

If there's one thing that separates Nintendo from its current competitors, it's the company's history in videogames. Seeing that Nintendo plans to capitalise on this fact soon with the Revolution's ability to play all Nintendo games, its only appropriate that NZGamer takes a look back at some of the products that made Nintendo, and gaming for that matter, what it is today.

We'll just be looking at a few of my personal highlights; otherwise we would need an entire run of features to even scratch the surface of the company's history. Many people don't realise Nintendo have been involved with many products well before videogames were invented. We will start though with what would be my own personal introduction to the wonderful world of Nintendo.

1980 - Game and Watch

Simple LCD games that often featured two separate screens that the action would take part on. Many of Nintendo’s popular NES games would later get Game and Watch conversions. All of the games were simple and limited but very addictive. Today Game and Watches are collectors’ items that will often fetch good amounts of money if in good condition.

1980 - Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong is a Nintendo milestone for a good many reasons. It was Shigeru Miyamoto's first game and it was the game that spawned Nintendo's biggest franchise, Mario. no one had seen a game like it before and it was a run away success because of it. Donkey Kong would go on to appear on every system available back in the day.

1983 - Famicom (1986 NES is released worldwide)

The NES has to be the most important part of the Nintendo timeline. No one thought the console would be big after the fall of Atari's game consoles, but not even Nintendo themselves could have guessed at how popular this system would soon become. The NES reenergized the console market, well over 60 million were sold which still makes it one of the most successful systems ever to this day (and the market was a lot smaller in those days). Without the NES there is no doubt gaming would be nothing like it is today.

Whilst the NES was originally designed for single screen games, Super Mario Bros changed everything and did things the system was never designed to do. The NES had many landmark games that spawned popular genres and gameplay ideas for the first time. The Legend of Zelda would be the first stand alone game to break one million sales (Super Mario Bros doesn't count as it was included with many NES consoles).

1989 - Game Boy

The little system that could, the Game Boy was another system by Nintendo that changed gaming forever. The original Game Boy had a difficult to see monochromatic screen and was relatively underpowered. Even though many competitors would release more powerful systems with colour displays, the Game Boy's "weak points" however turned out to be its main advantage. You see the Game Boy had much better battery life than its competitors due to the monochromatic screen and what's the point of a portable system that runs out of batteries almost instantly?

An insane amount of games were released for this system and Nintendo dominated the handheld market. Later on the Game Boy was released in multiple colours before being re-released smaller and with a clearer screen as the 'Game Boy Pocket'.

1990 - Super Famicom (Super Nintendo)

Nintendo's 16 bit machine would have to be overall my favourite. Whilst the titles available for this as a whole weren't as revolutionary as NES games perhaps, the gameplay was refined and the games were often more playable.

The Super Nintendo was a powerful piece of kit back in the day and had hardware powered special effects that gave it an edge over Sega’s MegaDrive. Transparent sprites and mode 7 scaling really were the icing on the cake of some already fantastic looking titles.

1995 - Virtual Boy

Nintendo’s only system that has really flopped. The system fell well below Nintendo's estimated sales, selling less than 50,000 units in Japan. Monochrome graphics didn't help matters at all; neither did stories of eye damage or migraines. Very few games were made for the system, what most people don't realise is that a couple of these games were actually very, very good. Wario Cruise for example is a fantastic follow up to the popular Wario World game on the Game Boy and is much better than the newer Wario games released on Game Boy systems.

1996 - Nintendo 64

Ok, so the Saturn and the PlayStation had featured '3D graphics' for a while before the N64 was finally released. For me though, the N64 was the first system to do 3D properly. The launch games (in NZ), Mario 64, Wave Race and Pilotwings were unlike anything seen before and offered an amazing amount of freedom for the time.

The Nintendo 64 also has a well-earned reputation for being a party machine. Coming with four controller ports built into the system helped, but it was games such as Goldeneye, Super Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers that made us of the feature that spawned so many 'all-nighters'. I'm sure we all have stories about spending our weekends shooting caps in each others asses in Goldeneye...

1998 - Game Boy Color

As previously mentioned, many competitors released colour handhelds, but no one but Nintendo themselves could better the original Game Boy. The Colour version was more powerful and of course featured colour graphics. Backwards compatibility ensured a broad range of titles was available for the system. Unlike competitor machines the Game Boy Colour still managed an impressive battery life span. Several popular Game Boy games such as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening were re-released in colour with extra features.

2001 - GameCube

Nintendo's current generation console. Whilst in some countries, like New Zealand, sales didn't do exceptionally well, the system for the most part has been a success and features a strong library of exclusive titles. Like the Super Nintendo, the GameCube has had more refinements of games from the last generation than it has wholly original ideas. The system is now available cheap and offers some solid additions to your favourite Nintendo franchises.

2001 - Game Boy Advance

A 32-bit upgrade to the Game Boy brand. The Game Boy Advance is once again backwards compatible with all Game Boy games and features a larger 'widescreen' than the older models of Game Boy. The faster processor means that more complex games can be played on the system, although the Advance can push simple 3D games, the system has been home to most of the recent 2D style games. Again many classics have been ported to the GBA meaning you can now take updated versions of your favourite games with you to the bathroom.

The GBA SP is an updated model that features a rechargeable battery, a fliptop design that protects the LCD screen, and most importantly a screen you can see in the dark!

2005 - DS

Whilst the DS may look like a Game and Watch, the technology inside is significantly more powerful. Graphically the games look somewhere between the N64 and the GameCube which although impressive is not quite up to par with it's competition, the PlayStation Portable. Will battery life again save Nintendo's machine? Only time will tell.

Either way, a DS is a recommended pick up as it has a touch screen that some games use better than others, Nintendo's own games usually being the most imaginative. The DS is destined to get quite a few quirky titles that you will only ever see on this system.

2006 - Revolution

The Revolution is the next big thing from Nintendo. Again, the big N seem to be making steps away from the rest of the crowd, but will they alienate the mainstream? We hope that Nintendo will once again rock the gaming market and surge through the rest of the competition offering a unique and interesting product and games that re-invent genres. Check out Daniels 'Revolution In Focus' feature on the right navigation bar for more Revolution gossip.

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