We took a trip down memory lane in the last post and featured a couple of old gaming consoles that were part of our childhood. How about a couple more?
Console: Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom) – Japan
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Discontinued: 1995
After a disastrous release including a product recall, the Famicom bounced back and became the best-selling console in Japan. This is mostly due to the success of console-specific games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda (as opposed to the multi-platform Pac-Man of times past) and to a new business model of software licensing agreements with third-party developers. Even greater success would be found in America’s launch of the system.
I remember this console very well. The main game we played back then was Super Mario Bros and I bet you remember those times very well also.
Console: Game Boy
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Discontinued in: 1999
You’re looking at one of the most successful, popular and long-lived gaming machines of all time. In addition to the backwards-compatible Game Boy Color, it’s sold nearly 120 million units since its 1989 release, with several colors and limited-edition variants spicing thing up in between. Yes, it had fugly, blurry green graphics that looked kinda crappy even then, but its battery life and software support were so impressive you couldn’t not own one. This little machine also supported multiplayer via link cable, spawned the very first Pokemon game in 1996 and was initially bundled with Tetris – perhaps the smartest move Nintendo has ever made.
Aha, this one was very popular when I was in my teens. Never had one but enough of my friends did that I had a lot of playing hours spent on it.