NES celebrates its 25th anniversary @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on October 18, 2010

News: Video gaming as you know it started 25 years ago today.

There were video game consoles before the NES. If you want to get right down to it, there were video game consoles even before the Atari 2600, which most people view as the creator of the console experience.

But the NES changed everything. Gaming as we know it today owes its existence to that rectangular black and gray box.

After the great video game crash of 1983, console gaming in America received the last rites. Players turned back to arcades and the burgeoning computer market for their video games.

But Nintendo knew better. They took their Family Computer System (which launched in Japan in 1983) and rebranded it the Nintendo Entertainment System. After some heavy negotiations with retailers and wholesalers, the NES was launched in America on October 18, 1985.

R.O.B., the Zapper, Duck Hunt, Gyromite and the system's glorious 8-bit graphics were introduced to an American audience that was ready to play console games again.

Selling its initial shipment that holiday season, the system's popularity grew until "playing Nintendo" became synonymous with playing video games.

So here's to the NES. Happy anniversary and here's to another 25 years of supplying inspiration for the game industry you helped create.