Bring Back That Classic! #2 - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Video Game Console)

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Hello again, everyone! For this edition of Bring Back That Classic!, I wanted to bring back the nostalgia that is the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES or Super Nintendo for short) because I know a lot of us that grew up in the 90's probably had one of these, or like myself, had a China imitation of one. If you were born after this era, well, the video games that were available on this console helped to promote other pop culture icons and also set the stage for future game consoles to come. Though this isn't the oldest gaming console, this definitely sparked the innovations in graphics and gaming concepts to come. There was a previous Nintendo console to this (simply titled Nintendo Entertainment System or NES), but I think this is the console that people remember best. It was the Playstation of the early 90's.

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Before we get into the console, let's dive into a little history of Nintendo Co., Ltd. You'd be surprised that we have to go way back to the end of the nineteenth century to trace back the roots of Nintendo. It was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi on September 23, 1889, then known as Nintendo Koppai in Kyoto, Japan. They produced and marketed hanafuda (Japanese playing cards used for a variety of games). The handmade cards soon rose to popularity and Yamauchi had to hire assistants to help him produce them to keep up with the high demand.

Nintendo poster from late Meiji Era. Source

Fusajiro Yamauchi did not have a son to take over the family business, so it was tradition to let his son-in-law, Sekiryo Yamauchi take over the company after retiring in 1929. In 1947 Sekiryo started a distribution company and called it Marufuku Co., Ltd. to help distribute the hanafuda. This is important to note because his adopted grandson (son-in-law's son), Hiroshi Yamauchi would rename the company to Nintendo Playing Cards Co., Ltd. in 1949.

Confused yet? The history started to get even longer and complicated, but we will try to cut is as short as possible in this paragraph. In 1959, Nintendo made a deal with Disney to have Disney characters on the hanafuda cards. They would achieve success and recognition, and in 1962 they went public by listing the company in the Osaka Stock Exchange Second division. The following year, they renamed the company once again to simply be Nintendo. From the 1960's through the early 70's, Nintendo would struggle in the Japanese toy industry, and in 1974, they would secure the rights to distribute the first commercially available video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey to Japan. From 1980 to 1981, they would produce little hand held LCD games called Game & Watch(G&W). Anyone remember those?

Nintendo's Game & Watch. Source

Okay, let's move on to the SNES. That 'little' history on Nintendo was a lot longer than I expected it to be. The SNES was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania, and 1993 in South America. The system was known as Super Famicom (Super Family Computer) in Japan and Southeast Asia. After the success of Sega's Genesis more powerful system, Nintendo decided it was time to up the ante and get into the 16-bit gaming market as well. Designed by Masayuki Uemura who had also designed the original NES system. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1990 for about $210 and was a huge hit with shipments selling very quickly. This was thanks to third party game developers such as Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, and Tecmo.

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And there you go! The Super Nintendo Entertainment System would pave the way for future consoles and games to come for a couple more decades. Even now, Nintendo are still going strong, whether with the long-running Game Boy Advance series, the Nintendo Wii, or the recently released Nintendo Switch, still proving to be innovators and visionaries among other newer consoles. While their predecessors and competitors from the 70's and 80's such as the Atari and Sega have died out, Nintendo is still keeping family and kids happy until today, almost one hundred and thirty years later.

Thank you for reading and supporting! If there is any product you would like me to cover for Bring Back That Classic!, please leave a comment below! One Love!