Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. In Japan, it is known as the Super Famicom. In South Korea, it is known as the Super Comboy. That console was licensed and distributed by Hyundai Electronics.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the second video game home console released by Nintendo. The successor to the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System featured enhanced graphics, a brand new controller, better sound and more features. While not as successful as the Nintendo Entertainment System before it, the SNES still proved to be the leader of the video game industry during the 16-bit generation, surpassing the competition from Sega's Genesis (Mega Drive in Europe), and Hudson's TurboGrafx-16. Nintendo's claim as the most successful manufacturer during this generation can be attributed in part to the fact that Sega left the 16-bit market early in favor of the 32-bit market.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was host to numerous classic video games, including titles such as Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter II, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Star Fox and Super Mario Kart. These titles sold millions of copies and would help cement the SNES as the leader of the fourth generation. Third parties such as Square, Enix and Capcom would assist in the huge success of the console.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was first released in Japan under the name Super Famicom (the Nintendo Entertainment System was named the Famicom in Japan) on November 21, 1990. In a little over half a year, the system was released in North America in August of 1991 and in Europe and Australia in 1992. Nintendo would eventually manufacture SNES systems with different casings and label them with new names such as Super Famicom Jr. and SNS-101. The new systems didn't offer anything new to the gaming experience, though were meant to spark interest in the system once again long after the initial shipment.

History and development
The Nintendo Entertainment System was going strong years after it was released. Near the end of the eighties, system-sellers were still being launched for the console such as Super Mario Bros. 3, which went on to become one of the best selling video games of all time. Several Nintendo competitors wanted a piece of the pie, however, and thus released more advanced systems meant to compete with the NES. The first on the scene was Hudson Soft and NEC Corporation with the TurboGrafx-16 (also known as the PC Engine), which they released in 1987, three years before the Super Famicom would be launched in Japan. One year later Sega unleashed the Sega Genesis, which proved to be a worthy competitor to the throne. The competition developed advertisements that would downplay the NES, showcasing the clear strengths of the more powerful systems. Nintendo realized that they needed to act quickly in order to counter the effect imposed by the new hardware, and in response to the competition started development on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Now retired Nintendo employee Masayuki Uemura was brought on board to direct the development of the new system. He had previously worked as the designer of the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo would initially release the Super Famicom in Japan on November 21, 1990 at a price of ¥25,000. The first shipment contained 300,000 SNES units, which all sold within a matter of a few hours. Nintendo shipped the Super Famicom units in secret as not to gain the attention of the Yakuza, who they feared would potentially steal the units. The system proved so successful in its first day in part because of a launch lineup that, while astonishingly small (two games only), featured impressive titles including Super Mario World and F-Zero. Super Mario World, the successor to Super Mario Bros. 3, is best known for introducing Mario's sidekick Yoshi while F-Zero made extensive use of Mode 7, allowing for fairly impressive graphics.

Due the impressive figures of the Super Famicom, several third party developers who supported Nintendo with the Famicom announced their commitment to the new system. These third parties would be pivotal to the success of the system, especially companies such as Square (Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger), Enix in Japan (Dragon Quest series), Capcom (Street Fighter II, its successors and Mega Man X), and others. Western companies in North America and Europe would eventually start to develop titles for the system as well including companies such as Midway (Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam). Most hard hitting titles, however, came from Japanese developers.

Nintendo would release the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America on August 23, 1991 for $199 (slightly cheaper than when the Super Famicom was released (by around $10)). Unlike in Japan, Nintendo of America packaged Super Mario World with the system for free, similarly to how they packaged Super Mario Bros. with the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The North American launch of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System contained more titles than the Japanese launch, including Super Mario World, F-Zero, Pilotwings, Gradius III, and SimCity. While still not a spectacular launch, it did contain many titles that would go on to sell millions. Interestingly, the Japanese branch of Nintendo did not design the American Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Instead, a man by the name of Lance Barr designed the hardware according to American video game publication Nintendo Power. The publication also revealed several unused designs that were drawn by Barr. Barr explained that he designed the Super Famicom in a way so that drinks could not placed on it, and that the indention in the X and Y buttons were made so that players could tell the difference between them and the A and B buttons.

Top Ten Best Selling Games (US only)
See: List of Super Nintendo Entertainment System games


 * Super Mario World
 * Street Fighter II
 * Donkey Kong Country
 * Super Mario Kart
 * The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
 * Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
 * Star Fox
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
 * Chrono Trigger

Related

 * Super Famicom
 * Super Nintendo Entertainment System Games