Super Nintendo celebrated its 25 years anniversary on the market on August 23. Despite its success, the brand has had its fair share of uphill battles.
Nintendo continues to be among the most beloved gaming consoles, with innovations each year to keep up with the current trends on the market. But before the success of the brand, Super Nintendo, which launched in the United States 25 years ago, had a difficult time establishing itself. While the system, under the name Super Famicom, was a big hit in Japan, it took a different turn in the U.S.
Blake J. Harris, author of the "Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation," said that the US launch did not re-create the same magic as it did in Japan.
"They sold out their initial amount of units, and it was successful, but there definitely wasn't the fervor that was expected," he said.
Nintendo experienced a backlash from parents when they found out that game console had an expiration date, and they needed to dig out more money to get their kids a new console to play the latest version of "Super Mario World." Little did they know that the brand had no choice over the so-called "expiration dates."
Although Nintendo could have opted to tweak the NES so users would not need to abandon their old console, the company needed to step up its game because it was already two years behind its competitors. So instead of tweaking, Nintendo built a newer and more powerful piece of console, the "Mode 7," which added a new dimension to its gameplay.
It was difficult to convince people back then that Nintendo needs to upgrade its gaming hardware. Despite the fact that the NES was a cutting-edge gaming hardware in 1983, it did not experience the same glory that it did in the succeeding years.
As periodic upgrades slowly became the norm, the NES to SNES transition that started 25 years ago was the last time Nintendo had to deal with a similar mess. The situation did help to let new console makers avoid the same scenario. For instance, Microsoft announced recently that its new iteration of the Xbox One Console, "The Project Scorpio," would allow all games to be playable on both the Xbox One and the Scorpio.
Meanwhile, Nintendo is currently gearing for the release of Nintendo NX, a handheld modular device that can be plugged into a television. Full details are still kept under wraps, but the brand has confirmed that it would be a hybrid console.