SNES

Overview

Super Nintendo Entertainment System logo

After the success the NES had worldwide and the pressure of better consoles in the market as the Sega Genesis, Nintendo decided it was time to introduce a new home console; the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), it debuted in Japan on November 21, 1990 and in September 1991 in the rest of the globe (North America, South America, Europe and Australia).

It was essentially a 16-bit console and a direct competitor of the Genesis. As with the NES the SNES proved to be the best console in the market as it out sold its competition. The SNES saw its success thanks to some of the games that were released for it; Super Mario World (best selling game) and Donkey Kong Country all of its releases. The SNES era was arguably the golden era of video games.

Nintendo introduced an arcade system called the Nintendo Super System in the early nineties that could be used to preview upcoming Super Nintendo games. Such games that appeared on it were Super Mario World, ActRaiser, Contra III: The Alien Wars, and F-Zero.

Genesis does what Nintendon't.

Rivalry with Sega

Nintendo and Sega had one of the fiercest rivalries during the 16-bit gaming era. Marketing campaigns often insulted the other console developer, with Sega depicting their consoles as "cool," showing fat and nerdy people playing Nintendo consoles. The two went back and forth for quite some time, but despite Sega's head start, larger library, and lower price, the SNES eventually got a lead on Sega, and went on to dominate in later eras as well.

Policies

The censored SNES version.

Nintendo, however, maintained their strict censorship policy. This was one of the key reasons why the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat sold much better than the SNES version. Nintendo removed all of the gore from the game, including fatalities, while the Genesis version kept these things.

Mortal Kombat's gore also sparked US Senators Herb Kohl and Joe Lieberman to call a Congressional hearing to discuss the effect of violent games on children. This meeting caused the founding of the Interactive Digital Software Association (now known as the Entertainment Software Association) and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (which applies ratings to all games). Because of these companies being founded, Nintendo decided their censorship policies were no longer needed, and Mortal Kombat 2 was released in an uncensored version on the SNES, which caused it to sell better than the Genesis version.

Technical Specifications

• CPU: Custom Nintendo processor running at 21.47727 MHz
• Memory: 128 Kb main RAM, 64 Kb video RAM, 64 Kb audio RAM
• Video: 256 x 224 or 512 x 224 or 256 x 239 or 512 x 239 progressive resolutions, 512 x 448 or 512 x 478 interlaced resolutions, 32,768 colors (256 colors max on screen)
• Audio: 2 Sony audio processors (1 8-bit, and 1 16-bit DSP) 8 channels, Sample Rate 32KHz, 16-bit stereo output

The Super Famicom logo in Japan

History

The SNES was designed by Masayuki Uemura, who also designed the original Famicom. The Super Famicom was originally released in Japan on November 21, 1990 for ¥25,000, or about $210. It was a huge hit, with the initial units shipped selling very quickly. With the Super Famicom being such a success, Nintendo dominated over their rivals. This was partially due to the support of third-party developers, such as Capcom, Konami, Square, Enix, and Tecmo.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released in North America in September 1991. It was a mildly redesigned version of the Super Famicom. It was originally sold for $199. One of the main selling points for the console was the fact that it was packaged with Super Mario World. Originally, very few titles were shipped upon release, such as Pilotwings, F-Zero, SimCity, and Gradius III, but these titles were all very well-received and showcased the SNES's Mode 7 abilities.

Peripherals

Satellaview, also known as the BS-X

Nintendo's first trial into CD-ROM games was with the SNES in Japan, releasing games such as Secret of Mana and several Legend of Zelda games. Ultimately, the project did not bear much fruit and did not get ported elsewhere. As a result, games such as Secret of Mana had to cut content in order to fit a standard SNES cartridge.

The SNES also had online capabilities by way of the Satellaview add-on. It connected to satellite via a modem and was released in 1995 in Japan only. It allowed the user to download and play games in weekly or daily installments, and only broadcast at certain times. It was pioneering in both downloadable game media and episodic content on consoles and is viewed as a precursor to services such as the Wii's Shop Channel and Xbox Live Marketplace.

Super Game Boy

A number of other peripherals were released for the system. The Super Scope was a light gun that was similar to the Zapper, and several games featured the option to use it (such as Super Scope 6 and Yoshi's Safari). The Super Advantage was a controller with arcade like settings and a turbo button that was very similar to the NES Advantage. The SNES Mouse was released for use in a few games, most prominently Mario Paint. Nintendo also released the Super Game Boy, a peripheral that allowed gamers to play Game Boy games in color through the SNES.

The SNES Game Genie

Many third-party peripherals were released as well. A new version of the Game Genie was released for use with the SNES. It allowed gamers to use codes to modify the way the game was played, for instance gaining infinite lives or ammo. Unlike the NES era, Nintendo was much more tolerant with unlicensed third-party peripherals.