Overview
The Nintendo Seal of Quality is an icon placed on packaging for video games and accessories that have been officially licensed by Nintendo. The seal was given emphasis in promoting such products in the 1980s to help guide consumers toward sanctioned software as a response to the video game crash of the early 1980s, which was partially caused by the market becoming oversaturated with unlicensed games. Prior to the release of the NES, console manufacturers such as Atari had no official licensing protocol put in place; any developer was free to create games for consoles such as the Atari 2600 without legal consequence. Nintendo's implementation and promotion of their licensing policy was partially meant as a means to prevent a similar market flood on their own platforms while also serving as a method of quality control.
It should be noted that despite the name, the Nintendo Seal of Quality never meant that a game bearing the seal was necessarily a quality game. It is simply an indication that the game passed Nintendo's certification requirements and thus is able to be sold as a licensed product. It's also worth noting that Nintendo's policies did not prevent unlicensed games from appearing on their platforms. A scant few developers that worked around the security protocols meant to prevent unlicensed software development managed to release games into stores, though these titles are generally considered of poor quality.
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