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 The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES or SNES) is a video game console designed and built by Nintendo in the 1990s. It was Nintendo's second home console, the successor to the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America and Europe, and was the major rival of the Sega Megadrive/Sega Genesis during the 16-bit era. For more information on the Japanese version, see: Super Famicom
Market historyDevelopmentMissing image Snes_sys.jpg The North American SNES In 1988, Nintendo executives showed little interest in developing a rival system when Sega announced that they would release their 16-bit Sega Genesis. However when the Genesis quickly took over the market in North America and Europe due to its superior technology, Nintendo quickly decided to begin development on their own system. Hiroshi Yamauchi, the Nintendo CEO at the time, had put Masayuki Uemura in charge of designing the console. They had originally planned for the Famicom/NES to be a 16-bit system. However at the time of development those components were far too expensive and so the system was developed as an 8-bit system. Since the components were much cheaper when the SNES was in development, Nintendo did not hesitate to build a more powerful system. Release and salesThe Super Famicom was released November 21, 1990 in Japan. Many companies who bought NES licences also purchased SNES licences due to the success of the NES such as Squaresoft, Capcom, Tecmo, Konami and Koei. This gave Nintendo an edge against its competition. The console was released in the United States in August, 1991 with a starting price of $200. The first SNES set was packaged with Super Mario World and two controllers. The fact that it was not backwards-compatible with previous Nintendo consoles (NES) like some Atari Models, may have caused some mild consumer hesitation. In addition, the Sega Genesis had already gained some popularity, and was also about $50 cheaper than the SNES. A few months after its initial release, the Power Set, a bare-bones version packaged with only one controller was released in North America for $100. Towards the middle of its life it was re-distributed with different accessories. One such set was sold with the Super Game Boy accessory. The hardware internals only varied depending on the TV standard in that country. With the exception of games that required the use of large amounts of text (e.g. Role Playing Games), many cartridges in Australia were imported from Europe because both used PAL systems. Likewise, games from Japan can be played in the North American consoles since they both use NTSC. With the help of marginally superior technical capabilities, family-friendly image, icon game characters like Mario, and a larger base of developers, the SNES was fairly dominant throughout the early 1990s. By the end of the 16-bit era, Nintendo had recorded twice as many sales of its console as Sega had with the Genesis. The SNES had a large library containing many exclusive titles. It had a number of best-selling RPGs, including Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. Some SNES games are enhanced remakes of NES games; two examples are Super Mario All-Stars and Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. The SNES was released in the United Kingdom for £150 in April 1992. The German release took place a few weeks later. The European case design was similar to that of the Super Famicom. However, Nintendo never got much of a footing in Europe due to distribution problems. Nintendo then began development of a successor with the help of Sony. Disagreements between the two companies caused Nintendo to cancel its involvement with Sony and proceed instead with Philips. Mid-1990s Nintendo discontinued production in North America in 1999. Production continued in Japan until September 2003. Many of the SNES's successful games were ported to the Game Boy Advance which has similar capabilities. The Nintendo 64 was released in 1996 and officially became Nintendo's flagship product. EmulationLike its predecessor, the SNES has had a continued interest among its fans. It has continued to thrive on a second-hand market and later through console emulation. Many gamers discovered the SNES after its decline. The SNES has taken much the same revival path as the NES. Emulation projects began approximately in 1996 with projects such as "VSMC" and "Super Pasofami". None of these projects lasted past 1998. During that time, Snes96 and Snes97 emerged, the predecessors to Snes9x. Honorable mention goes to SNEeSe, an emulator that is considered to be very accurate, although of limited functionality. In early 1998, SNES enthusiasts began programming a console emulator named ZSNES. One year later, development also began on Snes9x, its closest "competitor." From then on, these two emulators continue to offer the most complete emulation of the system and its various add-on chips like the Super FX Chip. Nintendo took the same stance against the distribution of SNES ROM image files and emulation as it did with the NES, insisting that they represented nothing but flagrant piracy. Proponents of SNES ROMs cite as arguments for their continued distribution: the discontinued production of the SNES, the right of the owner of the respective game to make a backup, the frailty of SNES cartridges (even though cartridges are far more durable than optical discs), and the lack of certain foreign imports. Starting in the 128-bit era, both Nintendo and emulation proponents began to have a less active stance on this issue. Despite Nintendo's attempts to stop the proliferation of such projects, ROM files continue to be available on the Internet. Since the console's discontinuation, second-hand market decline, and rapid growth of the Internet, finding the files has become less of a challenge than it had been with the NES. Most general ROM sites offer files for the SNES. Some video game critics consider the SNES era "the golden age of video games," citing the many groundbreaking games and classics made for the system. [1] (http://www.nintendoland.com/articles/gold_era.htm) whereas others question this romanticism [2] (http://www.nintendoland.com/home2.htm?articles/gld_era2.htm). See also video game player. Screenshots
HardwareSpecifications/featuresThe design of the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom was unusual at its time. It featured a relatively slow low-performance CPU supported by very powerful custom chips for sound and video processing. This approach is common in present-day video game hardware, but then it was new to game developers, and as a result early third-party games were of low technical quality. Developers got accustomed to the system later, though, and were thus able to use it to its full potential. It was the first console capable of applied acoustics in video game audio sold in North America, Europe, and Japan.
AccessoriesLicensed
UnlicensedThird party cheat devices released for the SNES enable players to modify in-game data and enable such things as infinite lives, energy etc. All of the cheat devices were made by third party companies and none were licensed nor endorsed by Nintendo. See also
References
External links
de:Super Nintendo Entertainment System el:SNES fr:Super Nintendo Entertainment System ja:スーパーファミコン no:Super Nintendo Entertainment System sv:Super Nintendo Entertainment System fi:Super Nintendo Entertainment System
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