Skip to content
GAMEPORT
JA/EN
Nintendo Family Computer console with its two hard-wired controllers

■ GAMEPORT — Archive of Japanese Video Games

The Historyof JapaneseVideo Games.遊びが、文化になった。

No. 0011983

Family Computer

ファミリーコンピュータ

Nintendo · 8-BIT

04 — Opening

一本のカセットから、世界が始まった。

A whole worldinside a cartridge.

This archive treats Japanese home and handheld consoles, and the games made for them, as a record of industrial design, technology and culture. Every date, price and specification is tied to a source, and every image on display has had its licence checked individually.

Consoles
24
Games
30
Verified images
54

06Consoles

Theconsoles.

Game consoles as industrial design

View all 24 consoles →
Nintendo Family Computer console with its two hard-wired controllers

ファミリーコンピュータ

A home video game console released by Nintendo in 1983. It used the Ricoh RP2A03 CPU and ROM cartridges for software. In North America and Europe it was released with a redesigned body as the Nintendo Entertainment System.

No. 0011983

Family Computer

Manufacturer
Nintendo · 8-BIT
Type
Home video game console
Super Famicom console with controller
No. 0101990

Super Famicom

Manufacturer
Nintendo · 16-BIT
Type
Home video game console
Original Game Boy handheld
No. 0071989

Game Boy

Manufacturer
Nintendo · 8-BIT
Type
Handheld game console
NEC PC Engine console with controller
No. 0041987

PC Engine

Manufacturer
NEC
Type
Home video game console
Japanese Mega Drive (model 1) with controller
No. 0051988

Mega Drive

Manufacturer
SEGA · 16-BIT
Type
Home video game console
SNK Neo Geo AES console
No. 0081990

Neo Geo AES

Manufacturer
SNK
Type
Home video game console

07Through the generations

Play through the generations.

Ordered by Japanese release date. Generations follow Wikipedia's classification and are given for reference.

081980s — Warm / Analog

The8-bitEra

A new world appearedin front of the television.

A decade in which consoles plugged into the family television changed the living room. ROM cartridges and disk cards, a cross-shaped pad and two buttons — the grammar of play was written within tight limits of colour and memory.

Explore the 1980s →

09 — Beyond the bits

01 / 08

1983

A button pressed in front of the television. Every story began with those two words.

  • Family Computer 1983
  • SG-1000 1983

Bit counts are period terminology, not a performance ranking.

10Games

The gamesthat definedgenerations.

Games as cultural works

View all 30 games →
Package of TEST ITEM
No. G-001

1985

Family Computer · ファミリーコンピュータ

Super Mario Bros.

スーパーマリオブラザーズ

A side-scrolling platform game released by Nintendo for the Famicom in 1985. Players guide Mario (and Luigi in two-player mode) across eight worlds to rescue Princess Toadstool from Bowser. It was directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, with music by Koji Kondo.

Japan release
13 Sep 1985
Publisher
Nintendo
Genre
Platformer / Action
Director
Shigeru Miyamoto
Composer
Koji Kondo

Box art and screenshots are not shown because their rights cannot be individually verified. Artwork is an abstract pattern generated from each title's data.

111990s — Cool / Digital

The16-bit & 32-bitEra

Pixels, in time,became polygons.

CD-ROM loosened the limits of storage and polygons gave the screen depth. More companies built home consoles, each pursuing the next form of expression with different technology and design philosophies.

Explore the 1990s →

12A change in representation

From8-bitto 3D.

From dots to polygons. Every figure here is an abstract form — not a reproduction of any real game character or screen.

8-BITFIG. A — Pixel

The screen was a grid. With few colours and little memory, every shape was designed as an arrangement of individual dots.

16-BITFIG. B — Tone & depth

More colours and new capabilities brought dithered gradients and tilted planes that suggested depth on a flat screen.

3DFIG. C — Polygon

Shapes came to be described by vertices, edges and faces. Cameras could move around them, and space itself became something to design.

13Controllers

Controllersthat changedhow we play.

A cross-shaped pad, shoulder buttons, six face buttons, an analog stick. Each time the tool in the hand changed shape, so did the way we played.

← Scroll sideways →

  1. 198301
    Family Computer Controller I with D-pad and A/B buttons

    Family Computer Controller I

    Nintendo · Console launch 1983

    Two controllers were hard-wired to the original console; the pad uses a cross-shaped D-pad with A and B buttons, and Controller II has a built-in microphone.

  2. 199002
    Super Famicom controller with four face buttons and shoulder buttons

    Super Famicom controller

    Nintendo · Console launch 1990

    The controller adds X and Y to the A and B face buttons in a diamond arrangement, plus L and R shoulder buttons.

  3. 199003
    Neo Geo AES arcade-style joystick controller

    Neo Geo AES joystick controller

    SNK · Console launch 1990

    A large arcade-style controller with a lever stick and four buttons arranged in a gentle arc.

  4. 198804
    Six-button control pad (North American Genesis version)

    Six-button control pad (North American Genesis version)

    SEGA · Console launch 1988

    Launched with a three-button control pad.

  5. 199405
    SEGA Saturn control pad (Japanese model 1)

    SEGA Saturn controller (Japanese model 1)

    SEGA · Console launch 1994

    Six-button pad (A, B, C, X, Y, Z) plus Start.

  6. 199406
    DualShock analog controller

    DualShock analog controller

    Sony · Console launch 1994

    Grip-style controller designed by Teiyu Goto, with four face buttons marked by a green triangle, red circle, blue cross and pink square.

  7. 199607
    Nintendo 64 controller with its three-grip layout

    Nintendo 64 controller

    Nintendo · Console launch 1996

    A three-pronged M-shaped controller with an analog Control Stick (3D Stick) as standard, a Z trigger on the back, four C buttons, a D-pad, A/B and L/R buttons, and an expansion slot for the Controller Pak on the underside.

  8. 199808
    Dreamcast controller with a Visual Memory Unit

    Dreamcast controller and Visual Memory unit

    SEGA · Console launch 1998

    Analog stick, D-pad, four face buttons and two analog triggers, with two expansion sockets for the VMU memory card.

  9. 200009
    DualShock 2 controller

    DualShock 2

    Sony · Console launch 2000

    Shipped with the DualShock 2 controller.

  10. 200110
    Nintendo GameCube controller

    Nintendo GameCube controller

    Nintendo · Console launch 2001

    Centred on a large green A button, with an analog stick, a yellow C-stick, pressure-sensitive analog L/R triggers with a digital click, and built-in rumble.

14Media evolution

Cartridgeto disc.

ROM cartridges, disk cards, HuCARDs, CD-ROM and each maker's optical discs. As the vessel that carried software changed, so did the scale and shape of play.

  1. M-011983
    A Game Boy Game Pak cartridge

    ROM cartridge

    ROMカセット

    A software medium housing ROM chips on a circuit board inside a plastic shell. The Famicom used this format from its 1983 launch; Nintendo's Western packaging called them 'Game Paks'.

    Famicom launch title Donkey Kong: 192 kilobits (24 KB); Neo Geo cartridges later reached 716 megabits

    Family Computer / Neo Geo AES / Neo Geo Pocket / WonderSwan / SG-1000

  2. M-021986
    A Famicom Disk System disk card

    Disk Card

    ディスクカード

    The magnetic disk medium of the Famicom Disk System, based on Mitsumi's Quick Disk. Disks could be rewritten with a different game at in-store Disk Writer kiosks for ¥500.

    56 KB per side, 112 KB per disk

    Famicom Disk System

  3. M-031987

    HuCard

    HuCARD

    A thin, credit-card-sized ROM cartridge designed by Hudson Soft, introduced in 1987 as the PC Engine's software medium.

    1–20 Mbit (early cards up to 2 Mbit)

    PC Engine

  4. M-041988

    CD-ROM

    CD-ROM

    Optical discs sharing the audio CD format, used for data. Sources describe the PC Engine's CD-ROM² (1988) as the first use of CD-ROM as a home console game medium.

    Approx. 540 MB (as cited for CD-ROM²)

    PC Engine CD-ROM² System / PC-FX / Mega-CD / Neo Geo CD / PlayStation

  5. M-051994
    PlayStation Memory Card

    PlayStation Memory Card

    メモリーカード（プレイステーション）

    A flash-memory card for storing PlayStation save data. Its 1-megabit (128 KB) capacity is divided into 15 usable blocks.

    128 KB (1 Mbit), 15 blocks

    PlayStation / Neo Geo AES

  6. M-061998

    GD-ROM

    GD-ROM

    A proprietary optical disc developed by Sega and Yamaha for the Dreamcast. It could be mass-produced at a cost similar to CD-ROM, avoiding the expense of DVD-ROM.

    Up to 1 GB

    Dreamcast

  7. M-072000

    DVD-ROM

    DVD-ROM

    The primary software medium of the PlayStation 2, which could also play DVD films.

    PlayStation 2

  8. M-082001

    Nintendo GameCube Game Disc

    ゲームキューブ用光ディスク（8cm）

    An 8 cm proprietary optical disc based on miniDVD technology, created by Matsushita/Panasonic.

    1.46 GB

    Nintendo GameCube

  9. M-092004

    Universal Media Disc (UMD)

    UMD（ユニバーサル・メディア・ディスク）

    A roughly 64 mm optical disc developed by Sony for the PSP, used for games as well as films and music.

    Up to 1.8 GB (dual-layer); 900 MB single-layer

    PlayStation Portable

Years are the Japanese launch year of the console that used each format, per sources. Formats without a verified photograph are shown as diagrams.

15Handhelds

Portableworlds.

From the living-room television to the palm of the hand. Small battery-powered screens changed where and when play could happen.

  1. Original Game Boy handheld

    Game Boy

    1989

    ゲームボーイ

    Nintendo · JP 1989.04.21

  2. SEGA Game Gear handheld

    Game Gear

    1990

    ゲームギア

    SEGA · JP 1990.10.06

  3. Neo Geo Pocket handheld

    Neo Geo Pocket

    1998

    ネオジオポケット

    SNK · JP 1998.10.28

  4. Game Boy Color handheld

    Game Boy Color

    1998

    ゲームボーイカラー

    Nintendo · JP 1998.10.21

  5. Bandai WonderSwan handheld

    WonderSwan

    1999

    ワンダースワン

    Bandai · JP 1999.03.04

  6. Game Boy Advance handheld

    Game Boy Advance

    2001

    ゲームボーイアドバンス

    Nintendo · JP 2001.03.21

  7. PlayStation Portable (PSP-1000)

    PlayStation Portable

    2004

    プレイステーション・ポータブル

    Sony · JP 2004.12.12

16Creators

Creatorsbehindthe games.

Only documented roles and works are listed. No evaluations or unverified information about individuals.

  1. 01Shigeru Miyamoto宮本茂b. 1952Game designer / Producer / DirectorDonkey Kong · Super Mario Bros. · The Legend of Zelda · Star Fox
  2. 02Gunpei Yokoi横井軍平b. 1941 – d. 1997Toy designer / Game designer / ProducerUltra Hand · Game & Watch · Game Boy · Metroid
  3. 03Yuji Horii堀井雄二b. 1954Game designer / Scenario writer / DirectorThe Portopia Serial Murder Case · Dragon Quest · Chrono Trigger · Itadaki Street
  4. 04Hironobu Sakaguchi坂口博信b. 1962Game designer / Director / ProducerFinal Fantasy · Chrono Trigger · Final Fantasy VII · Blue Dragon
  5. 05Hideo Kojima小島秀夫b. 1963Game designer / Director / WriterMetal Gear · Snatcher · Policenauts · Metal Gear Solid
  6. 06Koji Kondo近藤浩治b. 1961Composer / Sound designerSuper Mario Bros. · The Legend of Zelda · Super Mario 64 · Yoshi's Island
  7. 07Nobuo Uematsu植松伸夫b. 1959Composer / KeyboardistFinal Fantasy · Chrono Trigger · Blue Dragon · Lost Odyssey
  8. 08Satoshi Tajiri田尻智b. 1965Game designer / Director / ProducerQuinty · Pokémon Red and Green · Pokémon Gold and Silver · Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
  9. 09Yu Suzuki鈴木裕b. 1958Game designer / Producer / DirectorHang-On · Space Harrier · Out Run · After Burner
  10. 10Yuji Naka中裕司b. 1965Programmer / Game designer / ProducerSonic the Hedgehog · Nights into Dreams · Sonic Adventure · Phantasy Star Online
  11. End of list
All 16 creators →

17Japan to the world

From Japanto the world.

Consoles born in Japan crossed the ocean, often under new names and in new cases. This chart plots only sourced dates: the Japanese launch and the North American launch.

Japan releaseNorth America release* includes month- or year-precision dates (approximate)See each console page for notes such as test-market launches

Titles that crossed the ocean

18Editorial

105 daysin 1994.

One winter, four answers.

In the 105 days between 9 Sep 1994 and 23 Dec 1994, 4 CD-ROM-based home platforms went on sale in Japan. Not which was better — but what each one chose, laid side by side from the record.

  1. Day 0 · 011994.09.09
    Neo Geo CD (top-loading model) with controller

    Neo Geo CD

    ネオジオCD — SNK

    CPU
    Motorola 68000 @ 12 MHz + Z80 @ 4 MHz
    Media
    CD-ROM
    JP launch price
    ¥49,800 (フロントローディング型)
  2. Day 74 · 021994.11.22
    Japanese SEGA Saturn (model 1) with controller

    Sega Saturn

    セガサターン — SEGA

    CPU
    Hitachi SH-2 ×2 @ 28.6 MHz
    Media
    CD-ROM
    JP launch price
    ¥44,800 (1996年3月に20,000円へ値下げ)
  3. Day 85 · 031994.12.03
    PlayStation console with controller

    PlayStation

    プレイステーション — Sony

    CPU
    MIPS R3000A @ 33.8688 MHz + GTE (geometry coprocessor)
    Media
    CD-ROM
    JP launch price
    ¥39,800
  4. Day 105 · 041994.12.23
    NEC PC-FX console with controller

    PC-FX

    PC-FX — NEC

    CPU
    NEC V810 @ 21.475 MHz
    Media
    CD-ROM
    JP launch price
    ¥49,800

Specifications and prices are from the sources listed on each console page.

SEGA Saturn motherboard
19 — Detail — the shapes our fingers rememberSEGA Saturn motherboard · Evan-Amos · Public domain

20Controllers · Cartridges · Handhelds · Accessories

22Explore the archive

Explorethe archive.