Super Nintendo Entertainment System
A 16-bit console that defined a generation of gaming.
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES or SNES) was a home video game console made by Nintendo. It came out as the Super Famicom in Japan on November 21, 1990, as the Super NES in North America on August 23, 1991, and in other parts of the world during 1992. This was Nintendo’s second programmable home console, after the NES. As a fourth-generation system, its main rival was the Sega Genesis, and the two fought a fierce console war for market share in the United States and Europe.
Nintendo engineer Masayuki Uemura designed the 16-bit SNES to compete with the Genesis and NEC’s TurboGrafx-16. The SNES had better graphics and sound than its competitors, including Mode 7 for simulating 3D perspective and eight-channel ADPCM audio. Its CPU could work with enhancement chips—like the Super FX—built into game cartridges, allowing for future tech upgrades. The controller added more face buttons and two shoulder buttons compared to the NES controller. Nintendo also made accessories like the Super Game Boy, which let players use Game Boy games, and the Satellaview modem, which was only sold in Japan.
The SNES launched with Super Mario World (1990) as a pack-in game. Nintendo released it fairly late in the fourth generation, during intense competition with Sega, which marketed the Genesis to teenagers with aggressive ads. Still, the SNES quickly succeeded, partly because Nintendo kept key third-party developers like Capcom, Enix, Konami, and Square. Over 1,700 games were made for the system, and Nintendo loosened its strict licensing rules to better compete with Sega. The release of Donkey Kong Country (1994) helped keep the SNES popular even as 32-bit consoles arrived. Nintendo sold 49.1 million SNES units, making it the best-selling fourth-generation home console.
Nintendo’s successor, the Nintendo 64, came out on June 23, 1996. The company stopped making the SNES in 1999 and the Super Famicom on September 25, 2003. Video game journalists consider the SNES one of the greatest consoles ever. Its library includes acclaimed games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991), EarthBound (1994), Final Fantasy VI (1994), Super Metroid (1994), Yoshi’s Island (1995), and Kirby Super Star (1996). It remains popular with collectors and retro gamers, and people still play its games through emulators like Snes9x and ZSNES.
Quick Facts
- Aka
- SNES · Super NES · Super Nintendo · KOR: Super Comboy
- Developer
- Nintendo R&D2
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Generation
- Fourth
- Discontinued
- EU · 1998 · NA · 1999 · BR · 2003 · KOR · April 1, 2003 · JP · September 25, 2003
- Media
- Super NES Game Pak
- Sound
- Nintendo S-SMP
- Predecessor
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Successor
- Nintendo 64
- Cpu
- Ricoh 5A22 @ 3.58MHz
- Online Services
- JP · Satellaview · JP/NA · XBAND · GB · BT Interactive TV (Trial)
- Units Sold
- Worldwide: 49.10 million / North America: 23.35 million / Japan: 17.17 million / Other: 8.58 million
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Masayuki Uemura, a Nintendo engineer, designed the 16-bit SNES in response to the introduction of the Sega Genesis and NEC's TurboGrafx-16. The SNES had advanced graphical and sound capabilities compared to its competitors, with features such as Mode 7 to simulate 3D perspective and eight-channel ADPCM audio. Its CPU was designed to accommodate ongoing technological innovations by allowing it to interface with enhancement chips, such as Super FX, integrated into game cartridges. Its controller built on the NES's with additional face buttons and two shoulder buttons.
Nintendo released the SNES with Super Mario World as a pack-in game. It introduced the SNES relatively late in the fourth generation amidst intense competition with Sega, which positioned the Genesis as the preferable console for adolescents through aggressive youth marketing. Nonetheless, the SNES quickly became a success, helped by Nintendo's retention of key third-party developers such as Capcom, Enix, Konami, and Square. Over 1,700 SNES games were released, and Nintendo loosened its previously strict licensing requirements to better compete with Sega.
The rivalry between Nintendo and Sega was described as one of the most notable console wars in video game history. Nintendo scored an early public-relations advantage by securing the first console conversion of Capcom's arcade hit Street Fighter II for SNES. Though the Genesis had a two-year lead to launch time, a much larger library of games, and a lower price point, it only represented an estimated 60% of the American 16-bit console market in June 1992, and neither console could maintain a definitive lead for several years.
Reader's Guide
The SNES is regarded by video game journalists as one of the greatest consoles. Its library includes acclaimed games such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, EarthBound, Final Fantasy VI, Super Metroid, Yoshi's Island, and Kirby Super Star. The release of Donkey Kong Country helped maintain the SNES's popularity into the 32-bit era. Nintendo sold 49.1 million SNES units, making it the best-selling fourth-generation home console. Nintendo released a successor, the Nintendo 64, on June 23, 1996, and discontinued the SNES in 1999 and the Super Famicom on September 25, 2003. The SNES remains popular among collectors and retro gamers, and via emulation with applications such as Snes9x and ZSNES. Nintendo has released emulated SNES games through the Virtual Console and Nintendo Classics services and the SNES Classic Edition dedicated console.
Did You Know?
- The SNES was designed by Masayuki Uemura, who also designed the original Famicom.
- Nintendo executed 'Operation: Midnight Shipping' to ward off thieves when launching the Super Famicom in Japan.
- The SNES could interface with enhancement chips like Super FX integrated into game cartridges.
- Nintendo released the Japan-exclusive Satellaview modem peripheral for the SNES.
More in Video Game Consoles by Generation 1-24
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