The Gaming Historian - NES 2

This is the Nintendo Entertainment System. This is what most people think of when they hear the word Nintendo. It was the first home console from Nintendo and anyone who grew up during the time can easily recognize it.When the Nintendo Entertainment System launched, it revolutionized and revitalized the home gaming market. It was an amazing console. The control pad itself was something no one had ever seen before. Nintendo ended up selling 60 million NES Units. To this day, it is Nintendo's best selling home console of all time, and the 3rd best selling home console ever, only behind Sony's Playstation and Playstation 2.

Then, in 1991, Nintendo unveiled the Super Nintendo to America. The 16 bit era was already in full swing and the Nintendo Entertainment System was suddenely looking like and ol system. However, many people still liked the original Nintendo. It was much cheaper than the newer systems, and it had a library of over 800 games.

In 1993, Nintendo bid one last hurrah to it's first system by releasing the NES 2 in October. The NES 2 (sometimes known as the top loader) was designed by Lance Barr, the designer of both the Nintendo and the Super Nintendo. Barr stated "The boxey look was out, and I thought it was time for a more sleek and inviting look". Barr was definitely right.

Comparing it to the old model, the NES 2 was much much smaller and much lighter. The power switch was also similar to the Super NES, in that you simply pushed up the button to turn the system on. The system had 2 controller ports just like the original, and all the old periphrials such as the zapper gun and the game genie worked as well, although some users experienced problems with the game genie, but Galoob, the makers of Game Genie quickly released an adapter to fix this issue. The controller took a new design however. It was changed to look like more like the Super NES controller with rounded ends, giving it the term "dogbone" controller.

The greatest improvement, and this one is obvious, is that the games load on the top now. Remember blowing into the cartridge, catching the game on the edge, pushing down repreatedly only to have that blinking light? This was due to a design flaw in the original NES where when you pushed the game down, the pins that held the game would bend and over time, the metal would get corroded. This would cause the contacts not to read. The NES 2 did not have this problem, and the games were firmly seated in, like the Super Nintendo. (although it can be seated extremely tight, sometimes its difficult to pull the game out).

It sounded too good to be true. This console should have been a hit! Unfortunately, it was not. Within a year, the model was discontinued and the Nintendo Entertainment System's last game was made in 1994. So what was wrong?

Well, as far as the system goes, there are a few flaws. For starters, there are no composite cable hookups. You can only hook up through an RF connection. Second, there is no LED Light. There have been several times when I simply forget that the system is on. Another issue was that Nintendo Games were mean't to be inserted horizontally and locked down. Thus, some games could wobble and distort the image. There are also lines going down the screen, which are faint, but are noticeable. The serial port was also removed from the system. However, the biggest downfall of the NES 2 was that it was released at the end of the Nintendo Entertainment Systems life. The 16 bit era was well under way, and most people had moved on.

Overall, the NES 2 is my preferred method of playing Nintendo games, simply because it works consistently. It is also much smaller and easily fits in my shelf. If you have a chance of getting one, get it. It is well worth the money and a nice addition to any collection. Back then, sold for 49.99. That's less than an XBOX 360 game. Most sell on E-bay for around 70 to 150 dollars. However, I was able to get mine with sixty six games for 40 dollars. Another friend of mine found one at a yard sale with 25 games for 10 dollars.

That concludes this episode of the Gaming Historian. If you have any topics you would like me to cover or just questions in general, e-mail me at gameflop@gmail.com.