The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console by Nintendo that was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in 1985. In Japan (where it was first launched in 1983) it was released as the Family Computer (ファミリーコンピュータ?), commonly abbreviated as the Famicom (ファミコン). It was succeeded by the 16-bit Super NES in the early 1990s.
As the best-selling gaming console of its time, the NES helped revitalize the US video game industry following the video game crash of 1983, and set the standard for subsequent consoles in everything from game designf to controller layout. In addition, with the NES, Nintendo introduced a now-standard business model of software licensing for third-party developers.
Its contemporaries were the Sega Master System, Atari 7800, and Commodore 64.
