 |
| HOME REVIEWS A-G REVIEWS H-N REVIEWS O-S REVIEWS T-Z CONTACT |
 SUPER NES HARDWARE RELEASE DATES  US September 1, 1991 - $199.99 JAPAN November 21, 1990 - 25,000 Yen UK April 13, 1992 - 150 Euros SUPER NINTENDO SPECS CPU 16-bit Custom 65C816 running at 1.79, 2.68, or 3.58 MHz RAM 1 Mbit (128 Kbyte) MEMORY CYCLE TIME 279 ms PICTURE PROCESSOR 16-bit VIDEO RAM 0.5 Mbit (64 Kbyte) RESOLUTION 256x224, 512x448 (High Res) COLORS AVAILABLE 32,768 MAX COLORS ONSCREEN 256 Colors MAX SPRITE SIZE 64x64 MAX SPRITES 128 (32 per line) MINIMUM CART SIZE 2 Mbit MAXIMUM CART SIZE 48 Mbit AUDIO RAM 512 kbit SOUND CHIP 8-bit Sony SPC700 SOUND CHANNELS 8 - Compressed wave samples CONTROLLER RESPONSE 16 ms PULSE CODE MODULATOR 16-bit POWER INPUT 120V AC, 60Hz, 17 Watts POWER OUTPUT 10V DC, 850 mA (NTSC) 9V AC (PAL) |
SUPER
FAMICOM SYSTEM
Nintendo released the Super Famicom in Japan on November 21, 1990. The system retailed for Y25,000 and sold out in a matter of hours of its release. This was despite the fact that only two game titles, Super Mario World and F-Zero, were available at the system's launch. The craze surrounding the launch also forced the government to ask that game companies launch future consoles on weekends only. As you can see in the picture the Super Famicom looks quite a bit different from the US model Super Nintendo system and features a much more rounded asthetic. This was the first game console that I ever imported from Japan and I still have my original Super Famicom and Super Mario World cart to this very day. Another note worth mentioning is that while you can play Super Famicom carts on a US model Super NES system, the cart slot of the Super Famicom is rounded and will not accept US Super NES carts without the use of an adapter. SUPER
FAMICOM/SUPER NES CONTROLLERS
I've included a picture of the two controllers to show the differences between the two. The Japanese Super Famicom controllers are basically the same controller only they feature multi-colored buttons instead of the two shades of purple buttons the US controllers sport. I personally like the colored buttons so I keep a few Super Famicom controllers around to use with my US model Super Nintendo system. SUPER
NINTENDO SYSTEM
Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the US on August 13, 1991 for a retail price of $199.99 and bundled it with their hit game Super Mario World. Needless to say, the Super NES was a huge hit for the 1991 holiday shopping season and put a serious dent in the sales of Sega's Genesis system which to that point had been the best-selling console. As you can see from the picture on the right, Nintendo radically redesigned the system for US release and turned it into a boxy version of its former self. It wasn't much to look at, but those of us who picked one up in 1991 didn't really care what it looked like. It got the job done. Despite a lengthy head start by Sega's Genesis console, by mid-1992 the Super NES system had caught up with the Genesis in terms of sales and would eventually go on to surpass it, and even remained popular well into the 32-bit era. SUPER
NINTENDO MINI SYSTEM
Nintendo released a slimmed-down version of the Super NES system in October 1997 and bundled it with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island for a retail price of $99.99. The system continued selling much the way the system had over the past few years and with the help of some top notch RPGs hitting store shelves later in the console's lifespan, sales continued to remain solid even long after the release of Sega's Saturn and Sony's Playstation 32-bit game systems. SUPER
ADVANTAGE JOYSTICK
After the success of Nintendo's NES Advantage joystick, ASCII were once again asked to design a joystick, this time for the Super NES system. The joystick was solid and featured multi-colored buttons along with turbo fire capabilities. I owned one many years ago but after awhile I got to where I preferred the control pads over the joysticks for everything except fighting games. You can still find the Super Advantage sticks on ebay for fairly cheap prices if you shop around. While it's not quite as reliable as the original NES Advantage stick, it's still an adequate alternative to the Super NES control pads. SUPER
SCOPE 6 LIGHT GUN
Nintendo also released a light gun called the Super Scope 6 in February 1992 and bundled it with a strange shooting game called Yoshi's Safari. While the light gun was a fun accessory, it never really took off or received the type of software support it needed. It's also an accessory you can still find pretty easily around the net. SUPER
GAME BOY ADAPTER
With the popularity of their portable Game Boy system, Nintendo released a unique peripheral for the Super NES that would allow owners to play their Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on their television screen through their Super NES system. It even featured some fancy borders to put around the Game Boy games due to their smaller resolution. I still dig mine out from time to time to play Zelda: Link's Awakening and the Dragon Warrior Monster games. Although it's gotten a little pricey over the years on eBay, you can still find these without much trouble. ACCLAIM
WIRELESS CONTROLLERS
Aklaim released a set of wireless controllers for the Super NES system and while they're not quite up to par with the wireless controllers of today's modern consoles, they worked fairly well given the time period. I still have a set boxed up in the closet somewhere, but I never found them very comfortable for long RPG playing sessions. I'd rather have the wires on the more comfortable controller myself. I still consider the original Super NES controller to be one of the best and most comfortable control pads ever made. MORE
HARDWARE TO COME...
I'll be snapping more pictures of the Super NES hardware over the coming months and I'll add them to the page as I do. It goes without saying that there were a ton of accessories released for the Super NES in both the US and Japan and I'll try to track down pics of as many as I can find and post them on here when I get the chance. |
 Super Famicom System (Japan)  Super Famicom/Super NES Controllers  Super Nintendo System (USA)  Super Nintendo Mini
System (USA) Super Advantage Joystick  Super Scope 6 Light Gun  Super Game Boy  Acclaim Wireless Controllers |