Nintendo Entertainment System

NES · 1985

Overview

Nintendo’s front-loading NES (NES-001), launched in North America on October 18, 1985 as the redesigned western version of the Famicom.

Technical specifications

Manufacturer: Nintendo
Platform: NES
Revision: NES-001
Storage: ROM Game Pak
Released: 1985-10-18
Discontinued: 1995-08-14
CPU: Ricoh 2A03 (6502-based) @ 1.79 MHz (NTSC)
GPU: Ricoh 2C02 Picture Processing Unit (PPU)
Memory: 2 KB work RAM + 2 KB video RAM

Collector note

Front-loading NES-001 (“toaster”) with zero-insertion-force door; 72-pin cartridges and CIC lockout chip. Famous for blinking light / connector wear—cleaning and top-loader redesign addressed that. Two rectangular controller ports.

Facts

North America launch: October 18, 1985; Europe: September 1, 1986.
Same 8-bit core as Famicom: Ricoh 2A03 CPU @ ~1.79 MHz (NTSC), 2C02 PPU, 2 KB + 2 KB RAM.
ROM Game Pak cartridges; RF and later AV via accessories depending on region/revision.
Discontinued in NA/EU/AU August 14, 1995.

Related consoles

Family Computer (Famicom) · FamicomJapanese Famicom original
NES Top Loader · NESTop-loading redesign (NES-101)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System · SNESSuccessor console (SNES)

Sources

Nintendo Entertainment System · Wikipedia
Nintendo Entertainment System technical specifications · Wikipedia
NES / Famicom Architecture · Copetti

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