The Lost World of Early Nintendo Consoles

the-lost-world-of-early-nintendo-consoles photo 1 Click To View Slideshow» Explore Nintendo's first steps into video game hardware

Before Nintendo struck out in its own distinctive creative direction in video games—one that revolutionized the industry in the 1980s—it played a game of follow-the-leader in creating early Japanese-only consoles that took their cues from prevailing American gaming trends at the time.

In the 1970s, dedicated home game consoles that played variations of the hit Atari game Pong were incredibly popular, with dozens of manufacturers throwing their hats into the ring. Nintendo was no exception, and it contracted with Mitsubishi to develop its own line of Pong-like dedicated consoles between 1977 and 1980. As the machines progressed, they became more sophisticated, playing much more than a simple game of Pong. You can almost see Nintendo gaining its creative voice as you follow these gadgets forward in time.

In the slides ahead, you'll see five early Nintendo dedicated consoles (all of which had a set number of built-in games that could not be changed), one rare handheld game, and finally, a Japanese console that blew the lid off of everything for the veteran game-making firm. All of them predate the 1985 appearance of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US, which made the firm's name famous in the Western world.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to Nintendo collector Erik Voskuil and his excellent site BeforeMario.com for bringing some of these consoles to my attention. Most of the photos of these rare early Nintendo consoles were scanned by Mr. Voskuil, who has done more to introduce the English-speaking world to these rare Nintendo gems than anyone else I know.

When you're done reading, I'd love to hear about your first experience with Nintendo products in the comments. What was your first Nintendo console?

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