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The Video Game Console Library - Console Name

Nintendo Super Famicom \ SNES

(Page under construction \ development)

  DW FACTS by Dark Watcher
Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy
Developer Manufacturer Release Date Country(s) Initial Price Model Number Game Releases Overall Rating
Nintendo Casio 21-Nov-90 Japan $764 USD 100 10 NA
Ratings Reviews Pictures\Video Specs Games\Emulation Models Clones Links
Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release.  Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality) N\A
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile) N\A
Controllers (design, response, feel, use) N\A
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation) N\A
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects) N\A
Media (game media format, design, durability) N\A
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging) N\A
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library) N\A
Innovations (technological industrial strides) N\A
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?) N\A
Collector Value (good collector investment?) N\A
Games Rarity (general availability of games) N\A
Console Rarity (general availability of a system) N\A
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Reviews

  DW FACTS
  - by Dark Watcher

Around 1988 Nintendo was still enjoying the success of its NES / Famicom system and didn't see any need to jump on the 16-bit bandwagon. However the NEC PC Engine / Turbografx in Japan and the Sega Genesis in the US were beginning to dominate the videogame market. Nintendo's jump to 16-bit was no real surprise. Oddly enough Nintendo wanted the original Famicom to be 16-bit, but resources at the time were too expensive to make it happen, but now was the opportunity to take Nintendo to the next level.

The Super Famicom was released in November 1990 and immediately took over 80 percent of the Japanese market. They still had a lot of ground to cover to catch up with the other 16-bit systems. The console itself was quite impressive and introduced scaling and rotation effects (the famous Mode 7) that could not be duplicated on the other systems.

Nintendo was still slow to release the system overseas. A shortage of supplies, and the fact that the NES was still making money in the US delayed the Super Famicom's release. The system was finally released in the US on September 1, 1991 and called the SuperNES. The SuperNES was also released in Europe a year later in April 1992.

The SuperNES soon amassed a large library and battled toe to toe with Sega. Their popular character franchises and exclusive games kept them in a heated rivalry. Arcade games played a strong role in the competition. SuperNES got the jump on Sega by releasing the popular arcade title Street Fighter 2 with temporary exclusivity. Soon after they lost the edge when they chose to censor another popular arcade fighter Mortal Kombat, which Sega released unedited.

The SuperNES remained popular for the next few years. Sega began introducing game enhancing add-ons such as the Sega CD and 3D gaming was growing in popularity. Nintendo refused to fall behind the times and also began working on a CD based add-on. With numerous disagreements with Sony, Philips and with production delays, Nintendo scrapped the project. They approached a new developer named Argonaut Software who produced a chip that could be added to game carts. This chip would allow the SuperNES to produce 3D graphics. The SuperFX chip gave the SuperNES new life and produced popular games such as Star Fox which was released in 1993.

Nintendo continued to use chip enhanced cartridges to maintain the SuperNES's popularity. Even as 32-bit consoles began to surface, Nintendo continued to surprise gamers. In 1994, Nintendo teamed with a 3rd party developer named RARE. Together both companies produced Donkey Kong Country which used rendered graphics. The game looked as good as first generation 32-bit titles and kept the SuperNES selling even in a 32-bit generation.

On March 27, 1998 Nintendo decided to release a scaled down cheaper model Super Famicom in Japan. It was called Super Famicom Jr and retailed for 7,800 Yen. Not only did Nintendo cut the size of the console, but they also cut out the A/V out port and the expansion port. The redesigned model was also released in the US shortly after the debut of Nintendo 64 and called SNES2.

FACT: Nintendo seemed to get a lot of trouble calls with their NES because gamers had a bad habit of setting drinks on top of it. When they designed the SuperNES, they added rounded edges and raised areas so that you could not set a drink on it. This apparently reduced the amount of troubles called in the United States.

Chip enhanced cartridges kept the SuperNES alive well through the 1990s. Some of the chips included the SuperFX, SuperFX2, DSP1, DSP2, SA-1, C4, SDD1, and lord knows what else.
 


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Pictures & Video

Various picture\video media for this console.  Click pictures to enlarge.
  Coming soon.  
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Specs

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.
 Processor Type  Processor Speed  Other Processor Information RAM \ Video RAM
Ricoh 5A22 (16-bit 65c816 core) 3.58 MHz   128 Kb \ 64Kb

Screen Resolution

Color Palette

Polygons \ Sprites

 Audio
256x224, 512 x 448 pixels max hi res and interlaced modes 32,678 w/ 256 on screen
 		 128 Sprites 8-bit Sony SPC700 (8 channels using compressed wave samples)

Media Format

Media Capacity

Games Released

Other Supported Formats
Cartridge 117.75 MB   None

Internal Storage

External \ Removable Storage

Game Controllers

Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
None (contained in cartridges) None    
Controller Ports Network Ports

Other Ports

Audio \ Video
Two (2) None (available as on add-on)    

Power Supply

Other Outputs

 Other Details \ Notes
120V AC, 60Hz, 17 Watts    
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Games & Emulation

Game screen shots and\or videos released for this system.  Click pictures to enlarge.
  Coming soon.  
Third Party Emulators
Program Website Description

ZNES

http://www.zsnes.com/

 This is a popular and amazing SuperNES emulator. We chose to keep the DOS version which is more compatible with older systems, but there are other versions available.
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Models

Additional authorized releases for this console.  Click pictures to enlarge.
Coming soon.
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Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones).  Click pictures to enlarge.
Coming soon.
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Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.
Name Website Description
     
     
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Page last updated 06-Feb-2010

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