Nintendo and a New Standard for Video Games: Crash Course Games #7

So we ended the last episode at the North American Video Game Crash of 1983, and even though the video game market had collapsed in the United States, demand for video games remained strong in Europe and Asia. Nintendo of Japan, originally a playing card company, which had seen some success in arcades, saw this as an opportunity to (tentatively) introduce its own console to the U.S. - the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES. The NES saw a number of significant technological and gameplay improvements but it was Nintendo’s approach to game development that changed the industry. Nintendo’s defined a new set of standards for video game quality by requiring contracts with all 3rd party developers. Nintendo even used special technology within the console that forced developers to get approval, marketed as a Seal of Quality, for their games to work on the console. And this strategy worked. Nintendo reinvigorated the North American market and became synonymous with quality games. But it wouldn’t be the only new player in the U.S. for long.

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[StevenFox]

I remember back in the 90s, in Germany Nintendo even had a player hot line where you could call in case you were stuck in a game and needed a hint. Those guys are childhood heroes to me.

[MrLittleDuck]

Side note. The crash also was avoided in the uk. We had an indie revolution back then in the forms of the commodore and the bbc.

[cls]

It's a shame that so many people that claim to be "real gamers" don't appreciate Nintendo really at all. They just label it as "kids stuff" and move on and say that anyone who plays it is a manchild, I've learned to ignore it but these "real gamers" are missing out and imo if you don't appreciate Nintendo at least in the past then you are not a real gamer.

[BackwardAssassin]

Did anybody else catch this? The photo they showed at 1:25 is not Fusajiro Yamauchi. It's actually a photo of his great grandson (or maybe great grandson in law, I don't fully understand Japanese custom on this), Hiroshi Yamauchi. Hiroshi was a different president of Nintendo.

[hemangchauhan]

Really like this show. Please do talk about *pen and paper role playing games* and *trading card games* in future, as those are games I'm not familiar about and I'm really interested in them.

Thanks again to the team.

[caspian]

these are really fascinating and informative, keep em coming!

[robstyles]

As a 34 year old guy who grew up in the 80s, I absolutely love this series that Crash Course has been doing! Great work Andre!

[flashfirerobloxlegosand]

I cannot stress to you how much I love this channel and how much I love it that there is a video games subsection. Man! You guys are great!!

[snake]

Thank you for this series it's very nice to see other topics, when ever I wanna learn about something there's always CC

[double_kevin]

1:27 That's Hiroshi Yamauchi, not Fusajiro. Hiroshi was president of Nintendo during the 1980s. Fusajiro died in 1940.

[zlippery]

Crash course has found it's pace. Not too rushed or jokes that just irritating. Very educating. I like this guy.

[jacobdrum]

I noticed the "traitor" comment but I really hope you talk about computer gaming in some depth, as it was the most interesting thing happening in the 90s and arguably is still the best gaming platform.

[Lexyvil]

It's clear how America really was more into the money than actually making games innovative and fun, which influenced the collapse. Can't believe they had to make movie-base games that long ago rather than using original ideas.

[YapTuntley]

Awesome video! Can't wait to see more!

[sirrobertwalpole]

The original light gun looked far more realistic, the orange version was created for the American market. I just felt like pointing that out.

[shopgirlkc]

I love this series so much. You're doing a great job!!!

[kuntamdc]

How big was the impact of saving progress? This had to have a huge impact as well. Storage in the cartridge of game meant bulky systems and greater cost for game developers. Console designer had to include unused storage space on their hard drives as a solution. But even taking arcades into consideration. Saving has been an interesting factor that has undoubtedly shaped the culture/industry.

[GreenArt]

Anybody else notice that they put a picture of Hiroshi Yamachi at 1:26 and not Fusajiro?

[cholten]

Hopefully when this moves off consoles and onto computer games it'll go back over not just he C64 but some of its great competition - especially the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. In the UK in the 80s the fight wasn't between consoles - it was between the C64 and Speccy.

[MistSonata]

He's still playing the games on that awful Ouya controller. Andre, do they not have any better options? Did they not let you bring an actual NES, or even a decent bluetooth controller to use with whatever device you're playing these on? Are they holding you there against your will? Blink twice in a row if they're holding you against your will, Andre!