Pre-Launch SCES 1985 Nintendo Advanced System & Test Market Launch Nintendo Entertainment System Shirt.

Nintendo Advanced System? That was the original name for what would become the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES for short. Prior to it's test market launch in October 1985 It was referred to as the AVS.

With Atari losing 536 million in 1983 after crashing the video game market (note that is about 1.5 billion inflation adjusted for 2023), the collosal flop with E.T. and losing consumer confidence after over-licensing it's system and creating confusion and endless shovelware titles, Nintendo banned the term "Video Game" from it's marketing. Game cartridges were referred to as game paks. It was a control deck, not a gaming console.

Between its debut at CES 1985 and the test market launch in October Nintendo decided to pivot from the AVS to NES. Originally priced at $140 it had to prove that it could succeed in the US as largest media market - New York.

To do this and to prove it was not just a "video game" but instead a "Entertainment System" it had a secret weapon - R.O.B or Robotic Operating Buddy. This epically cool looking robot friend created a tangible interaction physically moving and picking up "gyros" interacting with only two early games, Gyromite and Stack-Up.

But this secret weapon was a marketing gimmick. It really wasn't fun. The robot moved at the speed of molasses and sounded like it was going to break into pieces every time you used it. Still, we recognize that this gimmick worked. Kids all over the world were obsessed with robots at the time due to the sensational hit cartoon Transformers that released in 1984. At the same time Nintendo was dipping its toes in the video game market a movie named Short Circuit was being made with a suspiciously similar looking robotic friend named Johnny 5.

But where the NES failed with It's little robotic friend it hit a Galactic Grand Slam with what would become a 55 billion dollar grossing Media franchise named the "Super Mario Bros". This combined with the zapper in iconic games like Duck Hunt allowed for interactions that were extremely novel for a home device.