This book is intended as a celebration of the machine, the many wonderful (and sometimes bizarre) games that it hosted, and the creativity and ingenuity of the developers who pushed the limits of what could be achieved. Not only that but how many lives has its little 8-bit console changed? Youngsters who were inspired to become programmers and artists, writers and moviemakers – or simply to get out and explore the world, as they had done in the forests and caverns of Hyrule… Designed purely as a games machine, the NES/Famicom enabled developers of the day to bring their visions to life, producing an incredibly diverse library of different genres (there are more than 880 games in its library!). But by the time it finally ceased production, two decades later, it had sold nearly 62 million units and reshaped the entire video gaming landscape – not only in cementing Nintendo as one of the world’s premier game developers, but in raising standards in gaming across the board: visually, creatively and qualitatively. With the videogame industry in disarray, Nintendo took a huge gamble when it launched its Family Computer back in July of 1983. NES/Famicom: a visual compendium Publisher Bitmap Books Designer Sam Dyer Editor Steve Jarratt Writers Steve Jarratt and Damien McFerran Photographers Chris Daw and Matt Wilsher Pixel artist Craig Stevenson
‘Press START To Play (East)’ by Craig Stevenson / 2016