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 AVS. Dr. Mario arcade machine | |
| Developer | Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Type | Arcade video game |
| Released | January 1984; 42 years ago (January 1984) |
| Lifespan | 1984-1992 |
| Discontinued | |
| Units sold | 100,000 |
| Media | ROM chips |
| CPU | Ricoh 2A03 |
| Platform | NES-based |
| Best-selling game | VS. Super Mario Bros. |
| Successor | PlayChoice-10 |
TheNintendo VS. System[a] is anarcade system that was developed and produced byNintendo. It is based on most of the same hardware as theFamily Computer (Famicom), later released as theNintendo Entertainment System (NES). As Nintendo was planning to release the NES in North America, they became wary of the effects thevideo game crash of 1983 on thehome console market. By March 1984 the U.S. arcade industryrecovered enough for a plan to introduce NES titles, by having the VS. System serve as a preview of the console to prospective players. It became the first version of the Famicom hardware to debut in North America.
Most of its games are conversions from the Famicom and NES, some heavily altered for the arcade format, and some debuted on the VS. System before being released on the Famicom or NES. The system focuses on two-player cooperative play. It was released in three different configurations: upright VS. UniSystem cabinets, upright VS. DualSystem cabinets, and sit-down VS. DualSystem cabinets. Games are on pluggable circuit boards, allowing for each side to have a different game.
The VS. System did not have lasting popularity in Japan, leading to Nintendo's departure from arcade game development. In contrast, it was a commercial success in the United States, with about 100,000arcade cabinets sold, becoming the highest-grossingarcade machine of 1985. The system's success in arcades proved the market for thetest release of the NES in North America in 1985. The final VS. System game was released in 1990.
In 1980,Data East had introduced the concept of a convertiblearcade system board, orarcade conversion system, with theDECO Cassette System, but it was not a major success. The first successful arcade conversion system isSega'sConvert-a-Game system in 1981.[3] Its success led to several other arcade manufacturers introducing their own arcade conversion systems by the mid-1980s, including the Nintendo VS. System in 1984.[4]
The Nintendo VS. System is pivotal in thehistory of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The VS. System is the first version of the Family Computer (Famicom) hardware to debut in North America during 1984, the success of which proved the market for the official release of theNES console.[5][6] Following the North Americanhomevideo game crash of 1983, Nintendo's negotiations withAtari to introduce the Famicom in North America stalled due to Atari'songoing debacle, andNintendo of America's market research garnered warnings from retailers and distributors to stay away from home consoles, with U.S. retailers refusing to stock game consoles. Meanwhile, thearcade game industry also had a slump as thegolden age of arcade video games was coming to an end, but the arcade industry recovered and stabilized with the help of software conversion kit systems, such as Sega's Convert-a-Game system, theAtari System 1, and the Nintendo-Pak system. Nintendo presidentHiroshi Yamauchi realized there was still a market for video games in North America, where players were gradually returning to arcades in significant numbers. Yamauchi still had faith there was a market for the Famicom, so he introduced it to North America through the arcade industry.[5]
Nintendo based the VS. System hardware on the Famicom, and introduced it as the successor to its Nintendo-Pak arcade system, which had been used for games such asMario Bros. andDonkey Kong 3. Though technologically inferior to Nintendo'sPunch-Out!! arcade hardware, the VS. System was relatively inexpensive. The Nintendo-Pak andPunch-Out!! hardware also have a limited game library, whereas the VS. System accessed a wider variety of games, by easily converting Famicom games.Nintendo of America hired Jeff Walker fromBally to help market the VS. System in North America, where it debuted at the 1984 ASI show along withPunch-Out!! in February.[5]
The VS. System was designed primarily as a kit to retrofitDonkey Kong,Donkey Kong Jr.,Donkey Kong 3,Popeye, andMario Bros. cabinets, so they require the same special monitor. These monitors use inverse voltage levels for their video signals as compared to most arcade monitors.
Almost all VS. System cabinets have identical hardware powered by aRicoh 2A03central processing unit (CPU), the same in the NES, except for special PPUs or video chips.[7] Each chip contains a different palette that arrange the colors in different configurations chosen apparently at random. Most boards can be switched to a new game simply by swapping the program ROMs and the appropriate PPU or the game will have incorrect colors.[8] Several of the later units employ further copy protection by using special PPUs which swap pairs of I/O registers or return special data from normally unimplemented regions of memory, and games are not interchangeable with these models.
Some dedicated double cabinets look like two games butted together at an angle, with a single motherboard. The Red Tent, a steel sit-down cabinet for the VS. DualSystem, allows play for up to four players simultaneously. It has the same motherboard as the double cabinet.
Because theVS. System has the same CPU as the NES, its games can be ported to the NES with modifications to the console including extra memory banks and additional DIP switches.[9] Some games differ from their home console versions. For example,VS. Super Mario Bros. is considerably more difficult thanSuper Mario Bros.; some of the levels were reused inSuper Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels for theFamicom Disk System.[10] Some games' graphics differ, such asVS. Duck Hunt having more details and animation sequences.
Upon release, the VS. System generated excitement in the arcade industry, receiving praise for its easy conversions, affordability, flexibility, and multiplayer capabilities.[5][11] Eddie Adlum ofRePlay magazine said Nintendo had suddenly become "the big guy on the block" in 1984 due to the VS. System, which "not only meant interchangeable games but interaction between players on dual-monitor games".[12] ForPlay Meter magazine, Roger C. Sharpe called it a "highly attractive and open-ended interchangeable game system featuring excellent graphics and realistic on-screen visuals" in 1984[13] and Gene Lewin gave the system a rating of 10+ out of 10 in 1985.[14] Others[who?] criticized the system's graphics as technologically weaker than more recent rival arcade systems, and than Nintendo's own powerfulPunch-Out!! arcade hardware.[5]
In Japan,VS. Tennis topped Japan's chart fortable arcade cabinets in April 1984[15] and May 1984,[16] andVS. Baseball topped the chart in June[17] and July 1984.[18] By 1985, however, the VS. System had declined in Japan, which led to Yamauchi deciding to withdraw Nintendo from the Japanese coin-op industry in late 1985[5][2] and Nintendo focusing more on the Famicom.[19]
In North America, by contrast, the VS. System became a major success.[5] Following the arcade success ofsports video games such asKonami'sTrack & Field (1983), Nintendo capitalized on this trend with sports gamesPunch-Out!!,VS. Tennis, andVS. Baseball with great success in the US arcade market; Sharpe considered Nintendo "a force to reckon with" based on this strong performance.[13] The VS. System was declared an "overwhelming hit" byPlay Meter, attributing its success to "good games and low price".[20] Between 10,000 and 20,000arcade cabinets were sold in 1984,[21] and individualVS. games were top earners on arcade charts.[6]VS. Tennis topped the arcade charts for software conversion kits in July 1984 (on theRePlay charts)[22] and August 1984 (on thePlay Meter charts),[23] andVS. Baseball topped the charts from September[24] through November 1984.[25][26]Hogan's Alley andDuck Hunt then became even more popular in American arcades, popularizinglight gun shooter video games.[12] By 1985, 50,000 cabinets had been sold, establishing Nintendo as an industry leader in the arcades.[27] In November 1985, fiveVS. games were on the USRePlay top 20 arcade charts, withHogan's Alley holding the top spot.[28]Duck Hunt was also popular in arcades at the time.[5] The VS. System went on to become the highest-grossingarcade platform of 1985 in the United States,[29][30] andHogan's Alley andExcitebike became the top two highest-grossing arcade system games that year.[31]
The success of the VS. System gave Nintendo the confidence torepackage the Famicom for North America as the NES. Nintendo's strong positive reputation in the arcades also generated significant interest in the NES. It also gave Nintendo the opportunity to test new games as VS. Paks in the arcades, to determine which games to release for theNES launch. Nintendo's software strategy was to first release games for the Famicom, then the VS. System, and then for the NES. This allowed Nintendo to build a solid launch line-up for the NES. Many games' North American debut was on the VS. System before being released for the NES, which gave players the impression of being "amazed" at the accuracy of the arcade "ports" for the NES.[5] At the time, most arcade game hardware was significantly more powerful than home console hardware, and game developers would go through significant effort to try to replicate arcade games on the less powerful home consoles, often with little success.
Within a few months of its 1986 release, 20,000VS. Super Mario Bros. arcade units were sold, becoming the best-sellingVS. release, with each unit consistently earning more than$200 (equivalent to $590 in 2025) per week. Its arcade success helped introduceSuper Mario Bros. to many players who did not yet own an NES.[32] By the time the NES was launched in North America (from late 1985 to 1986), about 100,000 VS. Systems had been sold to American arcades.[33][34][35] According to Ken Horowitz, the VS. System "was perhaps the most vital catalyst in the rise of the NES to the top of the home video game market".[5]
In Europe, the VS. System was also a success in arcades by early 1986, before the launch of the NES there. At London'sAmusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) show in January 1986, David Snook ofPlay Meter magazine listedVS. Super Mario Bros. as one of the top five hits of the show, along withSpace Harrier,Halley's Comet,Gauntlet andTehkan World Cup.[36]
Nintendo of America announced in July 1992 that it would stop making arcade machines. The announcement included the last upcoming titles for the NES-basedPlayChoice-10 and the SNES-basedNintendo Super System, but none for the VS. System.[1]
Unknown prototypes ofVS. System games may have been either unreleased or released briefly for market testing.[37][38] Thelaunch game isVS. Tennis, released in January 1984.
| Title | Distributor | Released (JP) | Released (NA) | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VS.Tennis | Nintendo | January 1984 | March 1984 | [39][40][41] |
| VS.Mahjong | Nintendo | February 1984 | Unreleased | [42] |
| VS.Baseball | Nintendo | May 1, 1984 | July 1984 | [43][40] |
| VS.Wrecking Crew | Nintendo | July 26, 1984 | September 1984 | [44][45] |
| VS.Pinball | Nintendo | July 26, 1984 | October 1984 | [46][47][40] |
| VS.Stroke and Match Golf | Nintendo | July 26, 1984 | October 1984 | [47][40] |
| VS.Ladies Golf | Nintendo | July 26, 1984 | December 1984 | [47][40] |
| VS.Balloon Fight | Nintendo | October 3, 1984 | September 1984 | [46][45] |
| VS.Clu Clu Land | Nintendo | December 7, 1984 | Unreleased | [48] |
| VS.Excitebike | Nintendo | December 7, 1984 | February 1985 | [48][40] |
| VS.Urban Champion | Nintendo | December 1984 | January 1985 | [49][50] |
| VS.Ice Climber | Nintendo | February 1, 1985 | March 1985 | [51][40] |
| VS.Raid on Bungeling Bay | Nintendo | April 1985 | Cancelled | [52][42] |
| VS.Hogan's Alley | Nintendo | Unreleased | May 1985 | [40] |
| VS.Duck Hunt | Nintendo | Unreleased | May 1985 | [40] |
| VS.Mach Rider | Nintendo | August 1985 | November 1985 | [53][40][45] |
| VS.Soccer | Nintendo | December 10, 1985 | November 1985 | [54][40] |
| VS.Battle City | Namco | 1985 | Unreleased | |
| VS.Star Luster | Namco | 1985 | Unreleased | |
| VS.Super Mario Bros. | Nintendo | Unreleased | February 1986 | [42] |
| VS.Ninja JaJaMaru-kun | Jaleco | April 1986 | Unreleased | [55] |
| VS.Gumshoe | Nintendo | Unreleased | May 1986 | [42][45] |
| VS.Slalom | Nintendo | Unreleased | October 1986 | [42][45] |
| VS.Gradius | Nintendo | Unreleased | November 1986 | [42][45] |
| VS.The Goonies | Nintendo | Unreleased | November 1986 | [42][45] |
| VS.Sky Kid | Sunsoft | Unreleased | November 1986 | [56] |
| VS.Family Stadium / R.B.I. Baseball | Namco (JP) Atari Games (US) | December 10, 1986 | 1987 | [57][42] |
| VS.Super Xevious: GAMP no Nazo | Namco | 1986 | Unreleased | |
| VS.Tower of Babel | Namco | 1986 | Unreleased | |
| VS.Valkyrie no Bōken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu | Namco | 1986 | Unreleased | |
| VS.Castlevania | Nintendo | Unreleased | April 1987 | [58] |
| VS. Family Tennis | Namco | December 1987 | Unreleased | [59] |
| VS.T.K.O. Boxing | Data East | Unreleased | 1987 | [42] |
| VS.The Quest of Ki | Namco | 1988 | Unreleased | |
| VS.Top Gun | Konami | Unreleased | March 1988 | [60][61] |
| VS.Freedom Force | Nintendo | Unreleased | March 1988 | [62] |
| VS.Platoon | Sunsoft | Unreleased | November 1988 | [63] |
| VS.Dr. Mario | Nintendo | Unreleased | August 1990 | [64] |
| VS. Motocross | Nintendo | Unreleased | Cancelled | [65] |
| VS. Nintendo 500 | Nintendo | Unreleased | Cancelled | [65] |
| VS. Football | Nintendo | Unreleased | Cancelled | [65] |
| VS. Helifighter | Nintendo | Unreleased | Cancelled | [65] |
| VS. Head to Head Baseball | Nintendo | Unreleased | Cancelled | |
| VS.Mighty Bomb Jack | Tecmo | Cancelled | Cancelled | [66][67] |
| VS. Great Tennis | Jaleco | Cancelled | Unreleased | [68] |
| VS. Lionex (prototype) | Sunsoft | Cancelled | Unreleased | [42] |
| VS.The Wing of Madoola (prototype) | Sunsoft | Cancelled | Unreleased | [42] |
| VS.Tetris | Atari Games | Unreleased | Cancelled |
More than 10,000 VS. System units were sold by the end of 1984 alone (some put the figure as high as 20,000).
