Nintendo VS. System facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
VS. System

A VS. Dr. Mario arcade machine
Developer	Nintendo
Manufacturer	Nintendo
Type	Arcade video game
Release date	January 1984; 41 years ago (January 1984)
Retail availability	1984-1990
Discontinued	1990 (1990)
Units sold	100,000
Media	ROM chips
CPU	Ricoh 2A03
Platform	NES-based
Best-selling game	VS. Super Mario Bros.
Successor	PlayChoice-10

The Nintendo VS. System was a popular arcade system made by Nintendo. It was produced from 1984 to 1990. This system used much of the same technology as the Family Computer (Famicom), which later became the famous Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Many games on the VS. System were versions of Famicom and NES games. Some were changed a lot for arcades, while others first appeared on the VS. System before coming to home consoles. The system was great for two players to play together. It came in different arcade cabinets, including upright and sit-down versions. You could even swap out game boards to play different games on each side of a cabinet!

The VS. System was very successful, especially in the United States. About 100,000 arcade machines were sold. It was even the highest-earning arcade machine of 1985. This success showed Nintendo that people in North America were ready for their home console, the NES, which was released in 1985.

How the VS. System Worked

The VS. System was often sold as a kit to update older arcade machines. These included games like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros.. These older machines needed a special type of monitor to work with the VS. System.

Almost all VS. System cabinets had the same main parts. They were powered by a Ricoh 2A03 central processing unit (CPU). This is the exact same CPU found in the Nintendo Entertainment System. However, the VS. System used special video chips called PPUs.

Each PPU chip had a different set of colors, or "palette." This meant that if you swapped a game board, you also needed the right PPU. Otherwise, the game's colors would look wrong. Later versions of the system added special PPUs to prevent people from easily copying games.

Some cabinets were designed for two players, looking like two games joined together. The "Red Tent" was a special sit-down cabinet. It allowed up to four players to play at the same time. Because the VS. System used the same CPU as the NES, many of its games could be changed to work on the NES home console.

Game Differences: Arcade vs. Console

Many games on the VS. System were different from their Famicom or NES versions. For example, VS. Super Mario Bros. was much harder than the regular Super Mario Bros. game. Some levels from VS. Super Mario Bros. were even used later in Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Famicom.

The graphics could also be different. VS. Duck Hunt, for instance, had more details and animations than the home console version. These changes made the arcade games unique and often more challenging.

History of the VS. System

In the early 1980s, some companies tried making arcade systems where you could easily swap games. Sega had a successful system called Convert-a-Game. This idea led other companies, including Nintendo, to create their own game-swapping systems. Nintendo launched the VS. System in 1984.

The Nintendo VS. System was very important for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was the first time Nintendo's Famicom technology came to North America, in 1984. Its success in arcades showed Nintendo that there was a strong market for their home console, the NES.

After the video game crash of 1983, the home video game market in North America had almost disappeared. Retailers were worried about selling game consoles. However, the arcade game industry started to recover, partly thanks to systems like the VS. System. Nintendo saw that players were returning to arcades.

Nintendo's boss, Hiroshi Yamauchi, believed there was still a market for the Famicom. So, he decided to introduce it to North America through arcades first. The VS. System was based on the Famicom's parts. It was also cheaper to make than some of Nintendo's other arcade machines, like Punch-Out. This fit Nintendo's idea of "lateral thinking with withered technology," which means using older, proven technology in new, clever ways.

List of Games

The first game released for the VS. System was VS. Tennis in January 1984. Many other games followed, some of which were never released outside of Japan or were prototypes.

See also

• PlayChoice-10, Nintendo's other arcade series based on the NES
• Nintendo Super System, the Super NES-based arcade system
• Wild Gunman (1984), which had a fictional VS. arcade version shown in the movie Back to the Future Part II (1989)