Every Nintendo Home Console Released In Chronological Order

August 12, 2026 - 01:59

Nintendo's journey through home consoles is a wild ride of bold bets, massive wins, and a few hard lessons. It all started in 1983 with the Family Computer, or Famicom, in Japan, which hit North America two years later as the Nintendo Entertainment System. That gray box saved the video game industry after the 1983 crash, thanks to Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda.

Next came the Super Nintendo in 1990, a 16-bit powerhouse that many still call the golden age of RPGs and platformers. Then things got weird. The Nintendo 64 in 1996 pushed 3D gaming with Super Mario 64, but it stuck with cartridges while Sony's PlayStation used CDs. That choice cost them third-party support. The GameCube in 2001 was smaller and cheaper, but it still trailed behind.

Then Nintendo flipped the script. The Wii in 2006 used motion controls and became a cultural phenomenon, selling over 100 million units. The Wii U in 2012 tried to follow up with a tablet controller, but it confused people and flopped hard. Finally, the Switch in 2017 blended home and portable play, becoming one of the best-selling consoles ever. Through every era, Nintendo kept its own path, sometimes brilliant, sometimes stubborn, but never boring.