Editing History of video games (section)

====8-bit consoles====
{{Main|Third generation of video game consoles}}
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While the 1983 video game crash devastated the United States market, the Japanese video game sector remained unscathed. That year, Nintendo introduced the [[Famicom]] (short for Family Computer), while newcomer [[Sega]] used its arcade game background to design the [[SG-1000]]. The Famicom quickly became a commercial success in Japan, with 2.5 million consoles sold by the start of 1985. Nintendo wanted to introduce the system into the weak United States market but recognized the market was still struggling from the 1983 crash and video games still had a negative perception there.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Nintendo's Final Solution|magazine=[[Electronic Games]]|date=March 1985|volume=4|issue=36|url=https://archive.org/stream/electronic-games-magazine-1985-03/Electronic_Games_Issue_36_Vol_04_01_1985_Mar#page/n7/mode/2up|access-date=February 5, 2012|page=9}}</ref> Working with its [[Nintendo of America]] division, Nintendo rebranded the Famicom as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), giving it the appearance of a [[video cassette recorder]] rather than a toy-like device, and launched the system in the United States in 1985 with accessories like [[R.O.B.]] (Robotic Operating Buddy) to make the system appear more sophisticated than prior home consoles.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/07/time-to-feel-old-inside-the-nes-on-its-30th-birthday/ | title = The NES turns 30: How it began, worked, and saved an industry | first=  Andrew | last=  Cunningham | date = July 15, 2013 | access-date = September 21, 2018 | work = [[Ars Technica]] }}</ref> The NES revitalized the U.S. video game market, and by 1989, the U.S. market has resurged to {{USD|5 billion|long=no}}. Over 35 million NES systems were sold in the U.S. through its lifetime, with nearly 62 million units sold globally.<ref>{{citation |title=Playing with Power in Movies, television, and Video Games: From Muppet Babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |first=Marsha |last=Kinder |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-520-07776-8 |page=90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raDNu1lThHQC&pg=PA90 |access-date=April 26, 2011}}</ref>

Besides revitalizing the U.S. market, the Famicom/NES console had a number of other long-standing impacts on the video game industry. Nintendo used the [[razor and blades model]] to sell the console at near manufacturing cost while profiting from sales of games.<ref name="down many times"/> Because games sales were critical to Nintendo, it initially controlled all game production, but at requests from companies like Namco and [[Hudson Soft]], Nintendo allowed for third-party developers to create games for the consoles, but strictly controlled the manufacturing process, limited these companies to five games year, and required a 30% licensing fee per game sale, a figure that has been used throughout console development to the present.<ref>{{cite web | url  = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-19/epic-games-fortnite-battle-with-apple-and-google-can-be-traced-to-nintendo-tax | title = Epic's Battle With Apple and Google Actually Dates Back to Pac-Man |first1 = Takahashi | last1 = Mochizuki | first2=Vlad | last2 =Savov | date = August 25, 2020 | access-date = August 25, 2020 | work = [[Bloomberg News]] }}</ref> Nintendo's control of Famicom games led to a bootleg market of unauthorized games from Asian countries. When the NES launched, Nintendo took the lessons it learned from its own bootleg problems with the Famicom, and from the oversaturation of the U.S. market that led to the 1983 crash, and created the [[10NES]] lockout system for NES games that required a special chip to be present in cartridges to be usable on NES systems. The 10NES helped to curb, though did not eliminate, the bootleg market for NES games. Nintendo of America also created the "Nintendo Seal of Approval" to mark games officially licensed by Nintendo and dissuade consumers from purchasing unlicensed third-party games, a symptom of the 1983 crash.<ref name="lockout">{{cite news |title= The Games Played For Nintendo's Sales|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/21/business/the-games-played-for-nintendo-s-sales.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=June 28, 2010|date =December 21, 1989|work=[[The New York Times]] | first=Anthony | last=Ramirez}}</ref><ref name="odeonnel nes10"/> Within the United States, Nintendo of America set up a special telephone help line to provide players with help with more difficult games and launched ''[[Nintendo Power]]'' magazine to provide tips and tricks as well as news on upcoming Nintendo games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/nintendo-power-remembering-america-s-longest-lasting-game-magazine|title=Nintendo Power: Remembering America's Longest-Lasting Game Magazine|last=Cifaldi|first=Frank|date=December 11, 2012|website=[[Gamasutra]]|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref>

Sega's SG-1000 did not fare as well against the Famicom in Japan, but the company continued to refine it, releasing [[Sega Mark III]] (also known as the Master System) in 1985. Whereas Nintendo had more success in Japan and the United States, Sega's Mark III sold well in Europe, Oceania, and Brazil.<ref>http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/book/export/html/10920 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331202752/http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/book/export/html/10920 |date=March 31, 2016 }} Sega Master System vs Nintendo Entertainment System – Game Pilgrimage</ref><ref name="consolidatedsales">{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e0912.pdf |title=Consolidated Sales Transition by Region |access-date=February 14, 2010 |date=January 27, 2010 |publisher=Nintendo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224231633/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e0912.pdf |archive-date=February 24, 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.com/systemsclassic?type=nes |title=NES |access-date=December 4, 2007 |publisher=Nintendo |work=Classic Systems |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804161605/http://www.nintendo.com/systemsclassic?type=nes |archive-date=August 4, 2007}}</ref>

Numerous fundamental video game franchises got their start during the Famicom/NES and Mark III/Master System period, mostly out of Japanese development companies. While [[Mario]] had already appeared in ''Donkey Kong'' and the Game & Watch and arcade game ''[[Mario Bros.]]'', ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', debuting in 1985, established Mario as Nintendo's [[mascot]] as well as the first of the ''[[Super Mario]]'' franchise.<ref name="gamestudies geemu"/> Sega also introduced its first mascot characters, the Opa-Opa ship from ''[[Fantasy Zone]]'' in 1986 and later replaced by [[Alex Kidd]] via ''[[Alex Kidd in Miracle World]]'' in 1986, though neither gained the popular recognition that Mario had obtained.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://kotaku.com/remembering-segas-exiled-mascot-5789284 | title = Remembering Sega's Exiled Mascot | first=  Luke | last = Plunkett | date = April 6, 2011 | access-date = March 10, 2021 | work = [[Kotaku]] }}</ref> Other key Nintendo franchises were born out of the games ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' and ''[[Metroid (video game)|Metroid]]'', both released in 1986. The formulative center of turn-based [[computer role-playing game]]s were launched with ''[[Dragon Quest (video game)|Dragon Quest]]'' (1986) from [[Chunsoft]] and [[Enix]], ''[[Final Fantasy (video game)|Final Fantasy]]'' (1987) from [[Square (video game company)|Square]], and ''[[Phantasy Star (video game)|Phantasy Star]]'' (1987) from Sega. [[Capcom]]'s ''[[Mega Man (1987 video game)|Mega Man]]'' (1987), and [[Konami]]'s ''[[Castlevania (1986 video game)|Castlevania]]'' (1986) and ''[[Metal Gear (video game)|Metal Gear]]'' (1987) also have ongoing franchises, with ''Metal Gear'' also considered to be the first mainstream [[stealth game]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The sneaky history of stealth games: Hide and seek through the ages|author=Shane Patterson|publisher=[[GamesRadar]]|date=February 3, 2009|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/the-sneaky-history-of-stealth-games/|access-date=June 21, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523181200/http://www.gamesradar.com/the-sneaky-history-of-stealth-games/|archive-date=May 23, 2012}}</ref>

With Nintendo's dominance, Japan became the epicenter of the video game market, as many of the former American manufacturers had exited the market by the end of the 1980s.<ref name="cgw_50">{{Cite book|author1=Don L. Daglow|title=[[Computer Gaming World]]|date=August 1988|issue=50|page=18|chapter=Over the River and Through the Woods: The Changing Role of Computer Game Designers|quote=I'm sure you've noticed that I've made no reference to the Nintendo craze that has repeated the Atari and Mattel Phenomenon of 8 years ago. That's because for American game designers the Nintendo is a non-event: virtually all the work to date has been done in Japan. Only the future will tell if the design process ever crosses the Pacific as efficiently as the container ships and the letters of credit now do.}}</ref> At the same time, software developers from the home computer side recognized the strength of the consoles, and companies like [[Epyx]], [[Electronic Arts]], and [[LucasArts]] began devoting their attention to developing console games<ref>{{cite magazine | title=The Good, The Bad & The Uncertain | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1989 |page=4 |url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_65 |issue=65}}</ref> By 1989 the market for cartridge-based console games was more than $2 billion, while that for disk-based computer games was less than $300 million.<ref>{{cite news | title=Soaring Into 1989 | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=February 1989 | page=8}}</ref>