Super Nintendo (SNES)
The Super Nintendo was released into the fourth generation console battle rather late, appearing a couple of years after the Sega Mega Drive had dominated the market. Successor to the hugely popular NES, the Super Nintendo equalled the competitor’s 16 bit processor, but also included an in-built support system for enhancement chips included in certain games, meaning that the Super Nintendo could effectively update itself where applicable.
For the best part of the 90s, the Super Nintendo and the
Sega Meg Drive were locked in a fierce battle for supremacy. Whilst the Super
Nintendo offered slightly better graphics and sound quality, the Mega Drive
boasted a wider range of games due to Nintendo’s strict censorship policy,
earning it the disrepute of being termed the ‘kiddies’ console. One famous
example was with the release of Mortal Kombat- a hugely successful, yet
extremely violent game. Whilst the Mega Drive produced the game with all the
blood-oozing violence still intact, the Super Nintendo opted for a ‘bloodless’
version which was generally ridiculed.
However, the persistent success of the Super Nintendo well into the 32 bit era reflects the heights of popularity the console achieved.
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Information on the Super Nintendo video games console.