Thirty-Eight Years Ago, the Nintendo Famicom Released and Saved Video Games

The Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom) is the Japanese name and version of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

The Nintendo Family Computer. [Credit: Evan-Amos]

The Famicom released in 1983 and was a huge step-up as games became more detailed and were bigger.

The console also led to the creation of many popular and iconic franchises, such as: "Super Mario Bros.," "The Legend of Zelda," "Metroid," "Dragon Quest," "MegaMan," etc..

A screenshot of "The Legend of Zelda" for the Nintendo Entertainment System. [Credit: The Nintendo Store Page for "The Legend of Zelda" on the Wii U]

A screenshot of "Super Mario Bros." for the Nintendo Entertainment System. [Credit: The Nintendo Store Page for "Super Mario Bros." on the Wii U]

The Nintendo Family Computer laid the groundwork for the video game industry as a whole.