Nintendo · 1985

Used NES consoles and games

Nintendo test-launched the NES in New York in October 1985 and took it nationwide in 1986. It was the Famicom rebuilt for America, styled in gray, black and red like audio gear, with the cartridge hidden inside VCR style. Nintendo even called the console the Control Deck and the carts Game Paks to keep its distance from the video game crash. A 10NES lockout chip checks every cart, which is why a dirty or worn connector makes the power light blink. In October 1993 Nintendo released the top-loading NES-101, which dropped the lockout chip and the composite jacks and came with a new dogbone controller. The NES was discontinued in North America on August 14, 1995, after 61.91 million consoles sold worldwide. Buying one now comes down to which model it is, how it'll hook up to your TV and whether the carts are real.

6 models we cover.