10 Little-Known Decisions That Changed The Course Of Gaming History

8. Nintendo Commit Financial Suicide

After the video game crash of 1983, which saw the North American gaming market (and most notably Atari) collapse as a result of over-saturation and a lack of product quality, there were no Western retailers who had any desire to stock games consoles any more. They were widely perceived to be a fad that had passed, though the likes of arcades continued to thrive in their absence from the market. Japanese company Nintendo therefore had no easy way to access the American market, despite the fact that their creation, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) had sold more than 2.5 million units in Japan by the start of 1985. Though the system had an ergonomic d-pad controller, well-received games such as Super Mario Bros and a quality control system that limited third party developers from releasing poor quality games (a response to the 1983 crash), it seemed as if the American public wanted nothing to do with it, particularly after a test marketing release failed. In 1986, Nintendo tried again, this time by offering consoles to retailers and setting up displays for free, charging only for units that sold with an obligation to take back any that didn't without making a penny in return. The company were publicly-traded in Japan, so it's anybody's guess as to how they cleared this with their shareholders, but the decision ultimately resulted in the system being sold nationally in record volumes, particularly as the release of titles such as the Legend of Zelda sent demand soaring over the next few years.