???? – 1992retired
Apple IIGS
“Graphics and Sound, grace and speed: the last and loveliest of the Apple II line.”
“It previewed the NES before the NES existed, then politely stepped aside when the star arrived.”
The Nintendo VS. System was an arcade machine built from mostly the same hardware as the Famicom and NES, made to give North American players a sneak preview of the home console while Nintendo warily eyed the wreckage of the 1983 video game crash. It debuted as the first version of the Famicom hardware to arrive in North America, running familiar games — some heavily altered for the arcade, some debuting there first.
It shipped in three configurations — upright UniSystem, upright DualSystem, and sit-down DualSystem cabinets — but never caught on in Japan, and Nintendo's arcade ambitions wound down as the home console took center stage. Retired in 1992 after just a two-year run, the VS. System's real legacy was the NES itself, the console it was built to introduce to the world.
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“Graphics and Sound, grace and speed: the last and loveliest of the Apple II line.”
“It dialed up one last time and nobody picked up”
“Under $1,000, over-delivered — the little Mac everyone could finally afford.”