Why is The North American SNES Ugly???? - Super Nintendo History - THGM

[@RGT85]

I hope for a world in which one day people would realize that Top Hat Gaming Man is a channel that gives historical and personal impressions on things with heavy amounts of British satire. STOP GETTING OFFENDED BY EVERYTHING HE SAYS. IT'S SATIRICAL. A CHARACTER. HE'S A WELL DRESSED MAN IN A TOP HAT ACTING BETTER THAN YOU. THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT FUN!

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Thank you, Shawn! Someone from the colonies, with a brain!

[@rossvegas7]

Top Hat Gaming Man bravo young man bravo...

[@SianaGearz]

But to what extent does repeating himself an average of 4 times during the video help? Or is it just sloppy writing?

[@KetwunsGamingPad]

They are just jealous of how civilised and cultured and deliberately condescending of NA he is lol.

[@theneondino]

I'll be honest, it wasn't that obvious to me that it was a character. With him talking about his childhood SNES and shit. Kudos THGM. I'll keep this in mind when watching future videos.

[@tmpardi77]

I would have personally smacked the shit out of any of my friends if they tried to balance one of their drinks on my Super Nintendo.

[@elmalloc]

I Woudl Have Done Worse

[@nezumi6554]

I would smack them with a Sega Genesis controller.

[@KiKfilms]

Nah, I sometimes put a glass of drink on my NES.

[@joyconboyasmr6499]

tmpardi77 my cat pissed on mine and I ran it over

[@jameswilliamson4315]

I would have smacked the shit out of any of my friends if they tried to drink champagne from a wine glass. Philistines!

[@AbandonedVoid]

"Do people just eat meals sitting on their couch in the states?" Yes.

[@electricdreams8237]

The horror!

[@joelbizzell1386]

Well, in my recliner.

[@requiem165]

Slobs lol

[@jamesmylife6578]

Yeah mostly during football season but however then we’d sit at the table

[@Keb1888]

In Mexico we eat it on dirt

[@steeeeeaaam]

I had the NES and SNES and Genesis (Mega Drive) growing up in the USA, and I never knew anyone who would put things on top of game systems that could spill. We had like...the floor or tables to set things on as kids. Heck even coffee tables and side tables, and I grew up poor so it's not like only well off people have freaking tables. The guy who designed the North American SNES is trippin' on some mean crack.

[@TenchiJeff]

steeeeeaaam all true, but we have the option to put something on that wonderful flat surface, like a peanut, or a coffee. That cannot be done with the rounded version. Ours is better.

[@steeeeeaaam]

I have the option to walk into traffic, drink bleach, and sky dive without a parachute. Having these options doesn't make me better than anyone else who doesn't have these options.

[@VaNDaL253]

yes in fact it does make you better to have more choices then someone who doesn't regardless of the choice.

[@TenchiJeff]

VaNDaL253 I think the most important thing to remember here, when looking at the big picture, is that Sega does what Nintendon't.

[@brrebrresen1367]

not only that, its was also a culture before in Japan of poring into the cup to it floats over to show of the wealth of the household\shop... combine this with the extreme increase of soda's in the 80's and the result is bad. this culture is mostly gone now but still is active some places when ordering sake, they will though put a plater under the cup and fill it to it spills to the plater.

[@Sircreepington9th]

“Even the cartridges were bastardized.” But we have end labels.

[@Lownamebrand]

Exactly!!! That being said, I do like the super famicom look alot more, but I'll take our cartridges over the rest of the world.

[@kenrickkahn]

I will always take the North America cartridge design over the rest of world's version of the Super Nintendo Cartridge design.. Reading the label seems like a better idea than just pulling cartridges out of it's perfectly stacked place when you can easily read the labels on what you want to play and remove perfectly without making a mess..

[@pepincuatro2865]

That's the only thing where the American version wins

[@JamesPanic]

I could never use my SNES as a table. That's what tables are for.

[@fearanarchy]

Blank Name - Could I use my tablet as an SNES? If not, the SNES has job security.

[@amuzulo]

fearanarchy I use my tablet as an SNES. It's called an iPad with Retroarch. 😎

[@goldenfreddy4122]

The Angry Video Game Nerd got American Super Nintendo (AVGN LIVE IN AMERICA)

[@joepoelmans5910]

COnsidering all the types of mods one can do Id like to see those old gametables at restaraunts where you could eat pizza and play on it at the same time. Would love to make or mod one with a bunch of games loaded on it and drawers for cords and controllers and such for when people come over. Plus the amount of room it could save would be awesome

[@requiem165]

I know right

[@smol_white_bat]

2:43 I didn't know Paul Rudd appeared in a SNES ad. That dude has always been relatable.

[@maserbantez]

I think that was his first paid gig

[@cmykimberly]

Hahaha iconic

[@requiem165]

Lol

[@matthewblackwood4704]

I prefer the look of the north American one. I also remember when the first few units hit the stores they had multi colored buttons which were soon swapped out for the purple. We did get the SNES version 2 which had a more rounded off smoothed out look.

[@HitomiCOD2]

i actually Balance my consoles on my drinks

[@charlotteronda3361]

Lol, wonderful comment

[@requiem165]

Same

[@MINI_91]

Points for the comment and Claymore.

[@carpandrei7493]

I just found your channel and I was actually wondering why on earth did the US got such a boxy design in comparison with the sleek, modern and colorful looking SNES in Europe/Japan! You just earned yourself one more subscriber! Hat's off to a job well done, Sir!

[@starstarstar4643]

"The Euro/Japan design looks like a used loaf of bread 🍞 " - President of Nintendo of America And I agree lol 😆

[@PauloMoreira-tk6eh]

Japanese SNES is a bit generic design.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

I just remembered that one of my siblings spilled a soda on the Nintendo 64 in a way that didn't damage the circuitry, but now the power switch and reset button always stick. Maybe the 64 needed a flatter design!

[@babelclub9017]

Clean them.

[@jamesmylife6578]

@@babelclub9017 it was never that easy.

[@fighterxaos1]

I may have grown up with the North American SNES but I think the Japanese and PAL ones have a nicer design. I like it's colors compared to the North American one. The buttons remind me of those candies "Smarties" but the Japanese and PAL ones look like Skittles.

[@fighterxaos1]

FieryReign you know they do look more like Spree now that I think about it. Especially since they didn't have any printing on them

[@strangevision99]

Thats odd because in the UK we have brightly coloured sweets called Smarties (similar to M&M or Skittles in appearance) and they are similar to our SNES buttons. Perhaps this was Nintendo's intent all along, to make their buttons match the respective region's Smarties. From a google search the US Smarties look like our Love Hearts or Parma Violets. I'd never thought about it but they do look like the concave US SNES buttons.

[@maggiethegamer1271]

Landale Star Czech Smarties are colored, too.

[@origionalwinja]

they look gay as fuck. also NTSC is far superior to PAL as a format.

[@strangevision99]

origionalwinja NTSC runs at a higher refresh rate and PAL has a higher resolution and better colour. Neither are really superior. We have it much better now that we have abolished both those old standards.

[@ellarpc]

When the American SNES came out I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen!! I even drew pictures of it in school dreaming of having one in my room!

[@HBKnowItAll]

RonnieWolfe fine, I will replace everything in your house with garbage and force you to say that it is beautiful! Would you?

[@Tieigo0]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. So please respect.

[@SilhSe]

Haha nice 👍

[@tiffanygabriel2311]

I never had a problem with the NA SNES design. It didn't blow me away, but then again, no console design has. The original design doesn't look right to me, but that's probably because I had the NA version. If I would have grown up in Europe I might see the NA version online and think it's weird.

[@peppigue]

As a Nintendo kid, I must say the PS2 was a fresh design.

[@CanuckGod]

I agree... growing up in Canada and owning the SNES, I didn't know there was a different design for the other regions, and as such always assumed everyone got the same purple and grey systems that we did. I also agree that the Japanese/PAL system did look a bit odd to me, and perhaps uglier to my eyes, but then again that's probably due to us North Americans growing up with the design we did.

[@michaelkenwell9146]

Indeed totally agree, function matters much more than form with gaming hardware.

[@Captain_Neckbeard]

I really love the concave X and Y buttons on the American controllers.

[@Magnero]

The colors were hideous but you didn't have to look at them if you're playing lol

[@Am0r_y_PeZ]

Me too man

[@TheAbsol7448]

corvusala I liked the simple colors. Maybe it's nostalgia from when I was 6, but I think the European one is _too_ colorful. Plus, I think the European SNES looks like an old Apple product rather than a Nintendo product. I personally prefer the blocky American version.

[@rancorbob]

Whoa I just realized they have outies gross

[@bazdaniels7420]

Me too! I always wished the A and B buttons were shaped like that. The convex buttons eventually made my fingertips hurt, and seemed a bit more "wobbley."

[@Microwave414]

Nintendo of Japan: Let's make a console that looks sleek, futuristic but simple and easy to understand how to use. Nintendo of Europe: We like that design, lets not change it. Nintendo of America: I know what kids want. Kids want those satan lego blocks from europe that I step on every morning when I want to get a cup of coffee. Lets make it blocky!

[@jacobmartens3810]

As an owner of both a North American and Japanese model, I will say that the North American model had a far superior power switch and eject function. The aesthetics are debatable, but they actually made some real improvements in the redesign.

Retro-ge Den you’re wrong

[@willmistretta]

I will say that the dark purple power and reset switches look nice against the grey, however.

[@PongoXBongo]

Indeed. The international version was a boring gray box, not a eye-catching games system.

[@Sc0pee]

The international SNES box has 7 different colors to it, while the NTSC box has only 3. The NTSC is clearly the bland looking one of the two...I remember as a kid when I was on a look for a second controller and there was only the NTSC version on sale (because all of the PAL version had been bought out), and I was so disappointed that I didn't buy one at all.

[@PongoXBongo]

The 4 color logo hardly counts, and neither do the controller buttons. The bulk of the unit is beige and gray. Looks like a bit of office kit (printer, fax machine, etc.), not a high tech entertainement system.

[@Sc0pee]

I feel like the logo is the cherry on top of the cake. Both units are greyish, the NTSC and the SNES though. So was the PS1. PS1 actually reminds me alot of the PAL SNES. it too has a tiny colorful logo on it...

[@southsidegamer5611]

I think that is the only redeeming feature, the rest of the console is not as aesthetically pleasing

[@cameronfowler7248]

I honestly kinda like the north american design a bit better, but it very much could just be that it was the design I grew up with. As far as the controllers go, I definitely prefer the north american ones. The concave shape on the X and Y buttons just feels more comfortable to me overall.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

I'm American and I agree with the opinions you've expressed in this video. I never knew anyone who used their consoles to hold food, but it also doesn't surprise me that our version of the console had to be idiot-proofed, either.

[@kenrickkahn]

Even as a kid I never could understand why would anyone take any type of risk damaging their electronics that they spent their hard earned money on?

[@blaster5800]

In Italy, the NES was simply THE game console of that era. Almost no one bought the Sega Master System (or other options like Atari...), and only a few bought the Master System 2. "Nintendo" was literally the term we used for "game console".

[@JamieJoseph88]

Same here in Australia, I have no sense of nostalgia towards any of those microcomputers nor does anyone else I know

[@kenrickkahn]

@@JamieJoseph88 but this guy claims you guys was just about computers and nothing else.. The Nintendo Entertainment System/The Famicom wasn't big no where else except Japan and North America..

[@JamieJoseph88]

@@kenrickkahn and as for the Master System, I've never seen a Mark I model in person before and I've only ever play a Mark II twice, my introduction to gaming was with the NES

[@Spolupyo]

How could it have been any other way in the land of Mario himself?

[@ΓιάννηςΓουμαράς]

Japan/European SNES is the pinnacle of console design. One of the most beautiful consoles ever made. The North American version was an abomination. Plus I think that they changed the design in order to make it look more edgy and "cool" for the teenagers, because of Sega's commercials which were claiming that Sega is for cool teenagers and Nintendo is for kids. The Japan/European version is the really Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

[@CanuckGod]

Funny, I think the North American version looks much better, but then again being a Canadian I might be a bit biased.

[@MASTERVETEAM4]

I am Canadian and I love my Purple & Gray box! The Japanese/European design might look better, but I like both design just as much.

[@Bradley_Lute]

I love the NA design. It's the one that I grew up with and I find it to be far more attractive than the boring grey. The purple accents are very of their time and have aged well. I actually liked the other two purple prototypes too. They looked really wild but might have been cool.

[@kenrickkahn]

That's the thing.. Top Hat Cat is saying things from a nostalgic frame of mind.. So yes he is going to look at the North America version say something negative about it..

[@videogameobsession]

I like both versions to be honest, but as an 18 year old in 1991 I felt the SNES had more of an adult owned style to it with the squared off edges and color changes. I am also glad they went with the concave/convex buttons, making it easy to tell which row of buttons your thumb was resting on at any given time. I would have kept the SFC button colors though.

[@zachmueller2912]

"Do people just eat meals sitting on the couch in the states or something?" Yes, yes we do.

[@jessesantiago4584]

Everyday of my life .. is not a thing Britain ? I was so confused.. I couldn’t tell if it was sincere or facetious

[@requiem165]

Slobs lol

[@requiem165]

Jesse Santiago we don’t do that lol we use a table like civilised people XD

[@angrytheclown801]

After a while we just sat around the tv making fun of the shows and chatting while eating. It was mostly used as white noise when it wasn't spurring conversation and family bonding.

[@JimmyJames10-k7v]

@@requiem165 cringe

[@wanderstuff8082]

I, for one, like the us version but that's probably because I grew up with it. It's nice and crisp. The power switch is nice and satisfying as well. (I'm 16, but my aunt gave me a snes when I was 10 as a hand me down. I also got a 64 but I only have one game for the 64 so I affectionately call it the 'perfect dark 64.')

[@jamesmylife6578]

I also really like the American snes with the purple switches and controller buttons.

[@lelsewherelelsewhere9435]

Do you have a red topped "expansion pack" in the n64? Without out, perfect dark won't play the actual campaign mode, just a demo version.

[@wanderstuff8082]

@@lelsewherelelsewhere9435 I do have the expansion pack, yeah.

[@FaithTheSlayer]

Here in America I have seen friends who had their TV set sitting on top of their old (now dead) TV set, and to the left of it was their NES, wait for it....sitting on top of their previous NES (also now dead) and yes they used to put beer, pizza and other food items nearby and sometimes on top if they had too much going on. I never did these things as I am very OCD about my gaming and electronics but will admit we are a primitive bunch here in the states. lol

[@kenrickkahn]

Not my family and I didn't do anything like that in the United States.. My mother couldn't stand when things wasn't organized and clean.. If it couldn't be fixed she sure wasn't going to keep it like we were some hoarders.. She got rid of it cause it's no longer no use to us.. I will never understand why people keep junk that can't be fixed??

[@Sc0pee]

Hmm, Game Shops did sell the imported NTSC carts here in Finland, although they were a bit pricier than the EU ones, we really didn't have much choice if we wanted to play gems like Chrono Trigger etc. so we were fully aware of the differencies at least here. Didn't they sell the imports at all in the UK? Oh and yes, like others already mentioned, Nintendo was the more popular one also in FInland, like in Germany and many other countries. BUT my big brother had a Spectrum ZX long before we got the NES! :D

[@retrocratictv275]

I always said that I love more the japanese and european versions of the SNES. But I enjoyed my SNES great games still! Loved the 16-Bit era!

[@Boscoand]

I'm happy I'm not the only one who thought the us snes was ugly. And I'm american. When I first seen the pal/japanese snes. I was like, "man those look way better". And then many us snes' looked like they've been pissed on lol

[@hurleythedog]

Bosco63and1/3 doesn't the yellowing happen to the pal SNES too I've seen videos of those yellowing too.

[@randomrandom450]

I like the colors on the buttons, but I prefer by far the look and feel of the NA SNES, the power button was pretty satisfying to push imo.

[@Quessir]

I perfectly understand someone growing up with the American SNES and thinking it looks nice and getting annoyed when someone says it looks ugly by comparison. I like the colour scheme and the change in button shape - that's a good idea. However I think most people would agree that the curvier original design was just nicer overall. The American SNES isn't ugly - it's just poor in comparison to the original. That's not at all to say it's ugly or a poor design. Of course, aesthetics are subjective :D

[@HBKnowItAll]

Quessir I'm putting a S up your A!

[@JonathanDeane]

I was too busy playing the games to even look at the SNES, I really loved the sound from that system when hooked up to a nice home stereo system it really made the games feel more immersive in my opinion. To this day I enjoy the sound of a well coded SNES game. I agree with Mr. Top Hat it's my favorite system of all time. The Genesis was also great but I suspect it required more talent to program sound for than the SNES, many Genesis games sounded horrible in comparison. (Not saying the Genesis has bad sound mind you, some games did indeed sound fantastic. In specific on the Genesis it's easy to tell when they just didn't care where as on the SNES it can be a bit more difficult as all but the worst sounding games on the SNES sounded pretty good.) If I could have a choice though, I would have picked the other design for the SNES, I liked the button colors and the look of the system just a slight bit more, the US system still looks nice though. One area where I will hand the Genesis the win, is looks that model 1 Genesis just oozed cool and high tech looking. On the subject of how consoles looked.... The Turbo Grafx 16 AKA PC Engine was like night and day... I liked the PC- Engine a lot more than the North American Turbo in looks, although I loved my Turbo :) Blazing Lazers alone made it worth owning.

[@dacypher22]

I remember during the 16-bit era reading in a game magazine that a Nintendo employee (maybe Lance?) said in an interview that they were worried that the Super Famicom design would appear to look too much like a children's toy. Nintendo was already gaining the reputation as being the younger kids' system in North America, with the Genesis and the Turbo Grafx setting themselves up to be aimed at an older audience. So they were trying to look ahead to potential marketing problems. They did foresee the coming issues, considering that Sega actually took their crown for a while in the 16-bit era by continuously advertising that they were a more teen-centric system. In reality, though, I am not really sure how the redesign was supposed to make it look less like a toy. In comparison today, the original Sega Genesis/MegaDrive most definitely looks more like an adult system compared to the SNES.

[@CT-vm4gf]

The US version looks like some kind of a cheap knockoff.

[@requiem165]

I know right lol

[@requiem165]

Grime Fork no

[@notsureiL]

Made in China

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

I have a SNES from back in the day too. (It used to be my Mum’s.) It’s in pretty perfect condition, no yellowing, no dents, maybe a couple of minor scratches, but they are hard to notice without close inspection. I don’t really know why it survived so well; perhaps because it was shut in a box, in a bag, in a suitcase, in a storage container, and in a loft for 20 years. But now that I’ve got it going again, I’ve been trying to look after it and I love it despite its age, along with Mum’s old Mega Drive.

[@kingstarscream320]

I have to say that I genuinely prefer the American SNES - greatly so. The purple highlights and concave buttons are just.. *mwah* magnifique.

[@ultimateman55]

It's not ugly. It's fantastic. And the US cart design is way better than the Super Famicom carts as well.

[@retrospiel]

I am really really glad someone from Europe tells our story. In Germany things were VERY similar to the UK and I am soooo tired of hearing the heroic tales of how Nintendo saved video gaming or how Tom Kalinske single-handedly turned Sega from a nobody into the world's biggest software company in 1993. Must have been those awesome FMV games he bought from Sony. Or perhaps the amazing Greeeendog. Surely no one cared for that blue hedgehog thing.

[@reactions5783]

In the eighties, I didn't care about Nintendo or Sega, their 8-bit consoles never even registered with me, being an owner of various home computer systems at the time, Sinclair Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga, etc. It was only in the 90s that I got into consoles, briefly with Sega Megadrive and then soon replaced by the superior SNES and N64, which I loved. However, still to this day, my all-time favourite video game music remains the loading music for Ocean games on the C64.

[@pferreira1983]

Oh we in Europe know the story, it's just US fans put their fingers in their ears!

[@kaisersoymilk6912]

Sega was doing fine in Europe with their arcade machines and (often terrible) arcade conversions, there was no need to any blue mascotte over here. That's another difference between American and European retrogamers: most of the American ones seem to know arcade games only through heir console conversions, as if they never left home to go and play on a real arcade machine.

[@kaisersoymilk6912]

​@@jjprulz I got this impression because 95% of American gaming youtubers either say "I never played (insert really popular arcade game name here) back in the days", or "I only played it on the (insert console name here)". Also, American Sega fans are usually all about "Genesis" and Sonic, while retro Sega in Europe is synonym with Arcade (Out Run After Burner, Golden Axe, Daytona, etc..)

[@baigandinel7956]

@Ultra CNC We had decent arcades, but most didn't frequent them. Cultural change.

[@jh6025]

Yes, I can confirm that various people think electronics double as tables. Drives me nuts.

[@IrelandVonVicious]

Still have my grey gun and duck hunt and my R.O.B. I also think the North America SNES look way better than the others. The NA version just looks more rugged.

[@joepoelmans5910]

SMB/Duckhunt was the first games I ever played on NES lol still my all time fave games on that system even though other games were more enjoyable

[@joepoelmans5910]

@Hiya, it's Maya! The Northamerican one yea I guess though i still love it. Of course given the era its from they werent doing much with plastic in NA versus across the sea where it had more color.

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

I don't see what is so ugly about the USA version of the Super Nintendo and it's USA cartridges. The USA version of the console and cartridges are what they are.

[@RandomYouTubeGuy87]

The grey and purple look cool but dayum the shape of the USA one is hideous.. The pal one has aged well and still to this day looks great!

[@daithiocinnsealach1982]

@Konstanley Jerknov But Canada is just one of the states along with Alaska.

[@requiem165]

I hate the purple buttons ew 🤮

[@daithiocinnsealach1982]

@Konstanley Jerknov Same type of accent and everything. Lol

[@danixdefcon5]

I find the insight on UK and European gaming market interesting. Back in the mid 80s, my dad decided to buy a C64 for educational purposes. This became my computer, though I had no 1541 drive until waaay later, a 1451-II sometime circa 1989. By then the NES had become the standard gaming system in the entire American continent (not just North America) and Mexico wasn't the exception. All of my friends had NES systems, while only a neighbor had C64 games ... because they had a C128. My parents decided against buying a NES or SNES later down the road as I already had a computer/games system, and wasting so much money on something that only did games was wasteful. Especially as we already had by then a more powerful computer that also did games: the Mac+. It seems like I would've been far more in sync had we lived in Europe. :P

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

Oh my god I love this channel already. +1 subscriber from a fellow Brit.

[@jetisbae2164]

As a European who grew up with the SNES, I like both designs, but I of course have more nostalgia for our design

[@Klynch111]

I'm a 39 year old from Ireland and I didn't see my first nes until 2017,it was c64, amstrad, spectrum and master system that all I seen in the 8 bit era. Only seen the nes at a gaming con 🤣

[@aeggbrune]

”Do people just eat meals sitting at the couch in the states or something?” I feel attacked

[@involuntaryascetic3602]

"do people in the us eat on the couch or something!?" yes, yes we do. but we also have coffee tables to put our food on.

[@bobskie321]

I think the American SNES & the Japanese Super Famicom's hardware are identical (both NTSC 60 Hz) that their way to region lock the games are thru physical barrier that's why American SNES looks different to prevent SNES cartridge from being inserted to a Japanese Famicom and Famicom cartridge from being inserted to SNES unless you break the tab inside SNES cartridge slot. European Super Famicom's hardware are PAL 50 Hz which allows game developers to region locked some games via software and only work at 50 Hz and won't work on Japanese Super Famicom (60 Hz) so they don't have to change the shape of the cartridge. Sega Mega Drive's hardware are slightly different from Genesis which allows game developer to region lock the games that some Genesis games won't work on Japanese Mega Drive even both are NTSC 60 Hz.

[@TBustah]

9:42 That is just patently untrue... First of all, some microcomputers DID find success here. The Commodore 64 sold at least 12.5 million units (some estimates put it at 17 million, and that's not even counting clones), which is WAY better than the ZX Spectrum did. I concede that we've also got a lot more people here than in the UK, but the reason that the C64 and other microcomputers didn't end up in every home is probably that people still saw computers as business machines at the time. You could play games and do a few office applications on the things, but even the original Macintosh was a powerhouse by comparison. Businesses were drawn to more powerful machines, and most homes didn't feel the need to purchase a computer. They were also WAY more expensive. In 1985, a Commodore 64 could be had for $600. The NES was $100. If all you want to do is play games (keeping in mind, most people didn't want or need a computer at the time), which one do you think you're going to buy?

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

TBustah Estimates I've read stats that the commodore shifted between 10 and 17 million units world wide. The commodore was hugely popular throughout Europe and Australia. So no idea how many would have actually been purchased in its native country. The silly thing about buying an NES in the 80s was that it was a waste of money as the games were so expensive. However I am aware that Blockbuster managed to get away with creating a file sharing network for the product, by allowing game rentals.

[@kaisersoymilk6912]

Commodore 64 was popular in America, but just for a brief period of time; you abandoned it early. By the time the Amiga 500 came out (which was not popular at all in America, despite being one of, if not *the* best 16 bit system of the time), the C64 dropped in price dramatically, so by the end of the 80s not only games were cheaper, but the computer itself costed equal or even less than a console, that's why Europe kept the C64 alive well into the early 90s.

[@ajritson]

@10:30 One addresses one as a stupid idiot whilst drinking champagne from a wine glass rather than a flute... oh my, the irony!

[@MrKenichi22]

Nope, Never did. I kept my Super Nintendo in a cabinet. hooked up to the NEC Monitor we watched TV on. My Nintendo (NES) was put on a shelf. Plus That was why the Super NES in North America has a bump on it. This was done to psychologically discourage children from putting their Drinks and Cereal on it as the NES had a flat surface, hence he was convinced kids believed it ok to put drinks and cereal on. But you got it mostly right, Nintendo of America made odd choice. To me I think the Purple was weird and we could tell the difference with the color coded buttons. So the purple wasn’t the best choice. But I love my Super Nintendo just as you do, Hasn’t yellowed but it is a beautiful piece of 90’s machinery!

[@MrKenichi22]

Supreme Ruler of Emptiness Mostly Juice & Soda. As i said earlier, The reason why the SNES has a hump on it was to “discourage” children from putting that stuff on it, as the NES didn’t have a bump and it was a problem of kids putting drinks on their systems. But yeah, If i did have a drink it was usually by my side on a coffee table, not on my game system.

[@supersat]

At least some kids in North America knew about the different versions. Nintendo Power had previews from the Super Famicom in several issues, and I was disappointed they changed the controller colors.

[@JeffUy287]

10:29 I wonder if Chris Jericho gave Top Hat Gaming Man permission to use "Stupid Idiot"? Otherwise, HE JUST MADE THE LIST. XD Joke aside, my childhood. I do like SuperFamicom controller color button but I do agree about SNES's X and Y shape button.

[@BigSnipp]

As a youth, my American NES frequently balanced my cereal bowl.

[@KamenRiderSeiryuXV0]

I prefer the color of Super Famicom and SNES of UK having colorful sleek design. Both controller and console itself. However I'm not Nintendo fanboy, just a gamer.

[@seanryanmetalhead]

Love this video! :) I am an American and I love to see your British perspective! And I wish we would have gotten that design. I hated the purple buttons. lol

[@Zeldakostv]

I prefer the American version because: 1. The color Scheme IS better idc what you say. That purple is sexy 2. It looks more retro, old-school, cyberpunk-ish almost.

[@pferreira1983]

If you wanted Cyberpunk the MD did a better job at that.

[@jaimeeedwards6121]

I'd say the reason for the spills was because of people doing things like sitting their soda next to or on top of their system while changing their cartridge out. I've also known people who would sit on the floor and move their system out onto the floor so it was easier to reach while they played. That type of person could theoretically sit their cereal on top of their console while they got up off of the floor and accidentally spilled it on their console.

[@PPHDocumentaries]

You probably never seen the U.S SNES in person. The U.S SNES looks a lot better in person then in pictures. I love the U.S SNES design but even i think it looks ugly in pictures. Back in the day i remember my friend who had a sega Genesis and never owned a Nintendo platform saying that the SNES looks nice. I`m not sure if i ever seen the Super Famicom in person but in pictures it looks pretty plain looking in my opinion. If i see in person i would probably like the design. I do like the design of the controller though.

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Cause I have seen in it. I love traveling and I have to been to North America, many many times. I have visited 26 US states, Canada and Cuba.....not that their are really any SNES's in Cuba mind you. Last year I did a road trip from Maine to California, then back to New York and stopped at every retro gaming store on the way.

[@marcelahernandez369]

@@TopHatGamingManChannel Yeah well there are and have been tons of retro gaming consoles in Cuba for along time. I gave my SNES away to my family in cuba when i got n64, and also had to give away my n64 when i moved onto gamecube as a kid. But for sure, its not like they never released there. I just know that tons of cuban people who have made it around the world have sent back things like retro consoles for Nintendo, sony, microsoft, Sega, etc etc (i understand this is a year old just wanted to give my opinion as a subscriber of yours who happens to be cuban :P )

[@chrisd6287]

I will say the NA controllers with the concave and convex buttons was a nice touch

[@LunarShift]

Yes people eat and drink at their couches in the United States, lol. It's a cultural thing. Not a slob thing. Most Americans don't have time to prepare a meal with the whole family and sit at a dinner table with everyone from what I've observed. Wouldn't use my NES as a drink table or cereal table, but eating at the couch isn't as awful as you make it out to be. It's why TV trays and tables exist. Also gets some use out of the coffee table if you have one.

[@LunarShift]

I didn't ask you.

[@jamegumb7298]

Lunar Shift You were not asked either.

[@LunarShift]

The question was clearly asked in the video. I am replying to it.

[@wispy9859]

Jesus christ, people act like North Korea is gonna fucking nuke us if we eat on our couches. Truly amazing.

[@KokoroKatsura]

A N I M E N I M E

[@TBustah]

At least as far as the shape of the cartridges and cartridge slot, a redesign was actually necessary. Because North America and Japan are both NTSC, Nintendo decided to cut costs by putting the same motherboards in both systems. That's why Lance's more... interesting designs involving levers and whatnot were scrapped; they would have required a new board. However, Nintendo also wanted to make sure that the cartridges from each system weren't playable on the other, to avoid the sort of backlash that they ended up receiving anyway in those infamous congressional hearings. It may have also been a way for them to prevent people in Japan from importing American cartridges. So, they made the case of the North American cartridge too large to fit in a Super Famicom, and they put those tabs in the North American cartridge slot to prevent a Super Famicom game from being inserted.

[@gomibako1847]

Yeeeeeah think I'll go with the machine that can play games from every region without having to completely destroy the cartridge slot.

[@PongoXBongo]

Didn't the Game Genie serve as a decent adapter as well?

[@gomibako1847]

I'd hardly call removing some tabs that can't be seen unless you're holding the dust cover open "butchering", but I can definitely understand the sentiment of not wanting to deface your SNES in any way. Personally I think expanding functionality isn't something that's detrimental to hardware so I'm fine with losing the tabs, but using an adapter is a good middle ground I suppose.

[@DanaTheInsane]

In the US Model all you had to do was remove two small plastic tabs out of the slot to play the import carts.

[@MatthewWaltonWalton]

You have made me very happy by using music from Secret of Mana in this video. Excellent game (shame about it being curtailed down from the CD vision) with utterly superb music.

[@swafflemanish]

Yes, Americans do sit at their couches and eat.

[@ZipplyZane]

It made perfect sense to put food (i.e. snacks) on an NES, because it was actually flat on top, like a table. You can easily put the caffeinated soda up there you used to keep you awake as you played through the night. But that problem is solved by having a curved design. Sure, the American SNES sorta solves the same problem with having different levels, but it's a problem that didn't exist on the Super Famicom, either. Taking away the curves actually made them have to solve the spillage problem anew.

[@ChaunceyGardener]

This abomination was also the official Playtronic's model in Brazil. But we didn't care, we had the Master System.

[@g68unit]

Cale a boca, safado

[@michaelsmulkowski5088]

I read I forgot where but fairly recently that the USA version was redesigned because of regulations about shielding from electronic fields generated by the unit during play.

[@NonstopRam]

Someone should get a plastic snes shell and do some drinks and cereal bowl tests

[@PongoXBongo]

Someone should 3d print a drinks holder caddy for the PAL version, just to spite THGM.

[@GardevoirBoy]

I may have missed Daisy on the SNES since Princess Daisy's original design had Auburn Peach-shaped hair which was the design Nintendo felt embarrassed about, not counting Mario Paint on SNES, but that's understandable why we haven't seen much of the old Daisy. Gamers back then couldn't tell the difference between Daisy and Peach at first, and Miyamoto knew about it, but that's because Daisy's old design looked more of a color swap of Peach despite having the flower themed gloves, crown, and dress. That's another reason why Daisy hasn't been seen to the video game audience after 1993, but she was fortunate enough to have less of a hiatus compared to all the other obscure Nintendo retro video game characters that had appearances as non-playable characters until now. The 90's may have not worked out for Daisy after some design flaws with Gunpei Yokoi's creation of that character, and only having one SNES appearance called Mario is Missing which was licensed by Nintendo by the way, but I guess that's what happens when you plagiarize Miyamoto's Peach work. I can agree with you with the North American SNES not looking pretty at glance seeing the design flaws it has, but it was a great icon seeing the life it had in the 1990's.

[@ninjadroid85]

I actually like the American version of the snes. It looks clean cut. The other models look too much like toys. I loved the look as a child, and still do.

[@MrGencyExit64]

Where did you see this black and red SNES? Was that an official thing?

[@pferreira1983]

Purple and white is exciting?

[@pferreira1983]

@Ace of Glades Erm, it's the most bland looking colour scheme ever. I wonder how the Snes sold so well in the US.

[@pferreira1983]

@Ace of Glades I definitely wouldn't buy it. It looks bland and ugly. No style to it whatsoever.

[@pferreira1983]

@Ace of Glades Purple and white is exciting?

[@RetroDeath]

"Most people are more concerned with the software that's available for the system." Oh how times have changed.

[@internettrash5120]

They're both very iconic designs

[@AdrianLopez-sb7eo]

"By removing the curved surface of the original model and replacing it with a flat surface it would essentially mean that people would be less likely to spill their drinks or cereal if they chose the balancing of the device." In fact, it was the exact opposite of this. Nintendo made the area around the cartridge port protrude and gave it a rounded shape so that people wouldn't try to place drinks on top of it, as they used to with the flat surface of the original NES.

[@youreyesarebleeding1368]

Unpopular opinion: I prefer the NA snes design. I didnt grow up with it either, so it isnt a nostalgia bias, i actually think it looks better.

[@BlueElement]

KevinCS agreed

[@mikeydluffy2718]

My family used to have entire dinner parties on top of my NES. The gatherings ended very quickly once I had upgraded to a SNES though.

[@eiansmemesanddumbstuff9710]

Who's snes are you calling ugly

[@Theigzorn]

well one of the factors they dont scratched in the interview was that the form also was a sort of soft region lock, besides the cic chip in the cartridge without adapter it did not fit on a pal /jp version.

[@disfunksho2244]

Although I agree the North American SNES doesn't look nearly as good as the other one, I still prefer the purple buttons of the North American controller.

[@mallow2902]

I'm American and the idea that someone would use ANY electronic device, not just a game console, as a drink coaster is absolutely absurd to me.

[@jimmyeddy]

Regional bias! I bet if Europe got the square and purple SNES, he'd say the North American version was too round and the controllers looked like a bowl of Skittles.

[@pferreira1983]

Nah, the US Snes looks horribly bland.

[@bazdaniels7420]

I admit when I first saw the SNES I thought it looked bad, but as soon as I started to play, its look just represented the SNES fun I was having! When I first saw the European/Japanese design, I thought it looked "cheap." Like a knock-off console. We also got this design later on. When the cheap version came out.

[@darkbowserdofus9978]

It may not be as sexy as the super famicom BUT IT IS WHAT IS ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS! It is a strong, independent console that don't need no man!

[@Trenchbroom]

U.S. gamer here. I was 11 when the "crash of 1983" happened, and the narrative on this time in U.S. video game history is completely wrong Yes, console gaming died, no machines or cartridges anywhere, and the general public chalked up video games in general as a dead fad. But the kids who loved video games didn't stop playing; we moved on to 8-bit computer games (C64, Apple II, Atari series) and played/loved/pirated computer games every bit as much as they did in Europe. I consider 8-bit microcomputers to be the "lost" video game generation in the U.S. Yes, when the NES broke big during the 1987 holiday season, the press, retailers and the general public piled back onto the video gaming bandwagon again. But for those four glorious years video games lived on in America; it just occurred in a way that people who weren't avid players didn't recognize. The C64 will always be my favorite video game system, and to hell with the revisionist historical BS that says (not pointing a finger at THGM but in general) the U.S. just forgot about video games for years until Nintendo rode in to save the day. Utter nonsense!

[@Alias_Anybody]

"The NES didn't save the video game industry" is becoming your personal "Carthage must be destroyed". ;-)

What a twit.... the NES was not even a pimple on the arse of the gaming world outside of Japan and the US (yes - there IS a world outside the US and Japan and it is much bigger than the two combined) - the NES was an unmitigated failure in Europe where 16 bit computer systems (complete with rampant piracy) propelled the games industry in these areas right into the mid 90s where the PC took over. The NES was of great benefit in the aftermath of the US games crash (which ONLY happened in the US), but it meant next to nothing everywhere else - even the Sega Master System run circles around the NES in Europe, which is saying something....

Lol, you don't have a clue do you? ;) Yes, the NES overall sales were higher than the Sega Master System sales - for good reason - most people in Europe were not interested in console gaming, the few that were went for the Sega Master System, but overall this was a tiny proportion of the gamers in these areas. European gamers gravitated to the more complex and varied games of the 16 bit computer systems, namely the Amiga and Atari ST. Then, by the mid 90s when these systems were dying out, they shifted to PC gaming - the console market in this area was never large. Again, your argument is false - the NES did NOTHING to "save" the games market in most of the world for two simple reasons - 1. there WAS no market crash in the gaming sector outside of the US, and 2. even if there was, console gaming (including and ESPECIALLY the NES) was insignificant in these areas - computer gaming was king in these areas, console gaming was nothing. Maybe you should do a little research first then come back?

Lol, I don't think I am the one with comprehension issues, I have heard certain countries have low standards of public education and you seem to be proof positive of that. However, more to the point you are talking utter shit. You obviously have no idea at all on the subject of 2nd to 3rd generation gaming, have a very poor grasp of the english language and yet you are so oblivious to your shortcomings that you arrogantly STILL think you know better when all evidence points to the opposite. In ONE single country - America (one country on a planet of many) there was an explosion in console gaming in the 2nd generation (Atari VCS/2600, Odyssey 2, Intellivision and Colecovision mainly, though the Vectrex and a few others had a minority of the market), however due to SEVERAL factors (which I won't go into detail here as it is unimportant to the point I am making) including over saturation of the market with low quality product, the market imploded in 1983..... ONLY IN THE US. The rest of the world did not give a rats anus and was doing quite fine thank you. After this the console market IN AMERICA (NOT the world) was thought to be dead and buried until Nintendo took a chance and successfully reinvigorated the CONSOLE market (NOT the games market) in THE US (not the rest of the world). You keep referring to the "rest of the world" as doing the same thing as the US - you are very wrong (like usual it seems). The MAJORITY of the planet was gaming via home computers - United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, USSR, India, Poland, Netherlands etc etc etc. VERY few countries had console gaming as the market share, namely Japan and the US. So why do you keep saying embarrassing garbage like, and I quote, "The rest of the world was just smart enough to advance while your toothless country thinks you can do business for free."?!?! This just makes you sound like more of a moron than you probably already are. You do realise we are all laughing at you? Surely you do? As for the crap about piracy - YES, piracy was a big concern, even at it's worst levels (some estimate at up to 50% of software was pirated instead of purchased) the margin of profit on a cassette or disk based game was SO far ahead of the tiny slim profit on producing and selling a cartridge ROM based game that even with the highest levels of piracy they STILL made more money per user base. You DO realise that Nintendo charges and monopoly on producing NES carts meant that a game had to be a substantial success to make money? As I said before, I think you need to slink away and do a little research first. The NES did NOT save anything anywhere except in the US, the US is NOT the centre of the universe, it is simply a country on planet earth among many many others. Please stop embarrassing yourself, I feel bad for you, really.

[@SuntopKinseeker]

Maybe it should be "Nintendo revitalized the console gaming in America"

[@stigrabbid589]

@ The Console market also imploded in Canada. It was a continental crash in a large chunk of North America, not just the United States.

[@tails300]

It’s the reason why I bought the European SNES mini instead of the US version.

[@gman87x48]

The SNES has aged like a fine wine that everyone can enjoys to this day. Cheers

[@requiem165]

How do you only have 70k subs?

[@ganon9724]

I'm from Poland (Europe) and in my opinion USA SNES has better design than Japanese and Europe version :D Europe and Japanerse version has childish design :/

[@KuraIthys]

Really? Because while I wouldn't call the Japanese/Europe design 'mature' exactly, the US model also very much looks like a toy...

[@stereo8980]

Funny how it's exactly the other way around with me ^^. I always thought the American SNES looked liked a Happy Meal toy. MD has better design than both tho.

[@pferreira1983]

Purple and white is obviously an exciting colour scheme for you.

[@PresStar2Play]

I believe the NES actually did really well in Sweden unlike other countries in Europe. A ton of people I know had an NES growing up. Also, I love that you used Plok music in this video. Actually, there were many great songs here. Could anyone give me a list of the songs included.

[@notacyborg]

Sorry, but the NA Super Nintendo looks amazing.

[@pferreira1983]

Bland is a good word for it.

[@andrewbrooks2001]

Three years late to this video but I have an answer to your question. Why were American's prone to spill liquids/consumables onto their NES? Well, I cannot speak for all Americans but I think I know one of the reasons. It was because of carpeting or rugs, the proliferation of floor television units, and lack of wireless controllers in American homes. I recall, as a child, sitting on the floor, with the NES besides me, enjoying a gaming session or Nintendo Saturday Morning cartoons. At the time, "Wall to Wall" shag carpets were extremely popular. Cups/glasses did not balance so well on deep shag carpets, so I found myself sometimes utilizing my NES as a "coaster" of sorts. So the combination of floor unit tv sets, shag carpets, and short cables or the lack of wireless controllers lead some American children to use their NES as a coaster for their drinks on Saturday Morning gaming/cartoon binge sessions in the 80s.

[@BeeBumper]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I love it, I loved the bazooka too.

[@DarkZenith]

About the NA SNES controllers, I don't think I realized at the time the difference between the x/y and the a/b buttons in shape, but it may explain why I always felt I had a better response and played better with Y being my primary firing/attack button in shooters and such vs the A... the extra lip made it easier to catch when depressing multiple buttons vs the curved down nature of the other 2. You would have to press further into the controller to have contact (not saying it actually moved further, the top was just lower) and in turn a little less responsive. Make sense to anyone else? Also, in NA at the time sharper harsher corners and edges were extremely popular in mentality with the youth. With the Deloroen from Back to the Future, Lamborghini Countaches, Ferrari's, and other vehicles seeming like futuristic. Also the idea of sharp edges implied a refinement of quality, aerodynamic industrial beauty.

[@trapez77]

I think the na snes is the best looking system of all time so I couldn't disagree more .

[@therealhardrock]

5:16 Satoru Iwata wasn't working for Nintendo back then, he was working for HAL Laboratory and it wasn't a Nintendo subsidiary yet.

[@DravenThorson]

some people's favorite color is purple so...