A Brief History of Game Consoles, as Seen in Old TV Ads

1985: Nintendo Entertainment System

By 1984, Nintendo's Famicom (Family Computer) was the most popular game console in Japan. After a North American release through Atari fell through, Nintendo decided to go it alone, unveiling the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) at the 1985 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). By 1990, the NES had become the best-selling video game console in the United States, thanks to hot titles like Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong Jr.

The ad below provides a great look at the original $250 "Deluxe Set" NES bundle. The pack included a Control Deck (the console itself), R.O.B. the robot, the NES Zapper gun plus two games: Duck Hunt and Gyromite.

And of course, who could forget Mattel's Power Glove accessory...

...or Nintendo's own Power Pad? "Now you're playing with body power!"

Last but not least: the infamous "NES rap" commercial. "It's the Legend of Zelda and it's really rad..." I can't believe I ever used that word.

Reportedly, Nintendo sold over 60 million NES consoles and 500 million NES game cartridges worldwide.