In 1978, Nintendo moved into the video arcade game industry with Computer Othello, and several more titles followed. Nintendo had some small success with this venture, but the release of Donkey Kong in 1981, designed by Miyamoto, changed Nintendo's fortunes dramatically. The success of the game and many licensing opportunities (such as ports on the Atari 2600, Intellivision and ColecoVision) gave Nintendo a huge boost in profit.
In 1980, Nintendo launched the Game & Watch, a handheld video game series developed by Yokoi, to worldwide success.
In 1983, Nintendo launched the Family Computer (commonly called by its shortened name "Famicom") home video game console in Japan alongside ports of its most popular arcade titles. In 1985, the system launched in North America as the Nintendo Entertainment System, and was accompanied by Super Mario Bros., the best-selling video game of all time. In 1989, Yokoi developed the Game Boy handheld video game system. Nintendo is the longest-surviving video game console manufacturer to date.
The Nintendo Entertainment System was superseded by the Super Famicom, known outside Japan as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The Nintendo 64, most notable for its 3D graphics capabilities, introduced the analog stick and multiplayer for up to four players, instead of two. The Nintendo GameCube followed, and was the first Nintendo system to use optical disc storage instead of cartridges. The most recent home console, the Wii, uses motion sensing controllers and has online functionality (although the Game Cube did also have some basic Online capabilities), used for services such as Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Virtual Console and WiiWare.
After the Game & Watch, the handheld development continued with the Game Boy, followed soon after by the Super Game Boy, the Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color, each differing in minor aspects. The Game Boy continued for more than a decade until the release of the Game Boy Advance, featuring technical specifications similar to the SNES. The Game Boy Advance SP, a frontlit, flip-screen version, introduced a rechargeable, built-in battery, instead of using AA batteries like its predecessors. The most recent Nintendo handheld console is the Nintendo DS, using two screens, the bottom of which is a touchscreen, with online functionalities and technical power similar to that of the Nintendo 64. The Nintendo DS Lite, a remake of the DS, improved several features of the original model, including the battery life and screen brightness. On October 2, 2008, Nintendo announced the Nintendo DSi featuring larger screens, improved sound quality, a web browser, and two cameras ? one on the outside and one facing the user.
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