Super Nintendo Entertainment System

"Super Nintendo" redirects here. For the Universal Studios Japan & Hollywood attraction, see Super Nintendo World.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The North American Super NES (c. 1991)
A Japanese Super Famicom
Top: North American (NTSC-U) Super NES (c. 1991)
Bottom: Japanese (NTSC-J) Super Famicom (the European (PAL) Super NES has the same design)
Other variations are pictured under Casing below.
Also known as
  • SNES
  • Super NES
  • JP: Super Famicom
  • KOR: Super Comboy
  • Super Nintendo
DeveloperNintendo R&D2
ManufacturerNintendo
TypeHome video game console
GenerationFourth
Release date
Introductory price
  • ¥25,000 (equivalent to ¥27,804 in 2019)
  • US$199 (equivalent to $445.16 in 2023)
Discontinued
Units sold
  • Worldwide: 49.10 million[10]
    • North America: 23.35 million
    • Japan: 17.17 million
    • Other: 8.58 million
MediaSNES Game Pak
CPURicoh 5A22 @ 3.58 MHz
SoundNintendo S-SMP
Online services
Best-selling game
PredecessorNES
SuccessorNintendo 64

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo,[b] Super NES or SNES,[c] is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea,[16] 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC).[d] In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy[e] and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics.[17] The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993,[16][18] by Playtronic. In Russia and CIS, the system was distributed by Steepler from 1994 until 1996. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.

The Super NES is Nintendo's second programmable home console, following the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The console introduced advanced graphics and sound capabilities compared with other systems at the time, like the Sega Genesis. It was designed to accommodate the ongoing development of a variety of enhancement chips integrated into game cartridges to be more competitive into the next generation.

The Super NES received largely positive reviews and was a global success, becoming the best-selling console of the 16-bit era after launching relatively late and facing intense competition from Sega's Genesis console in North America and Europe. Overlapping the NES's 61.9 million unit sales, the Super NES remained popular well into the 32-bit era, with 49.1 million units sold worldwide by the time it was discontinued in 2003. It continues to be popular among collectors and retro gamers, with new homebrew games and Nintendo's emulated rereleases, such as on the Virtual Console, the Super NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Switch Online; as well as several non-console emulators which operate on a desktop computer or mobile device, such as Snes9x.


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  1. ^ "Retro Diary: 08 November – 05 December". Retro Gamer. No. 122. December 13, 2013. p. 11.
  2. ^ a b "Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Platform)". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  3. ^ "History | Corporate". Nintendo. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  4. ^ C. Portilla (November 21, 2015). "Los juegos más recordados a 25 años del lanzamiento de la Super Nintendo". La Tercera. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "Nintendo chega hoje ao mercado". O Estado de S. Paulo. August 30, 1993. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Соглашение Steepler и Nintendo". November 1994. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Reisinger, Don (January 21, 2009). "Does the Xbox 360's 'Lack of Longevity' Matter?". CNET. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  8. ^ Wolf, Mark J. P. (November 21, 2018). The Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-44266-2. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference End was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  11. ^ "The Nintendo Years: 1990". Edge. June 25, 2007. p. 2. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
  12. ^ "Platinum Titles". Capcom. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  13. ^ Nintendo of Europe. "Super Nintendo". nintendo.co.uk. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  14. ^ "SNES Development Manual" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  15. ^ "Do you say NES or N-E-S?". Nintendo NSider Forums. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2007. Additional archived pages: 2 3 4 5 8 9 ; "Pronouncing NES & SNES". GameSpot forums. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
  16. ^ a b Brian Byrne, Brian (2017). History of the Super Nintendo (SNES): Ultimate Guide to the SNES Games & Hardware. Console Gamer Magazine. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-5498-9956-0.
  17. ^ Brian Byrne, Brian (2017). History of the Super Nintendo (SNES): Ultimate Guide to the SNES Games & Hardware. Console Gamer Magazine. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-5498-9956-0.
  18. ^ Coelho, Victor (November 24, 2014). "Super Nintendo completa 24 anos" [Super Nintendo turned 24 years old]. Exame (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.