With each hardware release, Nintendo brought more processing power to their fans. Here’s a quick look at how far gaming technology has come in the past three decades.
Nintendo Entertainment System
Release Date: July 15, 1983
game format: Cartridge (0.5 MB)
video outputs: Antenna, RF, RCA, Composite
cpu speed: 1.79 MHz (5.32 MHz)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release Date: November 21, 1990
game format: Cartridge (16 MB)
video outputs: Antenna, RF, RCA, Composite, S-Video
cpu speed: 3.58 MHz
Nintendo 64
Release Date: June 23, 1996
game format: Cartridge (64 MB)
video outputs: Antenna, RF, RCA, Composite, S-Video
cpu speed: 93.75 MHz (62.5 MHz)
Nintendo GameCube
Release Date: September 14, 2001
game format: Optical Disk (1.5 GB)
video outputs: RCA, Composite, Component, S-Video
cpu speed: 485 MHz (162 MHz)
Wii
Release Date: November 19, 2006
game format: Optical Disk (8.5 GB), Downloads
video outputs: RCA, Composite, Component, S-Video
cpu speed: 729 MHz (243 MHz)
Wii U
Release Date: November 18, 2012
game format: Optical Disk (25 GB), Downloads
video outputs: Component, RCA/Composite, S-Video, HDMI
cpu speed: 1.24 GHz (550 MHz)
Nintendo Switch
Release Date: March 3, 2017
game format: Cartridge, Downloads
video outputs: HDMI
cpu speed: 2 GHz (1GHz)