This article is about the list of video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Family Computer (Famicom). For the list of video games for the Famicom Disk System, see List of Famicom Disk System games.
The Japanese Family Computer (Famicom) (top) and international Nintendo Entertainment System (bottom)
An NES cartridge (top) is taller than a typical Famicom cartridge.
The Nintendo Entertainment System has a library of 1376[a] officially licensed games released for the Japanese version, the Family Computer (Famicom), and its international counterpart, the NES, during their lifespans, plus 7 official multicarts and 2 championship cartridges. Of these, 672 were released exclusively in Japan, 187 were released exclusively in North America, and 19 were released exclusively in PAL countries. Worldwide, 521 games were released.
As was typical for consoles of its era, the Famicom utilized ROM cartridges as the primary method of game distribution;[3] measuring 3 inches (7.6 cm) high by 5.3 inches (13 cm) wide, each cartridge featured 60 pins, with two pins reserved for external sound chips.[4][5] For the console's North American release in 1985 as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo redesigned the cartridge to accommodate the console's front-loading, videocassette recorder-derived socket by nearly doubling its height and increasing its width by one centimeter (0.39 in).[6]: 108 [7] Referred to as "Game Paks", each NES cartridge sported an increased total of 72 pins, with two pins reserved for the CIC lockout chip and ten pins reserved for connections with the console's bottom expansion port; however, the two pins for external sound were removed and relocated to the expansion port instead.[5][6]: 367 Though the extra space of the NES cartridge was not utilized by most games, it enabled the inclusion of additional hardware expansions; in contrast, some copies of early NES games like Gyromite merely paired the printed circuit board of the game's Famicom version with an adapter to convert between the different pinouts.[6]: 108 [8]
Nintendo later released the Famicom Disk System (FDS) in Japan in 1986, intending to have developers distribute all future games on proprietary 2.8-inch (7.1 cm) floppy disks to avoid the cost and size limitations of cartridges; however, developers began re-releasing FDS games on cartridges as advancements in cartridge technology made them feasible again with the limitations of the floppy disks and their ecosystem apparent, pulling support for the FDS by the 1990s.[5]
^Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Mach Rider are often erroneously listed as launch games. Neither was available until later in 1986.[2] Also, some modern sources question if Super Mario Bros. was available on launch day, though contemporaneous sources such as Computer Entertainer and The Milwaukee Journal state that the system launched with 17 titles, and the Journal references Super Mario Bros. by name.[1][2]
^ abcdeThis game was released on an unlicensed cartridge in this region. As such, the title is considered to be unreleased within this table.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyThis game received a full localization for this region, but was not released.
^ abcdefghiThis game received an official re-release with permission of the current rights holder of the game title, at the time of re-release, in limited quantities on either a refurbished licensed cartridge or an unlicensed reproduction cartridge long after the Nintendo Entertainment System's lifespan. Usually this is done as the result of a promotional stunt or to capitalize on the retro game collecting market.
^ abcdefgThis game was first released on licensed cartridges, but was re-released on unlicensed cartridges. This was due to the unlicensed version's publisher not wanting to pay Nintendo's license fees after discovering a means to bypass Nintendo's lockout chip.
^The 72-pin NES cartridge version of this game was only available in Hong Kong titled as Mah Jong. The NES was officially released in Hong Kong around 1987, and it is fairly rare. This game is the rarest licensed and commercially available NES game produced with fewer than 10 copies known.
^ abcA different port by the same publisher was released in this region.
^Copies released after August 1990 were simply rebranded as Punch Out!!
^This game uses a special cartridge which lets you attach a smaller cartridge which when inserted update team rosters, allowing for more teams to play as.
^ abThis is an expansion pack for Nantettatte!! Baseball. This comes in a small cartridge that you are supposed to attach to Nantettatte!! Baseball and doing that updates the team rosters with new stats for the upcoming season, in an effort to keep the gameplay fresh.
^ abIn North America, this game was released initially by Tengen in 1988 as a licensed cartridge, then as an unlicensed cartridge a year later. In November 1993, Namco rereleased the game in North America on licensed cartridges once again. The game was released solely by Namco in Japan and Europe.
^ abcA different port by a different developer and publisher was released in this region.
^ abcIn North America and Europe, this game was released initially by Bandai as Stadium Events, then a year later, Nintendo purchased the rights to publish this game in North America, under the reissued title: World Class Track Meet.
^ abcA different port by a different developer and publisher was released in this region.
^The exact NA release date is debated, as some modern sources question if Super Mario Bros. was available on launch day, though contemporaneous sources such as Computer Entertainer and The Milwaukee Journal state that the system launched with 17 titles, and the Journal references Super Mario Bros. by name.[1][2]
^In 2015, it was officially localized on the Wii U's Virtual Console as EarthBound Beginnings.
^In 2009, reproduction cartridges of the game were released.
^ abcBivens, Danny (October 26, 2011). "Famicom Disk System". Nintendo World Report. Nintendo's Expansion Ports. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^Tibbits, George (December 25, 1990). "Slow Christmas zaps Nintendo". St. Lucie News Tribune. p. 30. Retrieved April 1, 2024. To help boost first-quarter 1991, Nintendo is launching a major new game, "Startropics", the day after Christmas, Main said.
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