Released in 1990 in Japan (as the Super Famicom), then in the rest of the world over the next two years. Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System is the successor to the NES.
The SNES represented a huge jump in graphical and sound performance. Sega had beaten Nintendo into the 16-bit era with the Mega Drive in 1988. This meant the SNES played catch up with Sega who had got off to a good start with their new system.
Upon the SNES’ release, it began what would be remembered as one of the most competitive eras in console history. Nintendo continued to market their consoles based on their own family-friendly franchises, such as Mario, etc. Sega, however, positioned their console more towards ‘Bringing the arcade experience home. Sega had built up a strong reputation for their own arcade franchises, which often translated well to the Mega Drive. So, the SNES had a battle on its hands.
In terms of worldwide sales, the SNES won out over the Mega Drive with c. 49 million units sold. This made the system the best-selling system of the era.
The system remained available at retail until 2003 and was succeeded by the Nintendo 64.
How To Emulate This System?
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulation is reasonably well catered for, we recommend taking a look at RetroArch if you are seeking an all-in-one solution. RetroArch emulates a large number of systems including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). RetroArch is a front end that utilises emulator ‘cores’, it is reasonably easy to use and has lots of good supporting documentation on how to use it. RetroArch is available across a number of platforms including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Raspberry Pi and many consoles. Take a look at our quick start guide for RetroArch which can get you up and running in 5 minutes.
Also, check out the other Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulators we enjoy using:
| Emulator | Description | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Snes9x | nes9x is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulator for Windows | Windows |
A lifelong avid gamer and computing enthusiast, Matt has decades of Retro Gaming experience. Now over 40 years old, Matt now even considers himself retro, but fortunately, nobody has developed a Matt emulator (not yet at least!).
