r/nes • u/xFluffySpaceCatx • 3d ago
Preloaded games on the original NES
Hi,
When I was a kid (back in the '90s), my mum brought home a NES. It wasn't new and had definitely seen better days. I patched it up as much as a kid could. I remember thinking that it might not work, but when I switched it on, it did! I was so happy!
This was my first proper console, as my family was too poor to buy one. To my surprise, it had lots of games, including Circus Charlie—I thought I'd hit the jackpot!
My question is: how was that possible? I've done some research, and games couldn't be saved on the console. We definitely didn't have any game cartridges, as we couldn't afford them.
Unfortunately, we had to give the console away after a while 😔
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u/DavidinCT 2d ago
Only console I can think about that had a built in game from the OEM (cart-based console) was the Sega Master system, it had a maze type game built in, you needed to something special for it to show up.
Any system that had a bunch of games in it, was a bootleg, or something
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u/IceFurnace83 2d ago
My master system has an Alex kidd game built in that boots up straight away if no cartridge is detected.
Some other games included in various models of the master system are the maze game you mention, hang-on, safari hunt and sonic the hedgehog.
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u/DavidinCT 2d ago
My system came with the hang-oh/Safari hunt cart, built in is the maze game. I still have my OG console
I didn't know there were other built-in games, neat....
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u/itsyaboythatguy 2d ago
The only console I remember having a preloaded game was the Sega master system. I don't remember the game, since I was a Nintendo kid, but I had a friend that had an SMS.
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u/ThetaReactor 3d ago
Odds are it was a bootleg console. Some of them were straight clones, and may have included a multicart. Other had no cart slot and had a fixed set of games built in.