| R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is a toy robot accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was launched in July 1985 as the Family Computer Robot in Japan, and October 1985 as R.O.B. in North America. Its short lifespan yielded only two games in the Robot Series: Gyromite and Stack-Up.
Following the North American video game crash of 1983, Nintendo alleviated that fearful retail market by rebranding its Japanese Famicom video game console as the Nintendo Entertainment System—a new platform focused on R.O.B. to further reclassify the system as a uniquely sophisticated toy experience instead of simply as a video game console. Computer Entertainer called R.O.B. "the world's only interactive robot".The NES's extensive marketing plan immediately and successfully centered on R.O.B., with the October 1985 test market launch in Manhattan, New York. This was Nintendo's debut in the North American video game console market, which eventually revitalized the entire video game industry. R.O.B. was quietly discontinued a few years later, and is now remembered as a successful Trojan Horse of marketing. He is a cameo or playable character in many Nintendo games such as the Super Smash Bros. series. |
