If you ask someone what Nintendo’s first home video game console was, they’ll probably answer NES. But that’s not the case. The gaming giant’s first console was actually released in Japan six years before the Famicom and eight years before the NES. Nintendo’s first attempt to enter the home video game market consisted of a few lesser known video game systems called the Color TV Game Series. The

Color TV Game Series debuted in Japan in the late 1970s. There were a total of five systems in the Color TV Game series, but none were released outside of Japan. Long forgotten by non-retro fans, the systems are extremely rare and expensive, with some costing over $1,000. Still, these early systems will go down in history as paving the way for future Nintendo consoles.

The first color TV game system, the Color TV Game 6, hit stores in Japan in 1977. Only a Pong-like game called Light Tennis was playable on the console. Players move their rackets up and down to hit the ball on the screen. Nintendo chose the name Color TV Game 6 because it included six different ways to play Light Tennis. The system sold fairly well, but Nintendo was unable to make a profit due to its high production costs.

Nintendo learned from its past mistakes and developed Color TV Game 15 in 1978. This new system was better than Color TV Game 6 and much cheaper to produce. Color TV Game 15 included 15 variations of Light Tennis and detachable controls. The system was a success for Nintendo, selling approximately 700,000 units. It was the first system that Nintendo made a profit from.

The third Color TV Game system came out less than a year after the previous console. Color TV Game Racing 112 replaced Light Tennis with a racing game. It was truly ahead of its time. This clunky system had a steering wheel and shifters built directly into the console. Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary creator of Super Mario, even helped design the system’s appearance.

Nintendo decided to branch out and work independently on a new video game system. Nintendo had produced its previous three consoles in collaboration with Mitsubishi. Nintendo separated from Mitsubishi and developed the Color TV Game Block Breakout (also known as Color TV Game Block Breakout, Color TV Game Block Kuzushi). The system came with a game that was essentially a clone of the arcade classic Breakout. Miyamoto again worked on the design.

TV Block Kuzushi appeared in Japanese stores in 1979 and was the first system manufactured in-house by Nintendo. The console sold over 400,000 units, making it Nintendo’s best-selling game console of all time.

The Color TV-Game series helped Nintendo become what they are today. These now primitive systems were highly innovative for the time — the fact that a home console had a built-in racing wheel and gearstick was truly revolutionary, especially in 1978. The systems also helped kick start Miyamoto’s career; he later became one of the most iconic video game creators of all time. Video games may not be what they are today if it wasn’t for Nintendo’s Color TV-Game Series.