What does the game that comes with the NES R.O.B.

[chairmonkey4406]

I really don't get the R.O.B. I know it has something to do with like stacking little rings or something. Am I right?

[ApolloBoy]

That's Stack-Up. The ROB game that actually came with the Deluxe Set (included NES, 2 controllers, Zapper, ROB) was Gyromite.

[Dones]

From what I read, the R.O.B. was one of Nintendo's tactics to disassociate the NES as a videogame console. Big N was afraid that, after the crash in 1984, people would not buy the NES because they would relate it to the atari 2600. They were already having trouble getting places to sell the NES as many toy stores were still burnt by the crash. The pack-in R.O.B. made the NES look more of a deluxe toy (in Nintendo's mind) and to some degree it worked. The robot toy served its purpose but kids would rapidly get bored of it, as it was easier to play the R.O.B. games without it (not that Stack Up was that great to begin with). Nintendo never bothered to make more games for it either. Gyromite was imo the most amusing of the two.

 

Other measures Nintendo took to disassociate the NES from atari was to use a gray color, the hidden cart loading mechanism (instead of the top loader as the atari) and the name itself (Nintendo Entertainment System).

[Jasoco]

Ahh.. Stack-Up. A rarity. If you can find it boxed cheap, you're a lucky man.

 

At least I have my complete ROB with Gyromite.

[Nintendo Penguin]

Stack-up by itself is not too hard to find...

 

Stack-up complete with the rings and stuff, no that is hard!

[Dones]

True. On Ebay I have never seen a complete Stack-Up set. There is always some part missing (eg, discs only, missing extra trays). So many small pieces it was easy to loose them when you were a kid. The copy of Stack-Up I have is one of those that has a famicon converter inside the cart.

[Ze_ro]

What exactly did Gyromite do with the R.O.B.? I have Gyromite, but no robot...

 

--Zero

[NovaXpress]

Obviously the toy stores and customers knew that the NES was a video game system, so i don't buy that explaination.

 

The most popular toy in 85 was Teddy Ruxpin, that vile talking teddy bear. The ROB was meant to get that Teddy Ruxpin dollar, a stupid toy to goose grandpa into opening the wallet.

 

Gyromite was so bad we couldn't believe it. As soon as any kid plugged it in they knew that robot was worthless.

[Dones]

Yes, kids knew that ROB was worthless as a toy, but its release was a result of Nintendo's efforts to make their product look "less Atari". Arakawa's stubbornness had a lot to do with it also.

 

Here is a quote from David Sheff's book, Game Over (pp 162-163):

 

[talking about the CES in 1984:]



The AVS looked impressive, the Nintendo representatives were told. But almost all those who stopped by at the booth shook their heads when asked if they consider placing an order. "The memories of Atari were too recent", [Howard] Lincoln says.



Although Nintendo tried again at the industry's June show, it was clear that Arakawa [Nintendo's president at the time] had misjudged his ability to overcome skepticism. He hadn't been able to create the new category that combined computer power and entertainment. No one cared about the remote control, and they hated the keyboard -- a turnoff to kids, industry executives believed (parents were irrelevant). The AVS had all the problems not only of the videogame business but of computers too. No one would touch it.



Instead of attempting to improve on the videogame systems of the past, Arakawa decided that he should figure out a completely new way to see it. He scrapped the computer peripherals [Nintendo tried NES prototypes which included a computer keyboard]. Kids wanted fun, not BASIC programming languages and cassette-tape storage drives. They tossed out the keyboard, the piano keyboard, and the remote-control unit as well as the name. R&D1 was put in charge of a new peripheral that would make the system something other than a videogame machine.



In Japan, Gunpei Yokoi's [who invented Metroid and Gameboy] team came up with ROB, or Robotic Operating Buddy. He was one foot high, gray, legless, and he really didn't do much. He was controlled by the videogame system. The flashing of the television screen activated a chip in ROB's head that caused him to move. Players controlled him at the same time they controlled the action on the screen. In games designed for ROB, such as "Gyromite" and "Stack Up", players would cause the robot to pick up chips from one stack and drop them onto a pad that triggered a door in an on-screen game. More than anything ROB looked cool. He would be used to sell the videogame machine.



James and Barr worked on a new design for the system -- again high-tech gray, but boxier. Game cartridges slid into the front instead of the top, and revised controllers were attached by plastic cords. It wasn't toylike - it still looked like a consumer electronics product - but it was simpler than AVS. Nintendo de-emphasized the box in favor of ROB and the Zapper gun.



At the June 1985 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nintendo debuted what Arakawa had renamed the Nintendo Entertainment System [from Famicom] or the NES. The operative word was entertainment. Everything Nintendo would do to sell the machine would emphasize this.



The reaction at the new show was somewhat better. Buyers liked ROB. Still, they were reluctant to place orders.



Arakawa stubbornly ignored the reaction. He said the people in the industry were jaded. Kids would love it, he believed. To prove it, he commissioned focus-groups studies in New Jersey. From behind a one-way mirror, he watched a random sampling of young boys play the NES and heard them say how much they hated it. Typical was the comment of an eight-year old: "This is shit!"

[vintagegamer89]

Micheal Joseph Santo from Omaha, Nebraska 68154 is a sexy beast. Holla back!

[ApolloBoy]

Micheal Joseph Santo from Omaha, Nebraska 68154 is a sexy beast. Holla back!

 

WTF?

[NovaXpress]

And again, WTF with a cup of STFU thrown in for good measure.

[Jasoco]

ROB makes a nicer conversation piece than a game accessory. Don't ya think?

[chairmonkey4406]

Micheal Joseph Santo from Omaha, Nebraska 68154 is a sexy beast. Holla back!

WOAH! That's creepy. That's not my zip code but whatever. So, I take it iamdirtypopo89 was taken on this board then sean? Sorry to all you other people-this is a personal thing

[Inky]

The thing with gyromite.... If you played it without the ROB, it was an easy game to beat.

[JB]

What exactly did Gyromite do with the R.O.B.? I have Gyromite, but no robot...

 

--Zero

You issued commands to ROB, who would use spinning gyros to press A and B on pad 2.

 

That's what the green flashes when you press select and hit a control are.

OR when you do anythign in mode B.

[Dones]

Something common that would happen was that the gyros would stop spinning and fall off, screwing up the gameplay. You would have to stop playing and put the gyro back into the spinner. If you happened to be really good at the game you would time each gyro and have the R.O.B. do it for you, but this was still difficult and gameplay disruptive.

[Jasoco]

Something common that would happen was that the gyros would stop spinning and fall off, screwing up the gameplay. You would have to stop playing and put the gyro back into the spinner. If you happened to be really good at the game    you would time each gyro and have the R.O.B. do it for you, but this was still difficult and gameplay disruptive.

I've never seen ROB in action. Anyone have a video?

[ussexplorer]

I loved seeing the dead robs come in the thrift stores in peices. Broken arms and missing parts. Number 5 no disasemble. The ones that did come in whole or complete they wanted a pretty penny. I remeber rob when he first came out. Once again a device wasted by lack of games. The power pad follows in that ream. I remeebr alot of kids around me thinking the power pad was worthless do to lack of games.

 

Laters....

[Dones]

Something common that would happen was that the gyros would stop spinning and fall off, screwing up the gameplay. You would have to stop playing and put the gyro back into the spinner. If you happened to be really good at the game    you would time each gyro and have the R.O.B. do it for you, but this was still difficult and gameplay disruptive.

I've never seen ROB in action. Anyone have a video?

 

Today's your lucky day:

[Jasoco]

LOL! Thanks, Dones. I finally know how that useless gadget works.

 

Very interesting.

 

The added comedy of the Gyro falling off and everything just made me laugh.

 

Nintendo actually thought kids would be able to figure all that out?

[Dones]

To answer your question, as David Sheff wrote in his book Game Over, Nintendo knew kids didn't like the product, but Yamauchi was stubborn enough to release it. At the time Big N was looking for ways to differentiate the NES from the atari 2600 so they could convince retailers to sell it. Still the R.O.B. is a cool looking 80's toy, one that makes for good conversation.

[JB]

It's a lot easier to put the gyros yourself, or better yet, just pickup the pad and play.

Best: Find a child that htinks the professor sounds lik ehe's farting when he get's squished. Now THAT'S a challenge.

[Dones]

...

[JB]

...

I actually did that when I was little.

 

The poor professor was forever getting crushed by my "friend" who thought it was hte funniest damned noise ever...