Nintendo’s Family Computer (Famicom for short) hit Japan in 1983, and despite some early hardware quality issues, became an instant hit. It brought near-arcade quality gaming into the home, and actually cost less than the Japanese version of the Atari 2600. After such success in its home country, Nintendo began to cast its eye abroad, imagining the potential profits that could be reaped in the West. It didn’t, however, feel confident in its ability to distribute and market its products to foreigners, and so began looking for a partner to handle the Famicom’s worldwide distribution.
Atari, meanwhile, was still the biggest name in Western video games, but was hemorrhaging cash at a tremendous rate. In an effort to keep the company afloat, Atari Chairman, Ray Kassar, scoured the world for potential business opportunities. The result of one such effort was the licensing of Nintendo’s Donkey Kong for the Atari home computers. Remembering this transaction and impressed by Atari’s global marketing network, Nintendo President, Hiroshi Yamauchi, decided that Atari would be a suitable choice for handling the worldwide distribution of Nintendo products outside of Japan.
Even in this alternate universe Super Pitfall would have probably still sucked. Meetings were arranged, with Nintendo’s two top executives first visiting Atari’s Sunnyvale headquarters. After answering a litany of questions from Atari executives and lawyers, the Nintendo duo headed back to Seattle. Shortly thereafter, a group from Atari visited Nintendo’s headquarters in Kyoto, where they got their first look at the Famicom in action. Things went very well, and after much back-and-forth, a tentative agreement was reached. It was decided to sign the contracts one month later, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.
A funny (or horrifying, depending on whom you ask) thing happened at CES. Coleco was showing off its new (and ill-fated) ADAM computer system, and had decided to use Donkey Kong as the demo game. While Coleco did own the home console rights to Donkey Kong, it was Atari that had earlier secured the computer rights. Once Atari’s Ray Kassar caught wind of what was at the Coleco booth, he accused Nintendo of cheating and double-dealing behind Atari’s back. Utterly furious, he threatened to cancel the Famicom deal and sue Nintendo out of existence.
Nintendo did its best to rectify the situation, and was aghast when Kassar was ousted from Atari a month later. The contracts were still unsigned, and with Kassar seemed to go all hope of getting the Famicom marketed in the West. Atari’s corporate implosion accelerated, and soon it wasn’t able to afford the Nintendo deal anyway. Eventually, though, Nintendo decided to market the Famicom in America by itself, through its youthful American branch. The Nintendo Entertainment System finally debuted in 1985, and the rest, as they say, is history.
History that doesn’t include Atari.
