Fourth generation of video game consoles
Nintendo executives were initially reluctant to design a new system, but as the market transitioned to the newer hardware, Nintendo saw the erosion of the commanding market share it had built up with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo's fourth-generation console, the Super Famicom, was released in Japan on November 21, 1990; Nintendo's initial shipment of 300,000 units sold out within hours. The machine reached North America as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System on August 23, 1991, and Europe and Australia in April 1992.
Super Smash Bros.
The original "Super Smash Bros.", released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, had a small budget and was originally a Japan-only release, but its domestic success led to a worldwide release. The series achieved even greater success with the release of "Super Smash Bros. Melee", which was released in 2001 for the GameCube and became the bestselling game on that system. A third installment, "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", was released in 2008 for the Wii. Although HAL Laboratory had been the developer of the first two games, the third game was developed through the collaboration of several companies. The fourth installment, "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" and "Wii U", were released in 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, respectively. The 3DS installment was the first for a handheld platform. A fifth installment, "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate", was released in 2018 for the Nintendo Switch.