It Starts With the Console... The Nintendo Entertainment System has influenced our lives more than we could ever imagine. First launching in Japan in 1983 and then coming state-side in 1985, gamers relished the hightech game play over past consoles like the Commodore 64, Atari, or Atari 2600. Little did we realize that the NES would be so influential as to one day be a part of our adult lives. So much so as to have our wedding cakes, themes, party favors , ice sculptures, etc modeled after this gaming innovation and the personalities of the games that accompanied it.