Which Nintendo home console was the company’s first to use a 16-bit CPU?

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was Nintendo’s first home console to use a 16-bit CPU. Nintendo released it in Japan as the Super Famicom in 1990, positioning it as the successor to the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System.

The console used a 16-bit Ricoh 5A22 processor, based on the 65C816 architecture. Its greater processing capability helped Nintendo’s developers create more detailed graphics, richer sound, and larger game worlds than were typical on the NES. The system also introduced hardware features such as background-layer effects and hardware-assisted scaling and rotation.

Nintendo launched the Super NES in North America in 1991 and in Europe and Australia in 1992. Its library included Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Super Metroid. The console is often called the SNES in English-speaking markets, while “Super Famicom” refers to the Japanese version.

The Nintendo 64 followed in 1996 and used a 64-bit processor, but it was not Nintendo’s first 16-bit console; that distinction belongs to the Super NES.