Interesting read about the history of the birth of the modern console... 
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Delve into the origins of the Famicom, and how it conquered Japan.
By Benjamin Turner & Christian Nutt
Finally, after myriad technical experiments and untold man hours of engineering, Nintendo's console was ready to release. It was named the Nintendo Family Computer, or Famicom for short. It had proven impossible to meet Yamauchi's extremely low target price, but the actual retail price of ¥14,800 (US$65 in 1983) was not only reasonable, but less than half the cost of some of the Famicom's competitors. Nintendo officially released the Famicom on July 15, 1983, with three game cartridges for sale: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye. At the time, few could guess that it was the beginning of a phenomenon.
http://www.gamespy.com/articles/july03/famicom/index.shtml
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Delve into the origins of the Famicom, and how it conquered Japan.
By Benjamin Turner & Christian Nutt
Finally, after myriad technical experiments and untold man hours of engineering, Nintendo's console was ready to release. It was named the Nintendo Family Computer, or Famicom for short. It had proven impossible to meet Yamauchi's extremely low target price, but the actual retail price of ¥14,800 (US$65 in 1983) was not only reasonable, but less than half the cost of some of the Famicom's competitors. Nintendo officially released the Famicom on July 15, 1983, with three game cartridges for sale: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye. At the time, few could guess that it was the beginning of a phenomenon.
http://www.gamespy.com/articles/july03/famicom/index.shtml