Nintendo NES Challenge Set

The NES Challenge Set is a Nintendo Entertainment System bundle that Nintendo released in 1992. It came with the NES Control Deck, two controllers and Super Mario Bros. 3. Check the listing photos for exactly what this listing includes.

About the NES Challenge Set

By 1992 the NES had been on sale across North America since September 27, 1986. The Nintendo Challenge Set arrived late in the life of the original front-loading console. Earlier sets had packed in Super Mario Bros. and accessories such as the Zapper. The Challenge Set dropped the Zapper and used Super Mario Bros. 3 as its pack-in game.

The NES controller is a rectangular pad with a cross-shaped D-pad, round A and B buttons, and Start and Select. Gunpei Yokoi designed the cross-shaped D-pad for the Game & Watch handhelds. The two controllers plug into seven-pin ports on the front of the console.

A year after the Challenge Set, in October 1993, Nintendo released the redesigned top-loading NES-101 with one controller. Nintendo discontinued the NES in North America on August 14, 1995.

Challenge Set Details

• System: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
• Maker: Nintendo
• Released: 1992
• Original contents: Control Deck, two controllers, Super Mario Bros. 3
• What you get: The set shown in the listing photos. Check the listing photos for the exact item and everything included.

Original NES vs the Top Loader

The Challenge Set uses the original front-loading NES. That model has RF output plus composite video through RCA connectors, so it can connect to most older TVs. It also has the 10NES lockout chip, which the later top loader removed. A blinking red power light on the original NES is often tied to that chip or to a dirty 72-pin connector.

Related Consoles and Games

See all our NES consoles. The pack-in game is also sold on its own: Super Mario Bros. 3. Need another pad? See the Nintendo NES Controller. Read more about the Nintendo Entertainment System on Wikipedia.

NES Challenge Set: FAQs

When was the NES Challenge Set released?
Nintendo released it in 1992.

Which game came with it?
Super Mario Bros. 3.

Is the full bundle included?
Check the listing photos. They show exactly what comes with this listing.

Can I hook it up to a modern TV?
The original NES has RF and composite RCA outputs. A TV with composite input, or a converter, is needed.

Ordering and Shipping

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