had been sold, establishing Nintendo as an industry leader in the arcades. In November 1985, five VS. games were on the US RePlay top 20 arcade charts, with Hogan's Alley holding the top spot. Duck Hunt was also popular in arcades at the time. The VS. System went on to become the highest-grossing arcade machine of 1985 in the United States, and Hogan's Alley and Excitebike became the top two highest-grossing arcade system games that year. The success of the VS. System gave Nintendo the confidence to repackage the Famicom for North America, as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Nintendo's strong positive reputation in the arcades also generated significant interest in the NES. It also gave Nintendo the opportunity to test new games as VS. Paks in the arcades, to determine which games to release for the NES launch. Nintendo's software strategy was to first release games for the Famicom, then the VS. System, and then for the NES. This allowed Nintendo to build a solid launch line-up for the NES. Many games' North American debut was on the VS. System before being released for the NES, which gave players the impression of being "amazed" at the accuracy of the arcade "ports" for the NES. Within a few months of its 1986 release, 20,000 VS. Super Mario Bros. arcade units were sold, becoming the best-selling VS. release, with each unit consistently earning more than per week. Its arcade success helped introduce Super Mario Bros. to many players who did not yet own a Nintendo Entertainment System. By the time the NES was launched in North America (from late 1985 to 1986), about 100,000 VS. Systems had been sold to American arcades. According to Ken Horowitz, the VS. System "was perhaps the most vital catalyst in the rise of the NES to the top of the home video game market". List of games Unknown prototypes of VS. System games may exist, either unreleased or released briefly for market testing. The VS. System launch game was VS. Tennis, released in January 1984. See also PlayChoice-10, Nintendo's other NES-based arcade series Nintendo Super System, the Super NES-based arcade system Wild Gunman (1984), which had a fictional VS. arcade version featured in the film Back to the Future Part II (1989) Notes References External links NintendoVS.com fan site Nintendo VS. System Games and Accessories : PAR Playchoice-10 Games and Resources Nintendo arcade system boards