cities prior to nationwide release. Instead of the traditional business of test launching at a cheaper mid-sized city, Arakawa boldly chose the nation's largest market, New York City as its initial test market with a $50 million budget. Only with R.O.B's reclassification of the NES as a toy, telemarketing and shopping mall demonstrations, and a risk-free proposition to retailers, did Nintendo secure enough retailer support there of about 500 retailers in New York and New Jersey. As the bellwether and key toy retailer of New York City, the grandest and most important site was a 15 square foot area at FAO Schwarz. This had a dozen playable NES displays surrounding another giant television, featuring Baseball being played by real Major League Baseball players who also signed autographs in order to anchor the curious audiences to a familiar American pastime among all the surreal fantasy games. In a huge gamble by Arakawa and without having informed the headquarters in Japan, Nintendo offered to handle all store setup and marketing, extend 90 days credit on the merchandise, and accept returns on all unsold inventory. Retailers would pay nothing upfront, and after 90 days would either pay for the merchandise or return it to Nintendo. At Nintendo's unprecedented offer of risk absorption, retailers signed up one by one, with one incredulously saying "It's your funeral." The Nintendo Entertainment System then consisted of the Deluxe Set and an initial library of 17 games which were chosen by playtester Howard Phillips. The Deluxe Set included a Control Deck console, two gamepads, R.O.B., the Zapper light gun, and the Game Paks Gyromite and Duck Hunt. Fifteen additional games were sold separately: 10-Yard Fight, Baseball, Clu Clu Land, Excitebike, Golf, Hogan's Alley, Ice Climber, Kung Fu, Pinball, Soccer, Stack-Up, Super Mario Bros., Tennis, Wild Gunman, and Wrecking Crew. The first test launch was in New York City on October 18, 1985, with an initial shipment of 100,000 Deluxe Set systems. Nintendo began marketing the system the same month in October 1985. Headquartered in a Hackensack warehouse oozing with EPA hazards "something like 'rats and snakes and toxic waste'", the SWAT team worked every day even through Christmas Eve 1985, in what Don James called "the longest and hardest I ever worked consecutive days in my life" and what Howard Phillips called "every waking hour ... at the crack of dawn ... seven days a week". President Arakawa