The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo, had numerous model variants produced throughout its lifetime. It was originally released in 1983 as the Family Computer (and widely known as the Famicom) in Japan, with design work led by Masayuki Uemura. Nintendo intentionally redesigned it as the NES in North America in an attempt to avoid the stigma of video game consoles lingering from the video game crash the same year; while it was initially conceptualized as a home computer, it was ultimately modeled after a videocassette recorder (VCR) for its debut there in 1985. Subsequently, the NES was exported to Europe and Oceania via local distributors.

Uemura's former employer Sharp Corporation, which previously collaborated with Nintendo on the Game & Watch, released three officially licensed Famicom variants in Japan: a CRT television with a built-in Famicom, a console that combined the Famicom and Famicom Disk System hardware in one package, and a console dedicated to video production. Only the television variant was given a release in North America. Meanwhile, Nintendo produced two arcade variants of the console: the Nintendo VS. System, released in 1984 to gauge consumer interest in the United States for then-unreleased Famicom games; and the PlayChoice-10, released in 1986 as a demonstration unit for NES games.

After the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)/Super Famicom, Nintendo released a compact, redesigned version of the NES/Famicom in 1993. The company elected to revert to the top-loading cartridge slot with the NES due to reliability issues with the original front-loading slot. It was the sole design in production when the console was ultimately discontinued in 2003.

According to Uemura, video games were an unfamiliar concept to Japanese toy stores when they were introduced; the stores did not consider carrying them since they required televisions, which the stores did not sell at the time. Rather than targeting the educational market with PC-like styling, Uemura styled the Famicom like a toy as a cheaper option. While Uemura's team intended to use an inexpensive steel case, they switched to a durable plastic due to the fragility of the steel case. The red, gold, and white color scheme, chosen by Yamauchi, was inspired by two objects that used similar schemes: a scarf that he liked, and a set-top TV antenna from a company called DX Antenna.

Other design considerations took into account the lifestyles and attitudes of Japanese consumers at the time. Uemura had considered PC-like styling for the console, but elected to use a horizontally oriented design suited for placement on the floor; he felt Japanese consumers would prefer the latter as more relaxing. The controllers were designed to make the console's adoption among Japanese consumers easier; despite arriving on the market later than its competitors, the Game & Watch-inspired design provided a familiar control scheme for those who had already played one of its handheld electronic games, especially with the inclusion of a D-pad for versatility across game genres. They were also intentionally hardwired with short cables to keep players close to the console (and the TV by extension), ideal for Japanese houses due to their smaller layout compared to their American counterparts.

Seeking to market the Famicom worldwide after its 1983 release in Japan, Nintendo forged a tentative distribution and rights agreement with Atari to market it outside the country as the Nintendo Enhanced Video System; however, both sides never consummated the deal as planned at the Summer CES in June 1983 due to a series of events that culminated in Atari collapsing amid the video game crash that year. Despite the pessimism of North American retailers, Yamauchi was still convinced that a launch there was feasible, so he ordered the introduction of a Famicom-based arcade system called the Nintendo VS. System the following year to gauge interest in the console's games there; the success of the system in North America encouraged Yamauchi to move forward with the launch.

Under the direction of Lance Barr and Don James, the former of which then held the position of "Design & Brand Director" at Nintendo of America (NOA), the Famicom was initially redesigned to resemble a home computer; christened the Nintendo Advanced Video System (AVS), it featured peripherals such as a computer keyboard, a musical keyboard, a tape drive, infrared wireless controllers, and a folding light gun. The console itself featured a Famicom-like top-loading system and cartridges, whereas the controller's D-pad had a square shape similar to that of Sega's Master System. The AVS was shown off at the Winter CES in January 1985, planned for a June release, to middling fanfare. Chief among the concerns identified by Nintendo was the lingering stigma from the 1983 crash and the high price point the console was likely to command.

After a cost-reduced revision of the AVS by Barr was showcased at the Summer CES that June as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo subsequently conceived a new design for the NES with colorations from Barr and James. Known among Nintendo employees as the "lunch box", the design—credited to engineer Masayuki Yukawa—included a front-loading cartridge mechanism that was modeled after a videocassette recorder, mainly intended to further remove the console from the stigma of its contemporaries. Uemura later revealed in 2020 that the redesign was also intended to prevent a short circuit via direct contact with the hardware during cartridge insertion, which was especially problematic in a household full of static-inducing furniture in a semi-arid climate, as was the case in much of the Great Plains.