R.O.B. - WikiHQ

R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is a toy robot accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). He was key to the NES's launch in October 1985, as a redesign of the which had been launched in July 1985 in Japan for Famicom and was available as part of the Deluxe Set until 1988. During its short lifespan, only two games in the Robot Series were released: Gyromite and Stack-Up.

Following the North American video game crash of 1983, Nintendo courted a fearful retail market by rebranding its Japanese Famicom video game console as the Nintendo Entertainment System—a new platform focused on R.O.B. to further reclassify the system as a uniquely sophisticated toy experience instead of simply as a video game console. Computer Entertainer called R.O.B. "the world's only interactive robot". Therefore, Nintendo spent much of 1984 re-conceiving its Family Computer (Famicom) platform from Japan to be portrayed in America not as a traditional video game console, but as a new kind of sophisticated entertainment experience. Used as a functional companion for playing select video games within a custom playset, it was recolored for the NES and was thrust forth as essential to the NES's new identity as a futuristic, robot-powered experience. The Milwaukee Journal said, "The key to the NES is the interactive robot ... You no longer have to fight only the aliens on the screen; you have a robot to contend with as well." Computer Entertainer called it "the world's only interactive robot", because no other video game system or home computer package ever had one, greatly distinguishing the NES to retailers and consumers alike. Tasked with all of the NES's naming and branding, the sole marketing staff member Gail Tilden said the name was "originally going to be OTTO, which was a play on the word 'auto'", but she settled on Robotic Operating Buddy, or R.O.B.

As the centerpiece of the new NES platform, R.O.B. was revealed at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in June 1985.

IGN reflected that "[R.O.B.] might have been the key to getting the system into players' hands, and once they had players, Nintendo was convinced the rest would be easy." Games can send six distinct commands to R.O.B. by flashing the screen. The test feature within Gyromite and Stack-Up sends an optical flash that should activate R.O.B.'s red light.

Games

Only two officially licensed games were published for R.O.B., which comprise Nintendo's Robot Series: Gyromite and Stack-Up. Computer Entertainer reported Nintendo's supposed plans as stated prior to CES June 1985, for four more nondescript Robot Series games, but they were never released.

Gyromite

thumb|right|R.O.B. is part of the NES display at [[Nintendo New York, ready to play Gyromite with his gyro attachment on his right side and the gyro spinner device at his left side.]]

The Gyromite retail package consists of the following items: two claws for R.O.B.'s hands; two heavy spinning tops called gyros; two red and blue trays upon which the gyros will rest, causing buttons to be pressed on the second NES controller; one spinner motor for accelerating the gyros; and two black trays upon which the gyros are stored when not in use. The Direct game mode is a feature used to learn how to use R.O.B. or to play with R.O.B. without playing the game. Gyromite is a puzzle platform video game in which main character Professor Hector must collect dynamite before the time runs out, with his path blocked by several red and blue pillars and by dinosaur-like creatures called Smicks. Hector cannot jump, so he can only collect dynamite by descending upon it. He can collect radishes that attract the Smicks when dropped. In Game A, the commands are made by pressing START and then pushing the direction in which to move R.O.B., and using the A and B buttons to open and close his arms. If R.O.B. places a gyro on the red or blue button, it pushes the A or B button on the second NES controller, moving the pillar of the corresponding color. If both buttons need to be pressed at the same time, the gyros are placed in a spinner so that they will stay balanced on the button without R.O.B. holding it. Game B has the same controls, except that START does not need to be pressed to make R.O.B. accept a command.

Stack-Up

Stack-Up comes with five trays, five different colored circular blocks, and two claws worn by R.O.B. for grabbing the blocks. Again, the player controls Professor Hector. In the Direct game mode, the player makes the block stack match with the one shown on screen by moving Hector to the button that corresponds to the desired movement. In Memory, the player makes a list of commands to recreate the displayed block setup, and then R.O.B. executes the list. In Bingo, the player makes the shown block stack, where the color of the block does not matter. There are two enemies: one causes the player to lose a life, and the other makes R.O.B. perform undesired actions.

Aftermarket

In 2014, independent game developer Retrozone produced a limited release NES cartridge titled 8-Bit X-Mas 2014. The title screen features R.O.B. character graphics, and interacts with the toy by making it dance to Christmas music.

Reception

In January 1986, an independent research firm commissioned by Nintendo delivered a survey of 200 NES owners, showing that the most popular given reason for buying an NES was because children wanted the robot—followed by good graphics, variety of games, and the uniqueness and newness of the NES package. The creation and marketing of R.O.B. as a "Trojan Horse" after the video game crash of 1983 was placed fifth in GameSpy's twenty-five smartest moves in gaming history.

By 1987, the two-year-old R.O.B. and Robot Series had received none of Nintendo's promised updates while the rest of the NES's library had exploded with classic flagship franchise-building hits like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. In 1987, Mark Seeley of Crash! magazine visited a toy fair in England to observe a playthrough of Gyromite with R.O.B., saying of the struggling demonstrator that he had "never seen anything so complicated and difficult in all my life". In July 1987, Family Computing magazine advocated buying the much cheaper and more entertaining setup of the Control Deck and Super Mario Bros. instead of R.O.B., saying, "Anyone who has seen a Nintendo ad on television would think that R.O.B. is the heart of the system. Not so. R.O.B. is an ingenious idea [but] while R.O.B. is a cute little guy, there isn't much you can do with him. ... [N]either [of his two games] generates much excitement."

In 2018, Owen S. Good of Polygon remembered his childhood experience with the vintage R.O.B. and assessed the setup as "a novel, if almost Rube Goldberg-esque way of 'playing' with its users ... that quickly got dull".

Historian Chris Kohler was unimpressed with the product's long-term entertainment value. "As video game controller peripherals go, R.O.B. was a particularly gimmicky one. Once the novelty of controlling a robot's arms and spinning a glorified top had worn off, usually within days or even hours, R.O.B. got in the way of enjoyment. He required battery replacements too often, and it was immediately apparent that the maze barriers in Gyromite could be turned on and off just as easily by tapping the A and B buttons on a standard controller, which was all that R.O.B.'s complicated motions ended up doing."

R.O.B. has made cameo appearances in many video games, such as StarTropics (1990) for NES, F-Zero GX (2003), the WarioWare series, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2015, 3DS), the Star Fox series, and Mario Kart World.

R.O.B. is an unlockable character in Mario Kart DS, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, each of which refers to R.O.B. as male. In Brawls adventure mode, The Subspace Emissary, R.O.B. plays a major role in the plot. As part of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, R.O.B. has two Amiibo figurines, uniquely produced in both the gray and white NES color scheme and the red and white Famicom color scheme.

R.O.B. is the avatar for TASBot, a tool-assisted speedrun software bot for video games.

R.O.B. appears in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and is voiced by Ed Skudder. In the film, R.O.B. is a slow moving service assistant (to mimic the real toy) in the Gateway Galaxy, directing both Peach and later Mario to the flight deck. He also was featured in the film's promotional website. He sports his Famicom color scheme.

Notes

References

External links

Gyromite on the Famicom 40th Anniversary page
Stack-Up on the Famicom 40th Anniversary page