NES and SNES designer Lance Barr leaves Nintendo

NES and SNES designer Lance Barr leaves Nintendo

NES and SNES designer Lance Barr leaves Nintendo Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. NES and SNES designer Lance Barr leaves Nintendo After nearly 39 years. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 26 Aug 2021 19 comments Lance Barr, designer of the North American NES and SNES consoles, has announced his departure from Nintendo after an almost 39 year stint. More recently, Barr helped design the Wii's Nunchuck controller (thanks, Nintendo Life). Barr first joined Nintendo in 1982 as a design and brand director, initially working on arcade cabinets. But it was his redesigns of the Japanese Famicom and Super Famicom which saw him leaving a permanent mark on video games history. Watch on YouTube Here's Barr talking to Nintendojo in 2005 about the process of redesigning the Famicom for the Western market: "The original design of the NES was worked out over several months including a stay of a couple of months while I worked in Japan at NCL. The design was conceived as a wireless, modular system, designed to look more like a sleek stereo system rather than a electronic toy. After the first public showing in the US at the Consumer Electronics Show, I was asked to redesign the case based on new engineering requirements. To reduce costs, the wireless function was eliminated, as well as some of the modular components such as the keyboard and data recorder. "But the biggest change was the orientation and size requirements to accommodate a new edge connector for inserting the games. The new edge connecter was a 'zero force' design that allowed the game to be inserted with low force, and then rotated down into the 'contact' position. The case had to be designed around the movement of the game, and required the shape and size of the NES to grow from the earlier concepts. Many of the features remained, such as the two-tone color, left and right side cuts, and overall "boxy" look, but the proportions changed significantly to accommodate the new edge connector." The original Famicom and the updated NES. Barr's design influence also touched the NES Zapper lightgun controller, the NES Advantage arcade stick, and the revised NES Max pad. He also worked on the updated NES console with top-loaded games, and the New-Style Super NES redesign. Barr's LinkedIn page notes that he "retired" in July 2021 to move onto "other" unnamed projects. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store
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