R.O.B.

R.O.B. (short for Robotic Operating Buddy) was an accessory for the NES. It was designed for usage with the NES, and was compatible with only two games: Gyromite and Stack Up!.

History

Although only 2 games were compatible with this NES accessory, it played a much larger marketing role. After the 1983 North American video game crash, retailers thought that home consoles were dead, and when Nintendo presented the NES, nobody would buy it. However, by using R.O.B. and other accessories such as the NES Zapper, they convinced retailers that the NES is a toy, not a videogame console.

In other games

Later down the line, R.O.B. appeared as a playable character in Mario Kart DS, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. 4.

Trivia

• ROB 64 of the Star Fox series is similarly named.