In 1997 Nintendo redesigned the SNES for smaller, slicker, clean look. Both system have the same capabilities.

Ahhhhh... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System. I remember my first time playing the system (Super Mario, of course), the graphics were a huge step up, and the game play was outstanding! The list of games at that time was limited, but with a ton of carbon copy arcade ports like Street Fighter 2, King Of The Monsters, Mortal Kombat, and sports games slated to come out, I knew this was the one. My daughter and I still play Super Mario All Stars and Kirby even with a Wii in the house.

In 1991 Nintendo released the SNES, this was well after the release of the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16, Nintendo was playing catch-up. The rivalry between Nintendo and Sega produced the fiercest console war in the history of video games, with Sega running attack ads "Genesis Does What Nintendon't" and "Super Nintendo is what Genesisn't" being Nintendo's answer. Market share reached equality in the U.S. by 1992 and eventually Nintendo pulled well ahead as the SNES and its games lasted well into the 32-bit era.

Another innovation of the Super Nintendo was the controller. The controller had a more rounded dog-bone like design and added two more face buttons, "X" and "Y", arranging the four in a diamond formation. Another addition was the "L" and "R" shoulder buttons, which have been imitated by most controllers since.