Nintendo's sales and marketing team is what saved the industry in the US. By 1984, all US retailers had reallocated all video game shelf space to other products and refused to carry video games because of the crash in '83. The crash was a result of a flooded market. Far too many consoles and games with low quality.
Nintendo convinced a New York retailer to stock the NES on the grounds they'd buy back unsold product. They also established two other major notions of importance. A. A Seal of Quality to ensure good product. B. It was called the Nintendo "Entertainment System" and not a video game console.
Of course it sold well enough to garner the attention of other major retailers and eventually mass distribution across the US took hold and we all know it from there.
European retailers tried to immunize themselves from the crash by campaigning for computer based products like the Commodore64. By disassociating itself from a pure video game console, they sold very well in Europe even during the US crash. Also note this is the same philosophy Nintendo used to get the NES to retail despite the fact it truly was just a video game console and not a computer.
How would it have been different if Nintendo were not so bullish on the retailer in NY? Most likely the Commodore64 would have become more popular which would have lead to a more PC based gaming industry. Some European countries are still heavily PC based to this day because of it.
The rEVOLution is not being televised
