Nintendo's veteran designer Shigeru Miyamoto has reflected on the thinking behind the NES (Famicom), explaining that personal computers were once viewed as more serious, respectable machines than games consoles, which were widely dismissed as mere toys. According to Miyamoto, Nintendo deliberately designed the NES to close that perceived gap in status, giving it a look and feel intended to convey it was a legitimate piece of technology rather than a children's plaything. This matters because it sheds light on the design philosophy that helped the NES rebuild trust in video games after the industry's early-1980s crash and establish consoles as credible entertainment hardware in their own right.

Miyamoto's comments point to a deliberate strategy at Nintendo to position its console as being on a par with home computers of the era, both in perceived quality and in how retailers and the public regarded it, rather than being lumped in with disposable toy fads. The remarks, tied to his "it wasn't just a toy" framing, underline how much of the NES's now-iconic design and marketing was shaped by a need to win over sceptical adults and retailers, not just children, at a time when consoles had to prove themselves against computers as serious hardware.