NES launch in USA - bundles?

[Nicola]

Back with another obscure question:
during the test marketing, in 1985, was the NES sold only as Deluxe Set (like what happend here in Italy)?
If yes, when did they add a set without ROB?
Thanks!!

[Clownzilla]

I remember getting a system with a gun, two controllers, SMB, and the NES (of course) on Christmas morning of 1985. So I guess it was a deluxe set without the robot.

[madman77]

I remember getting a system with a gun, two controllers, SMB, and the NES (of course) on Christmas morning of 1985. So I guess it was a deluxe set without the robot.
Why would they pack-in a zapper without Duck Hunt?

[Nicola]

Should be the SMB/DH cart.
Strange! But where did you live back then? Because the test marketing has been done in NY

[madman77]

Should be the SMB/DH cart.
Strange! But where did you live back then? Because the test marketing has been done in NY
I don't believe the SMB/DH combo cart came out until well after the launch of the NES.

[Nicola]

then it's absolutely non-sense.
Maybe someone stole the ROB and the DH cart from your set?

[k8track]

If I remember right, the zapper sets (without ROB) came with SMB and DH as two separate carts... the combo cart came a short time later.

[Nicola]

If I remember right, the zapper sets (without ROB) came with SMB and DH as two separate carts... .

Already during the test marketing?

[Clownzilla]

I know that the SMB\Duck Hunt combo cart came out years after the 1985 release. Now, I remember getting a separate SMB box and a separate Duck Hunt
box. I though that Duck Hunt was bought separately (still got it Christmas Day though). Although, since I was pretty young, my memory of it is probably wrong.

[diskoboy]

I got the console/SMB only set in 1986.

I bought the zapper later, and I got ROB and Gyromite a few months later for my birthday.

[Nicola]

so the test market was with 2 different sets?

[Rob2600]

I received the NES Action Set in mid 1988. It came with the Control Deck, two controllers, the Zapper (the original gray one, not the orange one), a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt combo cartridge, an RF adapter, AV cables, and the AC adapter. I was living in northern NJ at the time.

[diskoboy]

I believe there were 3 sets released in the US in 1985/1986...

The console itself with 2 controllers and SMB only.
The Console, 2 controllers, Duck Hunt/SMB, and a zapper.
Then the premium package with the console, 2 controllers, ROB, a zapper, and Duck Hunt/SMB and Gyromite.

A few years later they substituted ROB for the jogging pad.

[xfrumx]

I am not sure if it is the 1985 set (probably is as my parents wanted more than me) I was only 2.

But I have the ROB, with gyromite/stackup, SMB, Duck Hunt, Gun Controllers and system

I still have the box it is way beat up but I have it

[madman77]

I am not sure if it is the 1985 set (probably is as my parents wanted more than me) I was only 2.

But I have the ROB, with gyromite/stackup, SMB, Duck Hunt, Gun Controllers and system

I still have the box it is way beat up but I have it
Yea, that's an original. I don't believe the Action Set came out until later. I'm not 100% certain, but I feel pretty confident that that's the case.

[Rob2600]

This is from the "Nintendo Entertainment System" entry on Wikipedia:

Bundle packages:

For its North American release in 1985, the NES was released in two different configurations or "bundles." The first of these sets, the Control Deck, retailed for $199.99 and included the console, two game controllers, and a Super Mario Bros. game pak. The second bundle, the Deluxe Set, retailed for $249.99 and consisted of the console, two controllers, a R.O.B., a Zapper, and two game paks: Duck Hunt and Gyromite.

The Basic Set, first released in 1987, included only the console and two controllers with no pack-in cartridge. Instead, it contained a book called the The Official Nintendo Players Guide, which contained detailed information for every NES game made up to that point.

Subsequent bundle packages included the Action Set, released in 1988 for $199.99, which replaced both of the earlier two sets, and included the console, the Zapper, two game controllers, and a multicart version of Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. The Action Set became the most successful of the packages released by Nintendo.

Later in 1988, to coincide with the release of the Power Pad, Nintendo released the Power Set, consisting of the console, the Power Pad, the Zapper, two controllers, and a multicart containing Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet.

In 1990, the Sports Set was released, including the console, an NES Satellite infrared wireless multiplayer adapter, four game controllers, and a multicart featuring Super Spike V'Ball and Nintendo World Cup.

Also released in 1990, the Challenge Set included the console, two controllers, and a Super Mario Bros. 3 game pak.

Finally, the redesigned top-loading NES was released in 1993 with one redesigned SNES-style controller. This bundle, also called the Control Deck, retailed for $49.99 and remained in production until the discontinuation of the NES in 1995.

[Gentlegamer]

I received the Power set for Christmas in 1988. Still have it, too.

[Nicola]

So, should I be confident that the test marketing period has been done with 2 sets?
I need confirmations for this one.
I've seen enough mistakes browsing the wiki that I'm always triple-checking everything.
I know that in 1986 there were 2 sets, but in 1985...I'm not sure.