Pretty sure the NES was designed to a price point first and foremost. Especially after the video game crash. Hence the dirt-cheap 6502 derivative in it.
The NES -- as far as its basic hardware architecture -- was not designed for a market where the video game crash had even occurred. It was designed for release in Japan in 1983 as the Famicom, undoubtedly the most powerful console in the market at the time -- a time where by the way I'm not sure what else you would even put in a console other than a 6502 or Z80.
If you wanted cheap above all, you could have gone for a plain 6502 or a cut-down variant (like the 6507 in the Atari VCS), but they also didn't do that -- the Ricoh 2A03 is a custom part that includes custom sound hardware.
> If you wanted cheap above all, you could have gone for a plain 6502 or a cut-down variant (like the 6507 in the Atari VCS), but they also didn't do that -- the Ricoh 2A03 is a custom part that includes custom sound hardware.
The higher integration on a single chip for the 2A03 was absolutely a cost saving move.
If you wanted cheap above all, you could have gone for a plain 6502 or a cut-down variant (like the 6507 in the Atari VCS), but they also didn't do that -- the Ricoh 2A03 is a custom part that includes custom sound hardware.