Nintendo M82 Demonstration Unit

The most common in-store demonstration unit was the Nintendo M82.  It allowed customers to try games in-store before purchasing them. The full title on the machine was the M82 Game Selectable Working Product Display. 

The machine was different from the more arcade orientated PlayChoice, fundamentally because it used consumer NES carts instead of proprietary ROM chips.  The M82 could hold up to 12 games, which were visible (on end) through small windows and were numbered 1 - 12, starting in the upper left-hand slot. Unlike the Japanese Famicom Box, a similar demo unit that demanded specially-made cartridges, the M82 accepted any standard NTSC game cartridge. The games were selected by pressing a red button on the front of the unit. Up to two controllers and one Zapper could be connected and were held on small shelves on the lower front of the unit. The play time could be set by the store via a knob on the back of the unit; this could be 30 seconds, 3 minutes, 6 minutes or 128 minutes. -kaokensho