NES and SNES designer retires from Nintendo after nearly 40 years

One of the most influential game console designers is bowing out. According to Kotaku, NES and SNES designer Lance Barr has retired from Nintendo after 38 years and eight months at the company. Although relatively few know his name, he may have played a key role in obtaining mainstream acceptance for Nintendo and reinvigorating the video game industry in the US. Barr joined Nintendo in a part-time role in December 1982, but he made his biggest mark when he was asked to design the outside of the NES to make the Famicom more palatable for American audiences. As requested, he made it look like it belonged next to a stereo system (complete with a VHS-style cartridge loader) compared to the "soft" Japanese model.