Tennis is a sports game that Nintendo released for the Famicom in Japan on 14 January 1984, and it is considered the first tennis game on the system. Shigeru Miyamoto handled its character and game design, Masayuki Uemura produced it and Kenji Nakajima programmed it. Mario appears as the umpire in the Famicom and Game Boy versions.
One player faces the computer in singles, or two players team up in doubles; the computer opponent has five difficulty levels. Famicom Magazine praised the shadow of the ball drawn on the court as a groundbreaking touch. Around 1985 the cartridge also became known as a way to reach the hidden World 9 in Super Mario Bros.
The game was re-released for the North American NES launch in October 1985. A Game Boy version followed in 1989 and was one of the handheld's five North American launch titles, and the arcade Vs. Tennis is now part of Hamster's Arcade Archives line on Switch.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Tennis | NES | Oct 18, 1985 | Nintendo | 2 |
| JP | テニスTenisuFamicom | NES | Jan 14, 1984 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | VS.テニスVS. TenisuEnglish Wikipedia gives 18 January 1984, Japanese Wikipedia February 1984; North America March 1984 | Arcade | 1984 | Nintendo | 2 |
| JP | 任天堂のテニスPC-88; also Sharp X1 and MZ-1500 | Other | June 1985 | Hudson Soft | 1 |
| JP | テニスTenisu | Famicom Disk System | Feb 21, 1986 | Nintendo | 2 |
| EU | Tennis | NES | Sep 1, 1986 | Nintendo | 2 |
| JP | テニスTenisuNorth America 31 July 1989 as a launch title; PAL regions 1990 | Game Boy | May 29, 1989 | Nintendo | 2 |
| JP | テニスTenisuVirtual Console, Game Boy version | Nintendo 3DS | Jul 20, 2011 | Nintendo | 1 |
| WW | TennisNintendo Switch Online (Nintendo Classics) | Switch | Sep 19, 2018 | Nintendo | 1 |
| WW | Arcade Archives VS. TennisArcade version; English Wikipedia gives December 2020 | Switch | Dec 18, 2020 | Hamster | 1 |
Also known as: テニス JP1Tenisu JP1Vs. Tennis WW2任天堂のテニス JP1
Box art by region
NA Tennis 
EU Tennis 
JP テニス
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GameplayArcade (VS. Tennis)
The arcade VS. Tennis lets up to four people play, allows human-versus-human matches, adds female players and uses a two-sided cabinet; deuce is capped, after which the game is decided.1
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GameplayFamicom/NES
On the Famicom and NES, two players can only team up in doubles against the computer; humans cannot play against each other.1
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GameplayGame Boy
The Game Boy version follows the Famicom design but lets two players face each other with a link cable; it has no doubles.1
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Reception
According to Game Machine, VS. Tennis was Japan's most successful table arcade cabinet in March 1984 and topped the charts again in April and May. In the US it led the RePlay and Play Meter conversion kit charts and was the sixth top-performing arcade game of 1984.2
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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