It seems Nintendo managed to deliver the next generation of graphics and sound without using expensive off-the-shelf components. But there's a catch: the new console was also designed with expandability in mind. In a world where CPUs are evolving faster than the speed of light, Nintendo ultimately relied on game cartridges to make its console shine.
Models and revisions
Kids across the globe saw this console in various shapes, colours, and names. Nevertheless, the internal differences were less noticeable. As you may already know, due to the spread of analogue standards, models from different regions exhibit variations in their analogue signals (e.g., video output) to accommodate these differing standards. Compared to its predecessor, however, the architectural differences are less pronounced. For instance, on this occasion, Nintendo did not include exclusive circuitry for audio expansion, which significantly impacted the quality of games across regions.
The company did ship hardware revisions during its lifespan, but their main purpose was to reduce the number of dedicated components on the motherboard, thereby lowering manufacturing cost.