The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo, had numerous model variants produced throughout its lifetime. It was originally released on July 15, 1983 as the Family Computer in Japan, with design work led by Masayuki Uemura. Nintendo intentionally redesigned it as the NES in North America in an attempt to avoid the stigma of video game consoles lingering from the video game crash the same year; while it was initially conceptualized as a home computer, it was ultimately modeled after a videocassette recorder (VCR) for its debut there on October 18, 1985. Subsequently, the NES was exported to Europe and Oceania via local distributors.