The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released as the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan on July 15, 1983, and as the NES in test markets in the United States on October 18, 1985, followed by a nationwide launch on September 27, 1986. The NES was distributed in Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia throughout the 1980s. It was Nintendo's first programmable home console, succeeding the Color TV-Game line of dedicated consoles, and primarily competed with Sega's Master System in the third generation of video game consoles.
The engineer Masayuki Uemura designed the 8-bit Famicom after Nintendo's president Hiroshi Yamauchi called for a simple, cheap console that could run arcade games from cartridges. Its hardware was based on that of Nintendo's arcade game Donkey Kong (1981) and its controller design was reused from Nintendo's portable Game & Watch hardware. For Western markets, Lance Barr and Don James redesigned it as the NES to resemble a video cassette recorder. To aid its acceptance in stores, Nintendo released add-ons such as the Zapper, a light gun for shooting games, and R.O.B., a toy robot. In Japan, Nintendo released the Famicom Disk System add-on to distribute games on floppy disks, although it gradually reduced support for the peripheral due to hardware constraints.
Nintendo released the NES in the aftermath of the video game crash of 1983. In Japan and North America, it quickly dominated and gave Nintendo a near-monopoly on the home console market. Unlike the previous market leader, Atari, Nintendo sought the support of third-party developers, such as Capcom, Hudson Soft, Konami, Namco, Enix, and Square. Its restrictive licensing terms, which included platform exclusivity and a five-game-per-year limit, led to accusations of antitrust violations in the US, culminating in a 1991 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. Nintendo sold 61.91 million consoles; though dominant in Japan and North America, the NES performed less well in Europe, where it faced competition from the Master System and home computers such as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.
Nintendo released a successor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, on November 21, 1990, but continued to support the NES into the 16-bit era. It discontinued the NES on August 14, 1995 and the Famicom on September 25, 2003. The NES is regarded as one of the most influential consoles, as it helped revitalize the American gaming industry following the 1983 crash and pioneered the now-standard business model of licensing third-party developers to produce and distribute games. Several NES games, including Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda (1986), Dragon Quest (1986), and Final Fantasy (1987), became major franchises.
History
Background
The video game industry experienced rapid growth and popularity from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, marked by the golden age of arcade games and the second generation of consoles. Games like Space Invaders (1978) became a phenomenon across arcades worldwide, while home consoles such as the Atari 2600 and home computers such as the Commodore 64 and the Intellivision gained a foothold in the American market. Many companies emerged to capitalize on the growing industry, including the card and toy company Nintendo.
Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi realized that breakthroughs in the electronics industry meant that entertainment products could be produced at lower prices. Companies such as Atari and Magnavox were already selling gaming devices for use with television sets to moderate success. Yamauchi negotiated a license with Magnavox for the patents on the technology used in the Magnavox Odyssey. Since Nintendo's operation was not yet sophisticated enough to design its own hardware, Yamauchi forged an alliance with Mitsubishi Electric and hired several Sharp Electronics employees to assist in developing the Color TV-Game 6 and the Color TV-Game 15 in Japan. This was followed by the handheld Game & Watch series. The successes of these consoles gave Yamauchi the confidence to expand Nintendo's influence in the fledgling video game industry.
In 1978, Yamauchi split Nintendo into separate research and development divisions. He appointed Masayuki Uemura as head of Nintendo Research & Development 2. Yamauchi, through extensive discussions with Uemura and other engineers, recognized the potential of the developing console beyond gaming. He envisioned a home computer system disguised as a toy, which could significantly expand Nintendo's reach if it became popular with children. This popularity would drive demand for games, with Nintendo as the sole provider. Indeed, by 1980 several systems had already been released in Japan by both American and Japanese companies. Yamauchi tasked Uemura with developing a system that would be superior to its competitors and difficult to replicate for at least a year. Uemura's main challenge was economic rather than technological; Yamauchi wanted the system to be affordable enough for widespread household adoption, aiming for a price of ¥9,800 (less than $75) compared to existing machines priced at ¥30,000 to ¥50,000 ($200 to $350). The new system had to outperform other systems, both Japanese and American, while being significantly more affordable.
Inception
As development progressed on the new video game system, engineers sought Yamauchi's guidance on its features. They questioned whether to include a disk drive, keyboard, data port, as well as the potential for a modem, expanded memory, and other computer-like capabilities. Yamauchi ultimately instructed Uemura to prioritize simplicity and affordability, omitting these peripherals entirely. Game cartridges, which Uemura saw as "less intimidating" to consumers, were chosen as the format. The team designed the system with 2,000 bytes of random-access memory (RAM).
The console's hardware was largely based on arcade video games, particularly the hardware for Namco's Galaxian (1979) and Nintendo's own Donkey Kong (1981), with the goal of matching their powerful sprite and scrolling capabilities in a home system. A test model was constructed in October 1982 to verify the functionality of the hardware, and work began on programming tools. Because 65xx CPUs had not been manufactured or sold in Japan by that time, no cross-development software was available, and had to be developed from scratch. Early Famicom games were written on a PC-8001 computer. LEDs on a grid were used with a digitizer to design graphics, as no such software design tools existed at the time.
The codename for the project was GameCom, but Masayuki Uemura's wife proposed the name Famicom, arguing that "In Japan, 'pasokon' is used to mean a personal computer, but it is neither a home nor personal computer. Perhaps we could say it is a family computer." Meanwhile, Yamauchi decided that the console should use a red and white color scheme after seeing a hoarding for DX Antenna (a Japanese antenna manufacturer) that used those colors.
Development
The Famicom was influenced by the ColecoVision, Coleco's competition against the Atari 2600 in the United States; the ColecoVision's top-seller was a port of Nintendo's Donkey Kong. The project's chief manager Takao Sawano brought a ColecoVision home to his family, who was impressed by its smooth graphics, which contrasted with the flicker and slowdown commonly seen on Atari 2600 games. Uemura said the ColecoVision set the bar for the Famicom. The team, wanting to surpass the ColecoVision and match the more powerful Donkey Kong arcade hardware, took a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet to chip manufacturer Ricoh for analysis, which led to Ricoh producing the Picture Processing Unit (PPU) chip for the Famicom. Donkey Kong would also influence the development of the system's audio capabilities, with that game's composer and Nintendo's lead sound engineer, Yukio Kaneoka, finding that commonly-available programmable sound generators of the day could not adequately render the game's soundtrack, for which Kaneoka had designed a primitive sample-based sound system. Kaneoka therefore designed the Famicom's sound chip to be able to render a wider variety of waveforms than was common in either consoles or home computers at the time.
During development, Yamauchi directed engineers to reduce costs by removing non-essential components. However, he insisted on including a low-cost circuit and connector that allowed the CPU to send or receive unmodified signals, enabling future hardware expansions such as modems or keyboards. This built-in capability led some within Nintendo to refer to the console as "Yamauchi's Trojan Horse": it entered homes as a simple gaming device with two controllers, and yet contained features far beyond its apparent function. A 1989 corporate report later acknowledged, "In the initial stages of [the system's] development, we foresaw these possibilities... we built a data communications function into the system." Lead engineer Masayuki Uemura credited luck for this foresight, while colleague Genyo Takeda remarked that Uemura's lack of experience allowed him to attempt what others might have deemed unfeasible. Design decisions were also carefully considered. Yamauchi took a hands-on role in determining the controller layout, casing shape, and overall aesthetic. The final design featured a directional pad and two buttons on the right controller, a microphone on the left controller, rounded edges, and a red and white color scheme deliberately made to appear more like a toy than a computer.
Original plans called for the Famicom's cartridges to be the size of a cassette tape, but they ultimately ended up being twice as large. Careful design attention was paid to the cartridge connectors, as loose and faulty connections often plagued arcade machines. Because it necessitated 60 connection lines for the memory and expansion, Nintendo decided to produce its own connectors. Each cartridge typically contained two primary chips: one for the game’s program code (up to 32 kilobytes), and another for graphical data used to render on-screen characters (up to 8 kilobytes). Nintendo's R&D3 team designed the "UNROM" cartridge, which enabled larger memory capacities and the use of bank switching. This technique involved storing additional data in RAM and dynamically accessing it as needed, thereby significantly expanding gameplay possibilities. At Gunpei Yokoi's suggestion, a cartridge eject lever was also added, not for functionality, but to amuse children.
The Famicom design team initially considered arcade-style joysticks, and even dismantled existing models from American consoles, but ultimately rejected them due to concerns about durability and the risk of children stepping on them. Instead, they adopted the D-pad and two action button layout developed by R&D1 for their handheld Game & Watch series. As an early prototype, Katsuya Nakagawa attached a Game & Watch D-pad to the Famicom and found it comfortable and easy to use. To reduce costs, the controllers were hardwired to the console and stored in molded pockets on the case. A 15-pin expansion port was added to the front of the console so that an optional arcade-style joystick could be used. The second controller also included a microphone, which Uemura envisioned being used to make players' voices come through the TV speaker.
Japanese launch
On July 15, 1983, the console was released in Japan as the Home Cassette Type Video Game: Family Computer, priced at ¥14,800 (¥20,718 in 2025) with three launch games, all of which were ports of popular Nintendo arcade games: Donkey Kong (1981), Donkey Kong Jr. (1982), and Popeye (1982). Although it was priced higher than originally intended, the Famicom remained less than half the cost of rival consoles. Backed by a robust marketing campaign, 500,000 units were sold within the first two months. However, a major fault emerged ahead of the critical Japanese New Year season, as reports began surfacing of consoles crashing during gameplay. Uemura and engineer Gunpei Yokoi traced the issue to a defective integrated circuit that could lock under specific data conditions. Upon reporting the issue to Yamauchi, staff proposed selectively replacing affected units. However, they were warned that a partial response could damage consumer trust and jeopardize Nintendo's first-mover advantage before competitors could respond. Yamauchi considered their input, then issued a decisive directive: "Recall them all."
After a product recall and the release of a revised model with a new motherboard, the system's popularity soared. By the end of 1984, the Famicom had become the best-selling game console in Japan in what came to be called the "Famicom Boom". Following the sale of the first million units, demand showed no signs of slowing. Japanese retailers inundated Nintendo with urgent requests for stock. Anticipation for new game releases reached record levels, which resulted in long queues and games selling out instantly. This phenomenon, soon dubbed "Nintendomania", overwhelmed the supply chain and further increased demand. The Famicom's success quickly cleared the field of competition in Japan. Fourteen rival console manufacturers exited the market, and Sega's SG-1000, launched in Japan on the same day as the Famicom, failed to gain traction.
At launch, Nintendo released only first-party games for the Famicom. However, in 1984, after being approached by Namco and Hudson Soft, the company agreed to allow third-party titles. Developers paid a 30% fee to cover console licensing and production costs, a revenue model that would later influence the video game industry for decades.
Venture into North America
Nintendo initially planned for the console to enter the North American market through a distribution agreement with Atari. The agreement was expected to be finalized at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in June 1983. However, during the show, Atari discovered that Coleco was demonstrating an unlicensed port of Nintendo's Donkey Kong on its Adam computer system. Atari, believing this violated its exclusive license for the game, delayed the deal. Shortly afterward, Atari CEO Ray Kassar was fired, the deal fell apart, and Nintendo decided to market its system on its own.
Nintendo believed that the Famicom name might not resonate with American consumers, and initially rebranded the console as the Advanced Video System (AVS). The AVS resembled a home computer rather than a "toy", featuring a built-in keyboard, a cassette-based data drive, and infrared wireless controllers. By positioning the console as a more "sophisticated" consumer electronics product, Nintendo aimed to distance itself from the recent failures of companies such as Atari, Coleco, and Mattel. The AVS was publicly demonstrated at the Winter CES in January 1985, but the reaction was lukewarm. While the hardware and games were praised, there was deep skepticism that the console could succeed in the United States, as the industry there was still recovering from the video game crash of 1983. Electronic Games magazine reported in March 1985 that the video game market in America "[had] virtually disappeared", and believed "[it] could be a miscalculation on Nintendo's part".
With American retailers still wary of stocking game consoles after the 1983 crash, Yamauchi saw an opportunity to introduce the Famicom's hardware to North America through arcades. In 1984, Nintendo launched the VS. System, an arcade conversion system that featured ports of select Famicom games, with a focus on two-player competitive play. The VS. System became a major success, selling nearly 100,000 cabinets and becoming the highest-grossing arcade machine of 1985 in the United States. This success gave Nintendo the confidence to pursue a home console launch in North America, and provided a platform to test new titles to help shape the launch line-up.
Nintendo of America designers Lance Barr and Don James were disappointed with the prototype console they received from Japan, which they nicknamed "the lunchbox". For the console's western redesign, they added a two-tone gray color scheme with a black stripe and red lettering, as well as a front-loading, zero insertion force slot modeled after a videocassette recorder which concealed the game cartridge once inserted. The redesigned console, now called the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), was unveiled by Nintendo at the June 1985 Summer CES, and dropped the home computer features of the earlier AVS prototype while retaining its gray color scheme and boxy form factor. It also replaced the Famicom's hardwired controllers and the AVS's wireless ones with detachable wired controllers using proprietary 7-pin connectors. To avoid the language used by earlier game consoles, marketing manager Gail Tilden coined alternative terms for the NES's hardware, calling the cartridges "Game Paks" and the console itself the "Control Deck", which would later aid its acceptance in toy stores. To further distance the NES from previous consoles, Nintendo heavily promoted optional accessories, such as the Zapper light gun and the Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.), to position the system as cutting-edge and sophisticated. While initial consumer interest in the console was limited, its peripherals drew significant attention.
The NES launched in a limited test market in New York City on October 18, 1985, followed by Los Angeles in February 1986, and finally a full North American release on September 27, 1986. The launch line-up included 17 games: 10-Yard Fight, Baseball, Clu Clu Land, Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Golf, Gyromite, Hogan's Alley, Ice Climber, Kung Fu, Pinball, Soccer, Stack-Up, Super Mario Bros., Tennis, Wild Gunman, and Wrecking Crew. Nintendo contracted with toy company Worlds of Wonder (WoW) to get the NES distributed in stores. WoW's aggressive sales tactics, which included requiring retailers to carry the NES in order to sell WoW's other popular toys, helped secure shelf space for the console. WoW salesman Jim Whims distinctly recalled delivering an ultimatum: "if you want to sell Teddy Ruxpin and you want to sell Lazer Tag, you're gonna sell Nintendo as well." WoW's efforts led to a successful first year for the NES; afterwards, Nintendo of America ended the distribution deal and hired WoW's sales team, taking over distribution directly. By the end of 1986, over a million units had been sold in the United States, nearly ten times the amount sold by both its competitors, the Atari 7800 and Sega Master System.
With the launch of the NES, Nintendo redefined the home video game market in North America. The 1983 crash had been fueled by misleading marketing, lack of quality control, and hardware fragmentation. In contrast, Nintendo introduced strict standards for software approval, packaging, and quality. It used consistent branding with genre icons, box art that reflected in-game graphics, and the "Official Nintendo Seal of Quality". To enforce its standards, the company used the 10NES lock-out chip to deter production of unlicensed games.
Other markets
In Europe and Oceania, the NES was released in two separate marketing regions. The first consisted of mainland Europe (excluding Italy), where distribution was handled by several different companies, with Nintendo responsible for manufacturing. The NES saw an early launch in Europe in 1986, although most European countries received the console in 1987. In Scandinavia, it was released on September 1, 1986, and was distributed by Bergsala. In the Netherlands, it was released in the last quarter of 1987, and was distributed by Bandai BV. In France, it was released in October 1987, and in Spain most likely in 1988 through distributor Spaco. In 1987, Mattel handled distribution for the second region, consisting of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. In other European countries, distribution was handled by smaller companies like Bienengräber in Germany, ASD in France, Concentra in Portugal, Itochu in Greece and Cyprus, and Stadlbauer in Austria, Switzerland, and the former Eastern Bloc. In Poland, the NES had its release on October 6, 1994, along with the SNES and the Game Boy. In November 1994, Nintendo signed an agreement with Steepler to permit the continued sale of the Dendy, an unauthorized hardware clone of the Famicom, in Russia in exchange for also distributing the SNES.
Nintendo anticipated that the NES would have a 25 percent market share in Europe, and saw particular potential in the United Kingdom. The console struggled to gain a foothold in the region, however, in part due to the widespread popularity of the ZX Spectrum, which had already established a strong home computing and gaming culture. The affordability, local software support, and versatility of the Spectrum also made it a dominant choice among British consumers, which severely limited the NES's market penetration. The console would see an increase in share in 1990 with the release of the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles bundle, which was released against Nintendo of America's wishes but ultimately allowed the console's European sales to overtake those of the Master System.
In Brazil, the console was officially released in late 1993 by Playtronic. However, the Brazilian market had been dominated by unlicensed NES clones that were either locally made or smuggled from Taiwan. One of the most successful Brazilian NES clones was the Phantom System by Gradiente, which licensed Nintendo products in the country for the following decade. The sales of officially licensed products in the region were low due to the abundance of clones, the console's official launch coming after the SNES, and the high prices of Nintendo's licensed products.
Outside of Japan, regions of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand received an "Asian version" of the front-loader NES, although imported Famicom systems were still prevalent. Due to import restrictions, NES consoles in India and South Korea were rebranded and distributed by local licenses. The Korean version is known as the Hyundai Comboy, and the Indian version is known as the Samurai Electronic TV Game System. India was the third region outside of North America and Japan to officially receive the NES. It was produced locally by Samurai Electronics in North India, and was released to strong initial sales in the region, selling 3,000 units per month. However, in the early 1990s, when retailers began promoting bootleg consoles, the console saw a significant drop in sales, selling 300 units per month.
Bundles and redesigns
The NES was released in several retail bundles throughout its commercial life. For its 1985 American test launch, the initial offering was the Deluxe Set, which retailed for US$179.99 (equivalent to $540 in 2025) and included the Control Deck, two controllers, the NES Zapper light gun, the R.O.B. robotic accessory, and two Game Paks: Gyromite and Duck Hunt. Ahead of the console's nationwide launch in 1986, Nintendo introduced a basic Control Deck set with two controllers, bundled with Super Mario Bros. for US$99.99 (equivalent to $280 in 2025).
In 1988, the Deluxe Set was replaced by the Action Set, which retailed for US$99.99 (equivalent to $270 in 2025) and bundled the Control Deck with two controllers, the NES Zapper, and a dual Game Pak containing Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. 1988 also saw the introduction of the Power Set, which added the Power Pad floor mat game controller and replaced the dual cartridge with a triple Game Pak featuring Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet.
In 1990, Nintendo released the Sports Set, which included the Control Deck, four controllers, an NES Satellite infrared wireless multitap adapter, and a dual Game Pak containing Super Spike V'Ball and Nintendo World Cup. In 1992, the Challenge Set debuted at US$89.99 (equivalent to $210 in 2025), featuring the Control Deck and two controllers, bundled with Super Mario Bros. 3.
Finally, in October 1993, Nintendo released a redesigned version of the console, known as the New-Style NES or NES-101, in North America, Australia, and Japan. This version included a single redesigned "dogbone" shape controller, and retailed for US$49.99 (equivalent to $110 in 2025) in North America before its discontinuation in 1995. In Australia, the console was bundled with a triple Game Pak featuring Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Nintendo World Cup, and sold for A$79.99, or A$69.99 without the bundled Game Pak.
Discontinuation
On August 14, 1995, Nintendo discontinued the Nintendo Entertainment System in both North America and Europe. In North America, replacements for the original front-loading NES were available for $25 in exchange for a broken system until at least December 1996, under Nintendo's Power Swap program.
In September 2003, Nintendo discontinued the Famicom in Japan, alongside the Super Famicom and disk rewriting services for the Famicom Disk System. The last Famicom model, serial number HN11033309, was manufactured on September 25, 2003; it was kept by Nintendo and subsequently loaned to the organizers of Level X, a video game exhibition held from December 4, 2003, to February 8, 2004, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, for a Famicom retrospective in commemoration of the console's 20th anniversary. Nintendo offered repair services for the Famicom in Japan until 2007, when it was discontinued due to a shortage of available parts.
Hardware
Configurations
Although all versions of the Famicom and NES include essentially similar hardware, they vary in physical characteristics. The original Famicom's design is predominantly white plastic with a dark red trim; it featured a top-loading cartridge slot, grooves on both sides of the deck in which the hardwired game controllers could be placed when not in use, and a 15-pin expansion port located on the unit's front panel for accessories. In contrast, the design of the original NES features a more subdued gray, black, and red color scheme, with a front-loading cartridge slot covered by a small, hinged door that can be opened to insert or remove a cartridge and closed at other times, and an expansion port on the bottom of the unit. The NES also includes the 10NES lock-out chip, and incorporates a matching chip validation check in its cartridge connector.
In late 1993, Nintendo introduced a redesigned version of the Famicom and NES (known officially as the New Famicom in Japan and the New-Style NES in the US) to complement the Super Famicom and SNES, to prolong interest in the console, and to reduce costs. The redesigned NES features a top-loading cartridge slot and omits the 10NES lock-out chip to avoid reliability issues with the original console; the redesign also omits AV output. Conversely, the redesigned Famicom features AV output, and introduces detachable game controllers, which ultimately omitted microphone functionality as a result. The redesigned Famicom and NES models are cosmetically similar, aside from the presence of a cartridge "bump" on the NES model, which the Famicom model lacks to accommodate its shorter cartridges and the RAM Adapter for the Famicom Disk System.
Sharp Corporation produced three licensed variants of the Famicom in Japan, all of which prominently display the shortened moniker rather than the official name, Family Computer. One variant was a television set with an integrated Famicom; originally released in 1983 as the My Computer TV in 14-inch (36 cm) and 19-inch (48 cm) models, it was later released in the United States in 1989 as a 19-inch model named the Video Game Television. Another variant is the Twin Famicom console, which was released in 1986 and combines a Famicom with a Famicom Disk System. Sharp then produced the Famicom Titler in 1989; intended for video capture and production, it features internal RGB video generation and video output via S-Video, as well as inputs for adding subtitles and voice-overs.
Hardware clones
A thriving market of unlicensed NES hardware clones emerged during the climax of the console's popularity. Initially, such clones were popular in markets with weak copyright laws and countries in which Nintendo issued its systems after "famiclones" became well-known, making legal products difficult to market or create brand awareness for. In particular, the Dendy (Russian: Де́нди), an unlicensed hardware clone produced in Taiwan and sold in the former Soviet Union by Steepler, emerged as the most popular console of its time, eventually selling six million units. In Poland, the Pegasus clone, distributed by Bobmark International, sold more than a million units. In China, a reported 30 million units were sold until late 1995. A range of Famicom clones was marketed in Latin America during the late 1980s and 1990s under the name "Family Game", resembling the original hardware design. The Ending-Man Terminator clone enjoyed popularity in the Eastern Bloc, as well as in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The unlicensed clone market flourished following Nintendo's discontinuation of the NES. Some of these surpass the functionality of the original hardware, such as PocketFami, a portable system with a color LCD screen. Others have been produced for certain specialized markets, such as a personal computer with a keyboard and basic word processing software. These unauthorised clones have been helped by the invention of the so-called NES-on-a-chip.
Design flaws
Nintendo's design styling for the NES's North American release was made deliberately different from that of other game consoles. The company wished to distinguish their product from those of competitors and avoid the generally poor reputation that game consoles had acquired following the video game crash of 1983. One result of this philosophy was to disguise the cartridge slot design as a front-loading zero-insertion force (ZIF) cartridge socket, designed to resemble the front-loading mechanism of a videocassette recorder. However, when a user inserts the cartridge, the force of pressing it into place bends the contact pins slightly and presses the cartridge's ROM board back into the cartridge. Frequent insertion and removal of cartridges can wear out the pins, and the ZIF design has proven to be more prone to interference by dirt and dust than an industry-standard card edge connector.
The design problems were exacerbated by Nintendo's choice of materials. The console slot nickel connector springs wear out due to their design, and the game cartridge's brass plated nickel connectors are also prone to tarnishing and oxidation. Nintendo sought to fix these problems by redesigning the next generation Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) as a top loader similar to the Famicom. Many users reportedly tried to alleviate issues caused by corrosion by blowing into the cartridges and then reinserting them, which conversely sped up the tarnishing due to moisture.
Lockout
The Famicom as released in Japan contains no lock-out hardware, which led to unlicensed cartridges (both legitimate and bootleg) becoming extremely common in Japan and East Asia. To combat bootlegs, Nintendo attempted to promote its "Seal of Quality" in these regions to identify licensed games, but bootleg Famicom games continued to be produced even after Nintendo moved production onto the Super Famicom, effectively extending the lifetime of the original Famicom.
The original NES, released for western countries in 1985, contains the 10NES lock-out chip, which prevents the console from running cartridges unapproved by Nintendo. The inclusion of the 10NES chip was a result of the 1983 North American video game crash, which was partially caused by a market flooded with uncontrolled publishing of poor-quality home console games. Nintendo sought to use the lock-out chip to restrict games to only those they licensed for the system. This means of protection worked in combination with Nintendo's "Seal of Quality", which a developer had to acquire before they would be able to have access to the required 10NES information prior to publication of a game.
Original NES consoles sold in different regions have different lock-out chips, thereby enforcing regional lock-out regardless of TV signal compatibility. Such regions include North America; most of continental Europe (PAL-B); Asia; and the British Isles, Italy, and Australasia (PAL-A).
Problems with the 10NES lock-out chip frequently result in one of the console's most common issues: the blinking, red power light, in which the system appears to turn itself on and off repeatedly because the 10NES would reset the console once per second. The lock-out chip requires constant communication with the chip in the game to work.
Technical specifications
The console's main central processing unit (CPU) was produced by Ricoh, which manufactured different versions for NTSC and PAL regions; NTSC consoles have a 2A03 clocked at 1.79 MHzTooltip megahertz, and PAL consoles have a 2A07 clocked at 1.66 MHz. Both CPUs are unlicensed variants of the MOS Technology 6502, an 8-bit microprocessor prevalent in contemporary home computers and consoles. Nintendo ostensibly disabled the 6502's binary-coded decimal mode on them to avoid patent infringement against or licensing fees towards MOS Technology, which was owned by then-rival Commodore International. The CPU has access to 2 KBTooltip kilobyte of onboard work RAMTooltip random-access memory.