Family Computer
| Family Computer | |
| |
| Also known as | Famicom |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo |
| Manufacturer(s) | Nintendo |
| Type(s) | Home console |
| Generation | Third generation |
| Release date |  July 15, 1983 |
| Introductory price | ¥14,800 |
| Discontinued | September 25, 2003[1] |
| Units sold | 19.35 million[2] |
| Media | ROM cartridge |
| Input | 2 controller ports 1 expansion slot |
| CPU | Ricoh 2A03 8-bit processor (MOS Technology 6502 core) |
| Predecessor | Color TV Game |
| Successor | Super Famicom |
Template:Quote2 The Family Computer (often shortened to Famicom) is the Japanese equivalent of the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the NES. The Family Computer's controllers were attached to the main unit, unlike the NES, and could be stored on the sides of the system. Player One's controller can pause the game, and Player Two's controller has audio controls. The cartridges were half the size of the NES's, and were inserted in the top instead of through a door in the front (like on the NES). Instead of looking like a vertical cartridge, like the NES, it more closely resembles a Super Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge, but can be found in different colors, such as gray, yellow, and blue.
A few months after the Family Computer's first release, Sharp Corporation produced the Sharp C1 Famicom TV, which combined the hardware for both the Family Computer and a television unit. The following year, Sharp released the Playbox BASIC and Family BASIC accessories. They allowed users to program in BASIC on their Family Computers. In February 1986, Family Computer Disk System accessory was released, and it enabled specialized games to be played on the Family Computer in the form of a disk. Many newer games were released only on the Disk System that were never released on the Family Computer or the Nintendo Entertainment System. A few months later, Sharp released the Twin Famicom, which combined the base console with the Disk System add-on in one piece of hardware. In 1987, the Famicom 3D System accessory was released, but like the future Virtual Boy, it flopped. This too had a Sharp version for the Twin Famicom. In 1989, Sharp released the Famicom Titler which combined the console with a video editor.
In the first two calendar years, Nintendo sold only 440,000 Famicom units. Thanks to the release of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo sold 4 million units that year alone.[3]
On September 29, 2016, Nintendo announced the Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, the Family Computer counterpart of the NES Classic Edition, and was released alongside it in Japan on November 10, 2016. Like the NES Classic Edition, it includes 30 pre-installed Family Computer games, although with some differences in the game lineup, such as Mario Open Golf in place of Donkey Kong Jr. Production for the console was discontinued in April 2017.[4]
Appearances[edit]
Mario franchise[edit]
- In Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!, Mario himself owns a Famicom, on which he plays an unnamed video game which bears some similarities to Super Mario Bros. Princess Peach and King Koopa also teleport through the television to which the Famicom is connected, although they do not appear to have any role at all in the game Mario is playing.
- In WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, 9-Volt owns a Famicom system which can be seen in the upper-left corner of the screen during his introduction cutscene.
- In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, during Princess Peach's Interlude after Chapter 5, TEC-XX asks Peach to drink an invisibility potion in order to secretly enter Sir Grodus's Chamber and upload important data on a disk into the room's computer. When this happens, the computer screen shows the Famicom Disk System boot-up sequence which is then shortly followed up by an animation and some music from an unknown game.
- In the Japanese version of WarioWare: Smooth Moves, the microgame Super Nostalgic Entertainment System uses a Family Computer instead.
- In Super Paper Mario, a Famicom can be seen on a shelf in one of Francis' rooms in his fort, among other Nintendo systems.
- In WarioWare: D.I.Y., a green Family Computer cartridge makes up the bottom screen of the title screen. Also, the designs and colors of the cartridges in this game are based on those of the Famicom.
References[edit]
- ^ "Nintendo to end Famicom and Super Famicom production". GameSpot (archived). Published May 30, 2003.
- ^ "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo of Japan (archived).
- ^ The Creator of the Famicom and the Designer of Super Mario are here!. GAME Watch. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ^ Sephazon, R. (April 14, 2017). The Famicom Classic Edition Has Now Also Been Discontinued. Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
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