Family Computer
| Family Computer | |
|---|---|
| |
| Release date |  1983 |
| Discontinued | September 25, 2003 |
| Predecessor | Color TV-Game |
| Successor | Super Famicom |
- “If you were to strike up a friendship with a Japanese gamer and happened to ask him whether he owned a NES back in the '80s, you'd probably be met with a blank stare.”
- —British Official Nintendo Magazine
The Family Computer (often shortened to Famicom) is the Japanese equivalent of the Nintendo Entertainment System. 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 SNES cartridge, but can be found in different colors, such as gray, yellow, and blue.
The console was released in 1983, but in February 1986 the Family Computer Disk System was released as an accessory for the Family Computer. This accessory enabled 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 NES or Family Computer. Sharp Corporation also manufactured the Twin Famicom, a Family Computer combined with the Disk System add-on in one piece of hardware, but it was only released in Japan.
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.
Trivia
- In Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach, Mario himself owns a Family Computer, on which he plays an unnamed video game. Princess Peach and King Koopa also teleport through the television Mario is using, although they do not appear to have any role at all in Mario's game.
