Famicom World

In Game History, we finally got to 1985, when Nintendo marketed the NES in NYC.

In the book, Highscore, there is a picture of the NES & the Famicom.  Our teacher asked which looked better, & more people agreed to the Famicom. ;)

It's too bad that video games were considered "dead" at the time, otherwise Nintendo wouldn't have had to market the NES as an "Entertainment System."

It's all about the vibrancy of the red, with a mixture of intricate form; the NES is plain ol' gray and boxy -- boring. The Japanese must have been willing to accept a bit of non-conformity in the aesthetic nature of their video gaming consoles and carts. Oh yeah the carts are an interesting part of it...all the officially licensed Famicom carts are colorful and come in a bunch of different sizes and shapes. The NES officially licensed carts are just more gray.

really? You know the only thing I really like better about the famicom design is the colors and the fact that the controllers fit into the system itself. Otherwise, the NES was definately more sleaker and sophisticated looking. The famicom was designed to look more like a toy i think. Personally, I like the famicom design better, but I think the NES was definately a bit more ergonomic.

Was anyone in your class there in NYC during the release? I remember the week it came out I was at F.A.O. Schwartz where it debuted. There was a mob scene. It was incredible. There was only one or two demo units available to play and some kid was hogging the system. My mom wound up picking one up for me at Toys R' Us.

Are you guys reading "Game Over"? They go into a VERY in depth detail of the NYC release in 1985, you guys should check it out.

Quote from: vealchop on October 31, 2006, 08:07:03 am
...the NES was definately more sleaker and sophisticated looking. The famicom was designed to look more like a toy i think.

Aren't they toys? I mean, honestly, we might be able to argue back and forth about whether or not these are toys, but let me as you this, what do you do with it? You play it. Who were the targeted consumers? Kids, teens -- evidenced by the ads and inserts. The NES and Famicom were toys, no matter from which angle you look at them -- and this "sleaker" and "sophisticated" talk just doesn't seem spot on. Maybe this has become true, that more kids, primarily teens, are seeking out sleek and sophisticated, but it's more than likely that the companies making these products are doing so to reach a broadening consumer base.

right. but, if you look at the market, if you make a system that looks less like a toy and more like some kind of entertainment console, you're gonna grab a bigger market share. i.e. maybe a 35 year old whos never played video games would be more likely to pick something that looked like an NES as opposed to the famicom. You also have to look at the region. Japanese audiences tend to lean more toward more compact, smaller design, whereas americans want the big, bulky stuff. Although this trend is beginning to disappear now, back in the 80's it was totally evident. Just looking at the NES, it doesn't look like a toy, it looks like a piece of computer hardware. But when I was a kid, I liked stuff like that, so I was into it. And I think, solely based on trying to attract a bigger market, that the NES was more successful. Whether or not that's fact I dunno, its just my opinion.

Quote from: vealchop on October 31, 2006, 08:07:03 am

Was anyone in your class there in NYC during the release? I remember the week it came out I was at F.A.O. Schwartz where it debuted. There was a mob scene. It was incredible. There was only one or two demo units available to play and some kid was hogging the system. My mom wound up picking one up for me at Toys R' Us.

I was there... :)

I got mine at I THINK Toys R' Us, maybe I saw you there, lol. :P

I have to say I like both designs, although the Famicom slightly edges out the NES.

Quote from: vealchop on October 31, 2006, 08:07:03 amWas anyone in your class there in NYC during the release? I remember the week it came out I was at F.A.O. Schwartz where it debuted. There was a mob scene. It was incredible. There was only one or two demo units available to play and some kid was hogging the system. My mom wound up picking one up for me at Toys R' Us.

I don't know; I'll ask in the next class.

Quote
Are you guys reading "Game Over"? They go into a VERY in depth detail of the NYC release in 1985, you guys should check it out.

No, but Ultimate History of Video Games, the book we're using, references it.

The Prophet agree with JC!
Both Famicom and NES were toys!
Today they're legends!

The most beautiful to me is the Famicom AV, with the
Top Loader NES in a close second.

I think that the NES does look more like sophisticated computer hardware, but that cartridge slot has got ot be one of Nintendo's worst designs ever!  Seriously, every one of my cartridge based game systems work great (Famicom Included), with like a 99.8% successful boot rate, but I would have to say that the NES is more around 12%. Mine used to be like 60%, but I replaced the 72-pin connector, and it only made it worse. 

The "NEW NES", Nintendo's answer to the "NEW FAMICOM", had a nice cardridge slot, but, much like the old FAMICOM, was RF only.  You just can't win.  I suppose that the best combination would be a "NEW FAMICOM", with a 60-pin to 72-pin converter, and a 100v Japanese step-down converter.

Yes, I think the AV is the best design overall.  If only our NES-101 had AV.  Man, Nintendo is always switching things around. :-\

Maybe mod it to use AV? :D

Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on October 31, 2006, 09:39:05 pm
Yes, I think the AV is the best design overall.  If only it our NES-101 had AV.  Man, Nintendo is always switching things around. :-\

Maybe mod it to use AV? :D

Like this?:
http://www.gamesx.com/rgbadd/nes2avmod.htm

I personally prefer the NES, possibly because I grew up loving it.  Also, anything NES looks so solid.  For example, I have a fear that if I look at anything FC the wrong way, it'll break; while I know full well I can toss anything NES (including the system itself) at a wall as hard as I can and it will be just as functional afterwards ( and I'd say my system has roughly an 80% sucess rate).

And, as it was said before, really big technology rules.

Famicom.

I think the NES looks a bit dull, with it's box like design and grey / black color.

Another thing: when I play FC (if I ever get too...one day) the whole thing is really Japanese: compact, light, and (not always, but in this situation) fragile. When I play the NES, it's very macho(as macho as a game system can get, anyways) with it's huge system, blocky games, and sharp, rectangular controllers who's + pad could give mightly blisters to those with girly hands.  It really feels like you're Playing With Power!

...and then you realize you have the wrong adaptor plugging it all in & now you really are Playing With Power! :o

Hahaha!  Even when I was little I never managed that.  Even today when I plug in my NES 101 I always use the adaptor that says "Use with NES 001 or NES 101 only" even though any NES adaptor will work.  I'm really cautious like that.

What the... 'NES 001' both my adaptors, hmm, the person I bought my Toploader from gave me the wrong adaptor. ::)

Oh well... It doesn't matter that much (unless you're uber anal like myself  ;D )

I like Famicom because the top loader and the small size of the cartridges.

For NES Toaster and Original Famicom... Original Famicom Wins!

For NES 101 Toploader and AV Famicom... NES 101 Toploader Wins!

I like 101's look but AV Famicom does have AV so it wins on that point, but a AV mod of 101 is quite simple; so AV Fami doesn't really have much on 101. The rounded bump on 101 looks better then AV's flat top, thats the only reason 101 wins cosmetically.

Have you ever taken a long look at an RF Famicom without it's controllers holstered? It looks terrible. With the controllers in place, it looks perfect...

I think that the fc is better looking than the toaster. I can't really compare the nes101 and a/v fami since they look the same, but they are my favorite model.

The Famicom's color (my favorite, btw), compact design, and second controller MICROPHONE all make me choose the Famicom as winner of best design.

To all his own, I guess.  I still like the design of the NES - really '80s - like the DeLorean.

I'm using my NES controller + a RetroUSB cable to play Smash Bros. Brawl on someone's laptop. :P

The reason for that AV's flat top is so you can stick the RAM Adapter Cartridge for the Disk System in there without any wobble, but I agree that the NES version looks better.  So weird that the Famicom was RF-only, and then the NES 2 was RF-only, but the Japanese equivalent was AV... and the NES had both.  Even weirder that you could mode the NES for AV.  Why the heck wouldn't they put those inputs there if it's so easy? Augh.

I love the original Famicom to death, but its big overarching design flaw is the controller connection.  For some reason the cords come out the back even though they connect to the FRONT of the main board.  If you could unspool the cords and have them come out the front, you'd almost double the cable length,  MADNESS.

Making NES controllers that were designed to come unplugged was a good move on Nintendo's part, but everything else about that machine was terrible.  The VCR-style slot had too many problems.  Apart from pin-bending, the mechanism for keeping the chassis in the locked position is just ridiculous and flimsy.  Have you ever taken one apart (I have, to install new pins)?  It's amazing it works at all!

The original famicom design is a lot more appealing than the NES one, to me.

Same reason as to why I like this train:
(http://i35.tinypic.com/aljlut.jpg)

Quote from: chiruno on November 08, 2008, 06:15:14 am
The original famicom design is a lot more appealing than the NES one, to me.

Same reason as to why I like this train:
(http://i35.tinypic.com/aljlut.jpg)

Family Train!