On the advice of a fellow famicom enthusiast (who will remain nameless unless they feel like revealing that here) I was let in on some info. It seems as though there were different motherboards used at different times for the famicom. By checking out the motherboard, you can see when it was manufactured and if the version you THOUGHT you owned was indeed genuine.
After some debate, I decided to take a screwdriver to my beloved SQUARE button Famicom. Popped off the bottom, unscrewed the motherboard and flipped it over to reveal....
Nintendo 1989
Fuck. Years of scouring and waiting for one to pop up on ebay. Finally one appears out of the blue in near pristine condition (albeit without a box), and its a sham. The bottom is smooth and the controllers are square buttoned. Who knows whether or not the machine failed and a new motherboard was put in or if what I have is a mishmash of parts put together like Frankenstein. Either way, it's not authentic.
I'm so disappointed right now. I don't understand why people in the video game community go through great lengths to pull shit on their fellow collectors just to make a buck. I'm not blaming the person who sold it to me, there's a good chance they didn't know about this discretion either. I just feel duped and tricked, and I apologize if this comes off offensive or rude to any other Famicom fans.
So I guess now, if your going to put down some serious coin on a square button famicom YOU MUST GET A PHOTO OF THE MOTHERBOARD. That or a photo of the pin adapter, which should be BLACK. If a seller refuses to do so, pass, its probably a refurbished machine.
Fuck.
It was me. I feel really bad too. Previously I had heard something about original 1983 Famicoms having smooth bottoms and square buttons. I heard random things about people just replacing the controllers on newer models so I decided to start to do some research about what truely is an original 1983, along with finding about about the history of the motherboards and the different version there are. I hope to write up a report about it with pictures so that everyone can find out about it since I can't really find any information about it at all. So I asked vealchop about his system to help with my research, which I'm really sorry about now :(
But so now I ask anyone else with a square button Famicom or any Famicom to help me out. First, if you have a square button, can you tell me what color the pin adapter where you plug the cartridge into is? Is it black or blue? And hopefully it's not silver and blue :( Those are from 1989.
Also can you check out your Famicom pin adapter and let me know if you have one that is either all blue or black but has the round button controllers?
If they are I hope you can open yours up and find out what number motherboard you have, if you are willing.
Thanks a lot guys and I hope this doesnt shatter anyone elses grails but saves this from happening in the future!! Sorry Veal!
If you paid a bunch of it, then that really does suck, vealchop. But, if not, then think of yourself as somewhat lucky that the fun of the search (at least I think it's fun) will continue for a little while longer. :)
And featherpluck, I'll keep in mind what you're saying about the pins and board...I'll check mine two Famicoms (neither square) and let you know what's up with them.
I've seen a lot of square button controllers for sale, I always wondered if people hooked those up to newer famis and tried to pawn them off as original square button units. People will do anything to make a buck, but the more we know the better we can be protected.
I paid a modest price for it. It wasn't cheap, but it didn't put me in the ramen-only doghouse for weeks because of it. I just hate being deceived and the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm glad featherplukin fed me the info, I like learning about the Famicom and I hope this thread will prevent further scams.
How are you sure it was intentional?
Thats the thing, I don't know if it was intentional or not, and I know the seller wasn't aware of the mix up. Whoever modified the original console should have made it known that there was a new motherboard in the machine, as it passed hands, that info wasn't passed along with it. Also, I don't know if someone was playing the famicom daily, it failed, and they put a new motherboard in, or if someone knowingly attempted to put together a square button famicom and pass off as authentic. I trust the seller I bought it from so I'm guessing the switch happened way before they got it in their hands.
Stickied for importance.
Well, I haven't got any response from anyone but here are pictures of the different motherboards the Famicoms have. I'm still not sure about what the difference is between the blue and the black HVC-CPU-05. I'd be really interested to find a blue HVC-CPU-05 without square buttons. Both the blue and the black ones I have also have square button controllers. But so here they are...
Black PIn Adapter
HVC-CPU-05
1983
If you see the black pin adapter it's a sure sign of the original motherboard and should also have square button controllers and a smooth bottom unless they've been removed.
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-05top.jpg)
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-05.jpg)
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-05full.jpg)
Blue Pin Adapters
Blue pin adapters are a bit more tricky. Just by seeing it's blue doesn't tell you much since there are three different versions that had blue ones. The blue 1983 HVC-CPU-05 (I think) would have square button controllers and a smooth bottom while the blue 1983 HVC-CPU-06 and 1984 HVC-CPU-07 would not, however, they will look the same from the outside, especially if someone had switched the rough bottom to a smooth one.
HVC-CPU-05
1983
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-05bluetop.jpg)
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-05blue.jpg)
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-05bluefull.jpg)
HVC-CPU-06
1983
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-06.jpg)
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-06full.jpg)
HVC-CPU-07
1984
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-07.jpg)
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-07full.jpg)
Silver and Blue Pin Adapter
HVC-CPU-GPM-02
1989
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-GPM-02.jpg)
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/HVC-CPU-GPM-02full.jpg)
Rough Bottom
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/roughbottom.jpg)
Smooth Bottom
(http://www.subphylumclothing.com/motherboards/smoothbottom.jpg)
Dead images in post before mine. But AWESOME pics!
yeah man nice article! we should make a permanent spot for this on the site. Checking/getting pics of mother boards needs to become standard procedure when buying famicoms I think, especially if your investing a shit ton on a square button. I had no idea there were so many different versions of the motherboard.
I finally took a look at my Famicoms. I've got a 1989 round button HVC-CPU-GPM-02 with a blue and silver pin. Then, I've got a 1984 round button HVC-CPU-07 with a blue pin. Maybe that at least confirms what you've already got.
Yeah, thanks for looking though. I still need to find out if the 1983 HVC-CPU-05 blue is supposed to have square or round buttons. Mine had square buttons but could have been changed. ANyone know????
http://www.famicomworld.com/Articles/Square_Button_Famicom.htm
I've posted an article about this on the site. If anyone has any new or contradictory info, pass it along.