Inside Nintendo's classic games console
Lots of people know the Nintendo Entertainment System. Fewer know the Japanese console it was based on, the Nintendo Family Computer, also known as the Famicom. We'll take a look inside the Famicom and its accessories, including a unique disk system attachment.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
To overcome the stigma associated with video games in the post-crash American market, Nintendo redesigned the Famicom to look more like an appliance or a VCR than a game console. The result was the Nintendo Entertainment System (1985), seen here underneath the Famicom. Nintendo was also cautious not to use the term "video game" in its NES marketing literature, calling the console an "Entertainment System" instead. In contrast, the toy-like Famicom was unabashedly designed with children in mind.
You could swap controllers for the NES, but the Famicom shipped with two control pads permanently wired into the console. The system even featured two molded slots where you could store the pads when you weren't playing.
