Retro Gaming Hacks

Buy a Famicom from Japan

Import Nintendo’s first breakout hit game system from the exotic Orient.

It would be a very different world today if the Famicom were never released. Sure, at some point the post-Atari U.S. video game market would have been revitalized. But the American gaming industry might have remained under the total control of American companies. Or, Sega might have climbed unimpeded to the top of the Japanese game industry, then proceeded to dominate the rest of the world.

But in 1983, Nintendo did release the Family Computer—quickly dubbed the Famicom for short by abbreviation-happy Japanese consumers—and within months it was a smash success in Japan. It was such a success that Nintendo decided to bring it to the United States as the Nintendo Entertainment System. The rest, as they say, is history.

With the Famicom’s crucial role in revitalizing the U.S. game business, and since it is Nintendo’s best-known product, it’s not surprising that game collectors in the West want to get their hands on one, even if they don’t generally collect imports. There’s just something about the Famicom’s fun design and historical importance that calls to them.

That, and the fact that there are all sorts of games on the Famicom that don’t have U.S. equivalents. This is especially true when you consider the Famicom Disk System, a magnetic-disk-based add-on drive that was never released in the US. Add all this together and the Famicom becomes a pretty desirable piece of kit. But it’s tough ...