Happy St. Patrick’s Day (Observed)! Have a counterfeit Famicom! Sláinte!
San Francisco’s annual parade and drinkathon was today, and after I went to observe the festivities and failed to find Patrick Klepek, I decided to make my way home. This took me within walking distance of a Goodwill, so I figured I’d poke my head in even though I was just there a few days ago. And this was back on the electronics shelf, which is why you always check in between all the piles of broken VCRs: a knockoff Famicom with three games.
This is a real piece of bootleg retro history — this would have been sold back in the 80’s and 90’s, when the 8-bit Nintendo was still a going concern. It’s almost indistinguishable from a legit Famicom at first glance. The tipoff, of course, is that it says “Video Game” where it usually says “Family Computer.”
But don’t let the name change fool you — this system, and the games that I found with it, went beyond the usual knockoffs into the realm of out-and-out counterfeiting. The maker was trying to convince consumers that this was the real deal, straight from Nintendo.
Here’s a closer look. The bottom of the hardware (not pictured) does have the Family Computer logo on it, on a sticker.
The back of the Robocop cartridge. “Secrect” cheat codes that allow you to select a world from the title screen are helpfully included. Thanks, pirates!
The Robocop cart doesn’t have any markings on it, but the Double Dribble cartridge that came with the console is blatantly trying to pass itself off as legit — it’s actually in this cardboard box with the Family Computer and Nintendo logos printed on it.
The back of the box. Kind of spoils the illusion of authenticity, but then, if you were a Chinese person living in China in 1990 you probably didn’t notice the bad English.
The actual cartridge. “Nintendo” logo stamped right into the mold. On the back it says “Made in Japan.” Ha!
But wait, want to know the best part? It’s actually better than a Famicom! Yes, it has composite A/V inputs on the back, which the actual Famicom does not. And since it works, that means I can finally play the Famicom games that I picked up for my $10 pile of shame in Tokyo last year.
Images: Chris Kohler/Wired.com
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- MLK Day Thrifting: A Boy And His Scottie Pippen
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