Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone
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Owing to the popularity and longevity of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES; known in Asia as the Family Computer, or Famicom), the system would become one of the world's most cloned video game consoles. Such clones are colloquially called Famiclones (a portmanteau of "Famicom" and "clone"), and are electronic hardware devices designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the NES. Hundreds of unlicensed clones have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s. The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones featured a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones have utilized single chip designs, with a custom ASIC which emulates the functionality of the original hardware, and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in Asian nations, especially China and Taiwan, and to a lesser extent South Korea.
In some locales, especially South America and the former Soviet Union, where the NES was never officially released by Nintendo, such clones were the only readily available console gaming systems. Such was the case with the Dendy Junior, a particularly successful NES clone which achieved widespread popularity in Russia and former Soviet republics in the early 1990s. In fact, 'to Dendy' is still a common Russian verb for 'to play video games', and 'dendy' a generic term for game console. Elsewhere, such systems could occasionally even be found side by side with official Nintendo hardware, often prompting swift legal action. Many of these early systems were similar to the NES or Famicom not only in functionality, but also in appearance, often featuring little more than a new name and logo in place of Nintendo's branding.
Perhaps not wishing to attract attention from Nintendo, few of these systems are openly marketed as "NES compatible." Very often they are sold in very attractive and misleading boxes, featuring screenshots from more recent (and more powerful) systems and adorned with misleading, or even patently false, quotes, trumpeting "...ultimate videogame technlology..." [sic] or "...crystal clear digital sound, multiple colors and advanced 3D graphics." Some manufacturers will opt for a less misleading approach, describing the system generically as a "TV game," "8-bit console," or "multi-game system," but even these examples generally say nothing to suggest any compatibility with NES hardware.
Post-patent Famiclones
Some of Nintendo's patents on the Famicom expired in 2003, followed in 2005 by NES-specific patents such as those covering the 10NES lockout chip. While Nintendo still holds various related trademarks, NES hardware clones are no longer necessarily illegal on the basis of patent infringement. This matter is complicated by the effect of different patents awarded in different countries, with different expiration dates. Nintendo sued Gametech in 2005 for selling the PocketFami, despite the patent expiration. Nintendo lost this suit. However, Famiclone manufacturers who incorporate copyrighted games into the unit may still be subject to legal liability on that basis, due to the much longer expiration term for copyrights.While the old-style Famiclones continue to be found, the newly legitimised market has seen several clones that openly advertise support for original Famicom or NES games (or sometimes both), a feature not usually publicised by previous clones, which were often marketed as cheap gifts rather than Famicom-compatible systems. Examples of these newer efforts include the Generation NEX, which resembles a flattened version of the original NES and supports both NES and Famicom games, Gametech's Neo-Fami (also released in both Famicom and NES compatible versions as the "FC Game Console" by Yobo Gameware), and the handheld PocketFami, a more ambitious, albeit still slightly flawed, successor to the older TopGuy, GameAxe and Game Theory Admiral. However, these more legitimate clones are still based on the same NES-on-a-chip architecture as the older systems, and as such still suffer from many of the same compatibility problems.
Brazil
-->Since 1989, NES- and Famicom-compatible consoles were manufactured and released in Brazil by local companies, who also provided tech-support and sold Nintendo games. The first system, in 1989, was [Dynacom's] Dynavision, which used the 60-pin Famicom Japanese cartridge format. In 1990, the Top Game, manufactured by [CCE], was released; it used the 72-pin American cartridge format. The BitSystem, also using the American cartridge format, was manufactured by the now-defunct company Dismac. The Phantom System was released 1991 by [Gradiente], and was the most popular Brasilian Famiclone. It had controllers which were clones of the Mega Drive's. In 1993, Nintendo themselves arrived in Brazil and released the NES with American cartridge slot.
Software game titles
-->Since none of these unlicensed clones contain the 10NES authentication chip, most are capable of running games which an official NES model would not run. In addition, many modern NES clones come with a built-in selection of games, typically stored on an internal ROM which can range from 128 KB up to several megabytes in size.
These built-in games are usually designed to supplement, rather than replace, the traditional cartridge slot, although some devices omit such a slot entirely, allowing only the built-in games to be played. Typical numbers for the built-in "distinct" games range from as low as three to as high as fifty or one hundred games for more expensive products. The number of "distinct games" is important, because while many NES clones claim to have as many as 10,000 built-in games, most of these games are usually nothing more than hacks that allow the player to start the same game at different levels or with different numbers of lives.
The games are usually direct pirated copies of licensed NES and Famicom game titles, usually with copyright information removed and sometimes featuring other minor changes. Additionally, a number of recent clones now incorporate games which, although they may initially appear to be original, are in fact pirated copies featuring extensive graphical (and sometimes audio) modifications. Examples of this include UFO Race, based on Nintendo's F-1 Race, Pandamar (also known as simply Panda), based on Super Mario Bros., and Ladangel, based on Hudson Soft's Challenger.
The most commonly found games in NES clones are generally games below 64 K of ROM size and which can be easily split into distinct subgames or levels. As such, "Track and Field" and "Circus Charlie" are present in a large percentage of NES clones, usually blown up to count as 6 or 7 "distinct" games each. "Duck Hunt" and "Clay Shooting" are also a common NES clone feature as they justify the existence of the lightgun accessory. Other popular, although less common choices, are Super Mario Bros hacks, Excitebike, Tetris or Jewel Tetris, older sports titles and miscelaneous platform games.
However, some systems include legally licensed games - for example, the Rumble Station's 15 built-in games are licensed from Color Dreams, and Sachen's Q-Boy includes only its own original titles. Additionally, the Atari Flashback and Intellivision 25 consoles both contain NES ports of games from their respective original systems.
Types of Famicom clones
Because NES clones are not officially licensed, they vary extremely in areas such as build/hardware quality, available games and overall performance. Most clones are produced extremely cheaply, while a few are comparable to first-party hardware in their manufacture quality. In terms of appearance and basic build, there are four general types of clones:Console type
-->This type of system is designed to look just like a real video game console. Most often this type resembles the original Famicom, but others can look like the NES, SNES, Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation/PSOne, or simply be in any type of generic console shape. Usually it is easy to tell a Famiclone from the real hardware it imitates by the presence of either alternate coloring, brand names which do not match the real console's, or weak construction. Console type clones almost always utilize cartridges, and they are usually compatible with real Famicom (60 pin) or NES (72 pin) games, as well as custom-made pirate carts (especially multi-carts, pirate game cartridges which hold a large number of games as opposed to just one, which are often included with console-type clones). Console Famiclones are most popular in Asia and parts of Europe, with few actively sold in North America due to stronger enforcement of the copyrights in the games typically packaged with a Famiclone and of the design patents in the imitated consoles.
Handheld type
-->These types of systems contain a built-in LCD screen and are usually powered by batteries, therefore acting as a completely portable handheld system. One of the first handheld clones is the Top Guy, although only a small number are known to exist. More widely distributed was Redant's Game Axe, which was manufactured in several revisions through the 1990s. Game Theory Admiral featured an improved TFT screen and closely resembled the Game Boy Advance. However, this smaller design included a smaller cartridge port - it was supplied with an adapter to allow the use of standard Famicom cartridges with the system. One of the more recent handheld clones is Gametech's Pocket Fami, the first to be actively marketed as a portable Famicom by its manufacturers, and one of the most widely distributed thanks to the new legitimate status of Famicom clone products.
Controller type
This type of hardware clone, popular in America and western Europe, is designed to hold all the console's hardware in the shape of a regular game console controller, usually the N64's. Also known as "NES-on-a-chip" due to their extremely miniaturized hardware (relative to the original NES), these controllers usually eschew or at least downplay a game cartridge interface in favor of storing games directly in internal memory chips. These Famiclones can often run off battery as well as AC power, making them popular for portable usage. These clones have become especially popular in the USA thanks to the new "TV-Games" fad of selling legitimately emulated classic arcade games in a traditional-looking controller (Atari games are especially common). Controller clones can usually be found in places like flea markets, mall kiosks or independent toy stores, and most people who sell and buy them in the US are unaware or don't care that they are in fact illegally made. In Brazil this type of console is commercialized with the name GunBoy.Computer type
These Famiclones are designed to resemble either 1980s-style computers, modern computer keyboards or the real Famicom's BASIC kit. Usually, these clones consist of the same hardware as the Console type, but put inside a keyboard instead of a console look-a-like. They are usually supplied with a cartridge containing some computer-style software, such as a simple word processor and a version of BASIC (two of the most common are G-BASIC, a pirated version of Family BASIC, and F-BASIC, an original but more limited version), and some "educational" typing and mathematics games. Some even include a computer mouse and a GUI interface. Note that, while the interface is similar to Nintendo's Family BASIC keyboard, clone keyboards are generally not fully compatible with official software (and vice versa) due to differing key layouts.
Hardware and software compatibility issues
While most Famiclones will run most original licensed Nintendo software and work with most original carts (being even more versatile than an original NES because of the lack of regional lockout chips and sometimes having a dual 60-pin and 72-pin cartridge compatibility), the degree of hardware compatibility with original NES accessories and miscellaneous hardware equipment may vary, while even software level compatibility isn't always perfect.
The most common software-level incompatibility is the lack of CMOS backup memory, causing the few games that use it (e.g. Excitebike) to fail when trying to save or load data. Since most modern Famiclones are based on the NES-on-a-chip ASIC, they automatically inherit all of its powers and limitations, which includes graphical glitches and compatibility issues.
At a hardware level, the most common incompatibility is the lack, in some Famiclones, of the original Famicom's expansion port (although it is always present, at least at a logical level, and in some clones it's internally hardwired e.g. in Computer-type Famiclones it's hardwired to the built-in keyboard, even if not externally accessible).
Most Famiclones also use standard Atari 9-pin shaped joypad connectors instead of the proprietary NES connectors, and their controllers usually offer all of the functionality of a standard NES controller and sometimes features such as "slow motion" or several autofire keys with different speeds, which are not present on the standard out-of-the-box NES joypads.
Also, some Famiclones use a third connector for the lightgun accessory, without the need for unplugging one of the two joypads, while the design and quality of the lightgun itself varies with those of the Famiclones themselves.
Lastly, like many modern consoles and other devices meant to be connected to a TV, many modern famiclones lack an RF modulator and instead only have separate audio and composite video outputs, also to cut on the (already low) production costs.
List of famiclone products
- Arcade Action
- CherryBomb 2
- Creation (Found in Pakistan & India - Made in China)
- Dendy
- Dendy Junior II
- Dr.Boy
- Family Boy
- Flashback
- Game Player
- GameAxe
- Game Theory Admiral
- Generation NEX
- Geniecom
- Gold Leopard King
- Handy FamiEight
- Little Master (India, 1990s)
- Mastergames Ending Man
- Mastergames Mega Power II
- Mega Kid MK-1000
- Micro Genius
- NASA Entertainment Computer System
- Neo-Fami
- NES Video Game System
- Pocket Famicom
- Polystation
- Power Player Super Joy III
- Ruble Station
- Super 8
- Super Com 72
- Tristar 64
- VG Pocket Max
- WizKid (India, 1990s)
- Yobo FC Game Console
External links
- at the
- [The Famiclone]
- [NES World Pirate section]
- [Gamasutra article: Nintendo Entertainment System – Expired Patents Do Not Mean Expired Protection]
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