Famicom

Famicom

The Family Computer, or Famicom, is Nintendo's original Japanese console and the ancestor of the NES. Dressed in its trademark red and white with hardwired controllers, it uses 60-pin cartridges rather than the NES's 72-pin format. That single difference shapes everything about compatibility and modding.

Cartridges and adapters

Because the Famicom uses 60-pin carts, you cannot insert NES games directly, and Famicom games will not fit an NES slot. A passive 72-to-60-pin adapter bridges the gap in either direction, letting you play Famicom titles on an NES or NES titles on a Famicom. These adapters are widely available and require no soldering.

Audio advantage

The Famicom has a built-in path for expansion (EXP) audio, the extra sound channels that certain games use for richer music. On the Famicom these channels play through the cartridge connector by design, so soundtracks intended for them sound as the developers meant. On NES hardware, reproducing that audio takes additional modding.