© Nintendo LifeThere is no denying that the NES – or Famicom as it is known in its native Japan – is one of the most important pieces of video game hardware ever made. Not only did it transform Nintendo from a foreign player into an industry leader, it laid the foundations for a thriving industry to this day.
Famicom was a Nintendo developer for engineer Masayuki Uemura, who joined the company from Sharper in 1972 during which he explored the possibilities of electronic entertainment. He rose to the position of CEO of Nintendo R & D2, which would not only produce Famicom but also its equally beloved successor, SNES / Super Famicom. Emura retired from Nintendo in 2004 and is now a professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.
Ahead of his latest speech in the UK & # 39; s National Video Game Museum, Emura-san, now 76, was kind enough to continue to sit down with us to discuss his wonderful work at the Games.
Nintendo Health: Famicom was a revolutionary product of Nintendo. What was the biggest challenge you faced while designing the system?
Says Uemura: Cost cutting was a major challenge.
What compromises did you have to make while producing the console?
One thing to compromise a lot [with it] was the exterior design. Because we don't want to compromise [and] Famicom's [internal] specifications.
Do you have a tight budget for a project payment that you should adhere to?
The mission was the basic cost of the device itself should be five thousand yen. That was the purpose. The retail price will be fifteen thousand. That was almost impossible.
Looking for five thousand yen for everything within the program?
Everything within the system, of course.
After Famicom was released, where did you feel the concert was a success – not only at home, but abroad?
Back then, it took about half a year to get reports on how many units we sold and things like that. So when it went on sale [in the United States] at the end of 1985, there were not many reports [it came from] from Nintendo of America. In the summer of 1986, we had a report from Nintendo of America that they were doing well. Until March of 1986, they didn't think it was done right.
© Samathy BarrettWhat was your feeling when you realized that, after being released in all those places, it was really a success?
Honestly, I don't have time to think about success, because I was busy taking over [managing] many of the issues and technical issues faced by Nintendo at the time.
Can you give some examples of what might be?
Our issue was a controller failure. There is a tendency for children to want to press the button more often, the A [mostly] button. So the A button is often very failing. The other was an LSI chip to heat quickly and burn out.
We know that Famicom has the best design in Japan, but that design was changed for the overseas models. Have you ever mentioned what overseas models look like?
I don't have time to think about success, because I was busy taking over [managing] many of the issues and technical issues facing Nintendo at the time
All the final decisions needed to be made by me, but I couldn't say, "Hi, you have to sell this," or something like that. That was not possible, because I thought that all the people in the US market, understood what the market was, and I wanted to make sure they wanted to sell a product that they felt comfortable with.
The design of the Famicom cartridge is quite different from the cartridge box design we have seen around the world; there is a huge difference between these. How is that understood?
When they created the Japanese version of Famicom, they intended [to be] about the same [size] cartridges as the audio cassettes. Because there were so many audio tapes and the audio cassette player was very popular in Japan.
So that makes the cost of producing small cartridges smaller for you, then?
Yes, [and] it's very simple. In the Famicom system, the Japanese version, the top is where you attach the cartridge. So this will directly connect the chip inside the cartridge and the chip inside the hardware. Where the static happens, in this type of device, it will be shorter in rotation. Bang! It's going to break. Japan has high humidity, so not much is dry. However, if you go to America, especially a place like Texas, it's very dry, so it has plenty of room. So we wanted to make sure the kids didn't touch the connection ports. That's why you have to make it the same as the original NES carrier. That way the cartridge also got bigger, because that's how you should design the product.
So you wanted to put the connectors in the depth of the computer covered?
Right.
For Famicom, what was the most unusual request you had when it came to designing Famicom?
There are many requests from many people, and the only thing they can say is to cut the connection between the application controllers and make it wireless.
© Samathy BarrettOh really? So that's something you couldn't use on the console itself?
No, it wasn't.
I think it would have been more expensive at that time to produce, right?
Well, there was nothing like that available at the time. But many people have asked for it; it was crazy at the time.
At the time that this Famicom was being built at Nintendo, they had many rival companies starting to explode. How have the products from those competing companies affected your operations at Nintendo?
In Japan, the only competitor we had at the time was Sega. Some designers I knew were designing Nintendo software, that would be much more effective than taking the risk of installing Hardware.
There are many requests from many people, and the only thing they can say is to remove the connection between the application administrators and make it wireless
I see. So I think a local company looking to build Hardware, convinced them to almost upgrade the software instead of developing the Hardware, right?
Right; well, they came up with their own decision.
The Famicom controller is a very graphic controller; what did it look like during the various stages of development, and what other control prototypes would make you never see the light of day?
I started with a popular painting type. We've improved a lot, of all kinds. One of the important points we have noticed is that once the children get into the joystick, then the sword will break. I have tried using a non-slip material, and it is very expensive.
Is that the reason why you use the steering pad on the controller?
One of the reasons we went into a discretionary division like Game & Watch was because the game and visual division were right next to us, so it was easy for them to ask to submit a tool and explore it. For a while, we've been working on a type of joystick controller, but it doesn't work. However we only had this design pad for Design & Game, so we just put it on our device as a test, and it worked fine, so we decided to use it.
At that time many different games and arcade games used more than just two buttons. Is there any reason for Famicom to use the two action buttons?
The most important factor was the cost.
© Samathy BarrettWith Super Famicom, you had six buttons. Was it cheaper to produce?
At the time, we didn't know if Famicom would sell well, locally or globally. So we had to make sure it was going to be the most expensive option available.
So were you more confident about Super Famicom?
Yes. In the opinion of a software developer, just having two buttons is not enough to create all kinds of games, so how they end up with a bit more button.
What is your fondest memory of your time at Nintendo?
The best time I can remember is when we finished developing [i] Famicom. At the time, we didn't know if it would be popular or not, but the fact that we were able to finish the product was very satisfying. That was the first goal; to make sure to finish developing the device and I did, so I was happy.
You created this popular device now, and people are still playing it. How do you feel about these programs that still work in people's minds?
I see that for a long time, it's important software because it's the software that people play on the console. That is really amazing
I see that for a long time, it's important software because it's the software that people play on the console. That is really amazing.
You mentioned wireless controllers, but were there other things you wanted to add to Famicom but didn't know at the time?
The next thing I wanted to do was to disconnect the TV and the device itself.
So, does the audio and video signal transmit wirelessly?
Yes, wirelessly. When a company called Epoch created a TV show called Tennis, they had a wireless transmission. But with Famicom, we had to cut costs. So, when you connect with a cord, that's pretty cheap.
How does it feel now to look at the new wave of & # 39; Class Edition & # 39; Micro-consoles produced by Nintendo?
Why make it so? I think they can still build a standard Famicom and people will still buy it.
I agree. I think, for most people, the Famicom Mini may be the first time they play or experience it using that program. You mean you'd want it to be an original experience again?
The problem was [that] the controller was small. But then I remember the NES Classic being the same size controller [as] the regular NES, so it's better.
If you can sit down to design Famicom today, what's the first thing you can change?
If you look at it, the controller was actually connected to a cord. They didn't use the connector. We [changed] the next console, Super Famicom.
© Nintendo LifeOf all the things you have created and done in your career – not just banned from Nintendo – what is one thing you are proud of?
I am proud that I was assigned to manage the birth and to expand the theater concert.
When you look at console games today, do you see that much has changed? What would you like to see next?
I think we accomplished all the things we could do with console games. I think there are many things we can do, but when we built Super Famicom, I think we [we] got all the basics we needed for console games.
So that was almost like the graphics of everything else that came after that?
Without fail. I think that's enough; [it has] all the power of a console gaming experience.
We would like to thank Masayuki Uemura for his time, and Iain Simons at National Video Game Museum by making this negotiation possible.
