It is well known that when Famicom was redesigned as the NES in the American market, Nintendo wanted to make it more like a video recording than a gaming console – but the man behind the NES revealed that there someone else the reason why the American version of the console received Flap Force zero "preload" (which has been seen as one of the biggest problems with the console for decades).
In an interview at the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield on Wednesday, Masayuki Uemura, former manager of Nintendo R&D2, revealed that the company was concerned that dry weather in parts of North America could accidentally lead children to create a shorter cycle.
In response to a question from the audience why Nintendo went with the design of the & # 39; NES & # 39; NES front, Uemura replied, via translator:
In Famicom, the cartridge was connected directly to the hardware inside. So when you attach a video (a game cartridge) to real devices, there are static ones and charges, and (this may have the effect) of a short circuit. Unlike Japan, where there is humidity, Texas, for example, in North America is very dry, so it is likely that children, when they touch it, will (create) a short cycle. And in the living room there are rubies and things like that, so maybe we'll have a tuli. So preloading prevents children from touching their hands on devices, which is why (we've upgraded it) as a front loader.
Uemura also revealed that the microphone in Famicom's second controller was originally intended for karaoke use, but was dropped by the NES because a single karaoke game was released – Karaoke Studio from Bandai – “was not well liked”.
After the 1983 American video game accident, Nintendo wanted to avoid branding the NES as a game console, which is why it was dubbed the & # 39; Entertainment System & # 39; and made to match the video recorder. And why did the American market get R.O.B. robot, blurring the line between games and toys.
And Zapper? Well, according to the slide in Uemura's presentation, that was improved because "most Americans are interested in the gun (sic) ”.
We were lucky to be able to sit down with Uemura-san before the talk and will post full interviews soon. In the meantime, let us know what you think of this subject by posting a comment below.
