Nintendo of Japan dropping Hardware support for the Famicom

Itmedia is reporting that Nintendo of Japan is finally ceasing hardware support for the Famicom system (the Japanese equivalent of the NES) as of October 31st. With all the news of Sega finally ending support on the Dreamcast consoles this past year, it is amazing to think that Nintendo has carried on the Famicom system for this long. According to the report, Itmedia cites the company as stating that the necessary parts for repairs have become increasingly difficult to obtain.

Also mentioned in the report, Nintendo of Japan is also ending their support for the Super Nintendo (Super Famicom), Nintendo 64, Gameboy, and Gameboy Pocket lines.

There is a silver lining however (according to Nintendo). With the Wii Virtual Console allowing for downloadable releases of classic NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64 games, you'll be able to continue enjoying the games long after the original systems have died. Unfortunately, this doesn't take into account needing to buy the games a second time and also the fact that the library selection pales in comparison to the full libraries of the host systems, but we can't win all the battles, right?

Good night Famicom, you started a revolution and are to this day a solid workhorse that has inspired two generations of gamers.

Gryzor/Contra (Famicom) Gameplay Video

Gametrailers was finally able to finish compressing another one of my videos in my Contra series playthrough. The latest game that finished uploading is Gryzor for the Famicom. Fans of the series should recognize this game as being the same as the American NES version of Contra, however, due to a policy Nintendo had with third party companies in Japan that allowed them to use custom chips there are some subtle differences.

For this game (and several other Famicom titles), Konami created a special VRC chip. Some of the more noticeable changes include background animations (notice the trees on the first stage and the Alien's Lair on the last stage), snow falling in the Ice Fields, and new opening scenes with in between level cuts for each stage. There is also a slightly extended ending featuring more animation.

Most people will recognize this and the NES version of the game as being the definitive Contra experiences. As I stated in my first post when I started these videos, my first experience with the series was with the arcade game so I have other feelings. It is however one of the best NES games of all time and should definitely be on anyones "must play" list of gaming history.

Konami Contra History (Gameplay Videos)
Contra (Arcade)
Super Contra (Arcade)
Contra (Famicom/NES)
Super C (NES)
Operation C (Gameboy)
Contra Force (NES)
Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES)
Contra: The Alien Wars (Gameboy)
Contra Hard Corps (Genesis)
Contra Legacy of War (Playstation 1)
C: The Contra Adventure (Playstation 1)
Contra Advance The Alien Wars EX (Gameboy Advance)
Contra Shattered Soldier (Playstation 2)
NEO Contra (Playstation 2)