Talk:Nintendo Entertainment System/Archive 3

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Correct date for release of the Power Set?

According to article: In December 1990, to coincide with the release of the Power Pad floor mat controller, Nintendo released a new Power Set bundle, consisting of the console, the Power Pad, the NES Zapper, two controllers, and a multicart containing Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet.

However, my brother and I are certain that our family got the Power Set for Christmas 1988. Does anyone have corroborating evidence for the later date? Moreover, we have found a posting to the Usenet group [rec.games.video] from June 1989 by a Dartmouth student who stated that one could then still get Super Mario Brothers with the Power Set. Clearly, the December 1990 date is wrong. Rcharman 04:20, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Further evidence for the dates can be found at [slider.com] and [SuperMarioPlanet] and [everything2.com]. Rcharman 04:36, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

My abnormal NES

One day, I discovered something odd about my NES. When I stopped playing Super Mario Bros. 2, I wanted to swap games when I noticed that the cartridge was not pressed down. so I took it out and put it back in without pressing it down, and it functioned well. Then I pressed it down while the NES was off and it screwed up! Now it works both ways: pressed down and not pressed down. Does anyone know why this happened? --Plainnym 21:45, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Never heard of this before...sounds so weird! Maybe taking a look inside your actual NES might give off clues? FamicomJL 22:27, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
Apparently, the game comes in contact with the console's contacts even without it pressed down, ergo, electricty flows between the cart's and consoles contacs. Nothing special, i think. 84.249.50.213 (talk) 21:05, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Opinionated Statements

I am changing this quote, " complete, playable, and fun. ", to "complete and playable" because the original statement is a personal opinion as to wether or not a game is fun. You can find this quote in the "Sprite limitations" section.--Psa- 11:47, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Here is another quote in the "Sprite limitations" section "which was developed by one of the most talented companies in existence.". There are many opinionated statements in this article that are going unnoticed.--Psa- 11:52, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Ive noticed this too. Maybe this article should be checked to see if its actually a "Featured Article" material? --24.47.193.183 23:45, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Modem/online functionality

Visited the page in order to find information about the japanese Famicom modem add-on. Couldn't find any, and I think maybe it's important enought to be mentioned, seeing as this makes the NES (as far as I know) the first console able to go online. Sources:

I wouldn't exactaly call the famicom modem full fledged online functionality, it was more of a gimmicky way to do things over telephone lines

metroid

metroid was never released on cartridge in japan. I have changed the article to reflect this oversight by the previous editor —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.181.159.193 (talk) 21:31, 21 January 2007 (UTC).

picture

this aricule should have a picture of a normal cartridgeEl Bean Burrito Mexicali 12:57, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Hardware flaws

When trying to start a game with my game genie, it won't work. It gives me a solid color screen that is a different color each time, ranging from greys to blues to greens. Is this a result of the bending connectors? And if there's a source, should it be added to the article? 216.237.235.137 21:23, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

HVC / Home Video Computer

I've removed the statement from the introduction about the original development name of the Famicom being the "Home Video Computer." It seems like, even if it is true, it's trivial enough that it doesn't really belong in the introductory paragraph. More seriously, though, there was no citation for the claim. Yes, the model numbers followed the HVC-* convention, but, then again, the Super Famicom models used SHVC-* (presumably Super Home Video Computer). If the HVC prefix indicated the original name that was changed late in development, why use the same convention for a system released years later? Or, as seems more likely to me, does the HVC moniker reflect something else entirely? If anyone has a reputable source to the contrary, I'm more than willing to be corrected, but the only information I could find on this in a web search was clearly sourced from this article.... – Sean Daugherty (talk) 00:45, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, it stands for "Home Video Computer", but I don't remember it being supposed to be ORIGINALLY called that. I think it's just one of those quirky extra titles video game companies like to give out. Via my site,
www.famicomworld.com/Family_Computer/HVC_Product_Codes.htm

"Nintendo Co. Ltd. used a series of HVC product codes to catalogue what Family Computer items it produced, including systems, cartridges, and more. "HVC" stands for Home Video Computer."

However, in Hong Kong it was changed to "HKG", and the Disk System games used FMC instead of HVC as well. Jerah Cordova (JC), a staff member at my site, confirmed it in one way or another. I suggest asking him more information about it, because I'm not 100% sure on the whole HVC thing myself. FamicomJL 15:58, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Fixing game images

Has anyone had any thought on changing the game screenshots to something far more accurate to what a television would display (for example, with Nestopia's NTSC emulation)? The current shots appear to be vertically distorted, because they were obviously taken in an emulator displaying raw pixels before the NES' digital-to-analog converter. Pretty much all games were graphically designed with the shape of TVs themselves, not square pixels (and often, properties of NTSC itself like color bleeding, bluriness, etc). An easy-to-spot example of this would be Kirby's Adventure: in most emulators (displaying raw pixels), the beginning animation looks like a tall oval, whereas on a television, the animation looks like a circle; other games like Ghosts 'n Goblins depend on some NTSC properties to display colors that are not in the raw pixels themselves (or Legend of Zelda to make the water look wavy instead of some sparse dots...). --Mike 20:38, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

I've done just that. I have, however, scaled down the images to 1/2 resolution: Nestopia's NTSC emulation produces images of approximately 600 pixel width, which greatly exceeds the recommended 300 pixel width for fair use raster images. I've done my best to recreate the original images as best as possible, but I couldn't do that with either the Super Mario Bros. image or the Wario's Woods image, since I didn't have the time to get to the end of either game. – Sean Daugherty (talk) 22:53, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
1 improvement suggestion: remove the black columns at the edges, it's inacurrate (ie. in the case of Super Mario Bros they should be sky blue), and it doesn't show on most tvs anyway. --Apathor 11:51, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Bible adventures.jpg

Image:Bible adventures.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 01:27, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Free license replacement?

This particular issue has been resolved, but it only begs the question of why we're using a copyrighted image here in the first place. Admittedly, I have to take responsibility for uploading it in the first place, but now that I think about it, there's really no reason why we can't provide a free-licensed replacement for it. The problem there is that we'd need someone with a camera and the cartridge to take the picture. If it makes it any easier, for the purposes of this article, we don't even need a picture of Bible Adventures, per se, merely an unlicensed cartridge that deviates noticeably from the standard "look" of NES Game Paks. Is there anyone who can help with this? – Sean Daugherty (talk) 14:48, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

It ended up being kept for the same reason it's near-impossible to get a free picture of box art: the label art is copyrighted, and a picture of that still maintains the original copyright. However, someone should go back and write a fair use rationale that is compliant with the fair use rationale guideline. Source information (i.e. where did the image come from?) is also needed. Anomie 20:41, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

detailed pictures of case?

I plan to build a case for some hardware and thought that I should make it look like a NES. Do someone know where I can find detailed photos/drawings of the NES case? All 6 sides maybe? Thanks 84.177.199.31 22:21, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

I recommend going to a retro gaming store or pawn shop and measuring one. However, this is not a forum for disussing the article's subject, but for discussing how to improve the article. Useight 05:50, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

My NES...

My brothers got their NES before I was born, so I really don't know what it is. I mean, I've never seen an NES like the one I have, here:

File:Nintendo Entertainment System.JPG

Anyone want to tell me what it is? You can use it for the article too, if you want. Xihix 22:39, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

I believe Nintendo updated the design around 1995, and that's the updated version. The article mentioned something about it previously but I can't seem to find it now.
--Anss123 23:28, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
Found it, here: [1]. It's from 1993, rare and called the NES 2.
--Anss123 23:32, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Wanna add it to the article? You may use that pic. I have two other ones pics too, if you want them. Xihix 00:01, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Sure, It's a nice image. I'll find some place to fit it in.--Anss123 08:55, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
I see that someone has already added it. Thanks for the image anyway.--Anss123 08:57, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, it's the NES 2 and it works a whole lot better than the first one because the cartridge is inserted vertically instead of horizontally causing less wear on the pins. This design was continued with the SNES and N64. Useight 04:14, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
"This design was continued with the SNES" can't be correct, considering the Super Famicom was released 3 years before the NES 2... Anomie 20:52, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Converting a nes controller to work on a pc

i believe that there should be mentioning about converting the nes controller to work on a pc in full detial about what tools u need, how to do it and what setup u need to do to get it working on the pc. i have found a website which is pretty useful which is http://www.joystiq.com/2004/09/07/how-to-make-a-nintendo-controller-into-a-pc-joystick/ but i hyavent tried it out yet but im going to but i would like to get more information about it before i proceed —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pauldonald86 (talk • contribs)

No, please don't. You'll just be waisting your time. Very few Wikipedia readers will be interested in that much detail, so a link to a how-to guide is more than enough.--Anss123 20:05, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Not to mention that they can be purchased online "pre-USB'ed" by searching "nes" and "usb". Vendors sell them either adapted or in "kits" on eBay and on private websites. Also, it requires a special and rare USB controller chip to work. Mtrying to make your own is a waste of time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.203.251.157 (talk) 01:24, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

"Also, it requires a special and rare USB controller chip to work" -- actually it seems the main issue is the code, retrozone is trying to make money out of kits and so isn't releasing thier code but I bet you could find some gamepad code for the USB pics that could be adapted to the purpose without too much trouble. Plugwash (talk) 02:43, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

NES does not use a ZIF socket

Why does this article say that the NES used a ZIF socket? That really isn't true whatsoever. It was a slot loading thing much like an ISA or PCI card in a PC.

A slot can be Zero insertion force, I would suppose...but I don't think the NES was such. You had to push it in with a significant amount of force. Locarno
The main characteristic of a zif is that you insert the device (in this case the cart) with relatively little force because you don't make contacts at that stage and then perform some other action to make the actual contact. IIRC with the nes you inserted the cartridge first which did not make any contacts. then pressed it down making all the contacts which is a similar principle.
Unfortunately while this mech considerablly reduced cartridge wear it was far more susceptible to dirt than a traditional scraping edge connector as used in most cart based consoles. It was also far more susceptible to losing the springyness in the contacts exasperating the problem. Plugwash (talk) 02:51, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

The "Blow Job"

When I was a kid, I never owned an NES (I was a Sega kid) but occasionally rented one or went to friends houses that had them, because I really digged a game called "Baseball Stars". My experience with NES systems are that we would have to give them a "blow job" to get them to work after prolonged use, or even on an old console that has been used for a year or more. What I mean is we would have to blow into the cartridges and into the system, jokingly saying "giving the NES a BJ to make it happy". We would conclude that we were blowing out dust or something in order to get it to work again. It usually worked. I am sure many others experienced this, but I am interested if there is any more details on this and if anything about it can be put in the article.--Mista-X 00:54, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Does the article about PlayStation say that one should clean the CD with a rug before playing? -- ReyBrujo 03:36, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
All cartridge based consoles, even the SMS, can suffer from this, but you're right that the NES was particularly finicky.
From the article: The official NES Cleaning Kit was intended to address flaws in the NES design that caused cartridge connectors to be particularly susceptible to interference from dirt and dust.
--Anss123 09:45, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

The expansion port?

The expansion port is mentioned a few times in the article, but it is never stated what it is for, and how many if any games used it, and if any, what it was used for. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.10.190.156 (talk • contribs)

In Japan, on the Famicom, it connected the Disk System. Elsewhere, on the NES, it did nothing, just like the expansion ports on the SMS, SNES, and N64.76.226.212.75 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 06:45, 8 December 2009 (UTC).

Best Selling Game System?

In the article it's claimed that the NES is the best selling game system of all time, but I'm fairly sure that that title belongs to the PS2 (at the very least more PS2's were sold then NES's). —Preceding unsigned comment added by TDS18 (talk • contribs) 18:23, July 25, 2007 (UTC)

Where does it claim that? The only statements I see claim that it had become the best-selling console in 1990. Since the PS2 was almost a decade away, this statement would appear to be true. – Sean Daugherty (talk) 20:07, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

The way it's worded implies that the record has yet to be broken. I'll change it to make it more clear. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.252.254.249 (talk) 00:58, July 26, 2007 (UTC)

Ugh, I don't like that wording. Unfortunately, I don't have anything better to suggest at the moment. Anomie 02:06, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
I changed it to by 1990 the NES had outsold all previously released consoles. I think that is well written and makes it clear that it is discussing a past event. --69.156.206.142 02:59, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

This seems to be spill-over from a similar dispute over the PlayStation 2 article, but the statement of the NES being "the most successful gaming console of its time in Asia and North America" has been softened to "best-selling". While I feel the previous wording is actually more appropriate, as the NES fulfills the claim by pretty much every significant criterion (market share, hardware revenue, software revenue, profits, global mind share, effects on the company's market value and influence on the industry, etc.), and the original wording better describes that. Rather than simply revert-warring, I feel the best way to approach the matter is to request some input on adding coverage of those other aspects, perhaps in the History of the Nintendo Entertainment System sub-article. According to WP:WEASEL#Don't hide the important facts, attributable peacock statements can be appropriate as summary statements, "for purposes of establishing a subject's notability in an introductory sentence or paragraph", to be expanded upon in more detail afterward. Can anyone point me to some relevant sources? Dancter 19:54, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

I think you're right, they can't get away with "most successful ever" on PS2 so they decide to be pointy and remove "most successful of its generation" from this article and add an excessive number of {{fact}} tags. Anyway, all of these IIRC can be sourced to Kent, Steven L. The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4.; your library might have it. {{Sheff, David. Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children (First ed.). New York: Random House, Inc. ISBN 0-679-40469-4. (or another edition) probably also has good information. Online, there might be something at 1up.com, which I mention mainly so I don't lose the link. Anomie 11:26, 23 October 2007 (UTC)
Here's a source that indicates the NES was the most successful in its generation: http://www.gametunnel.com/articles.php?id=263. Quote: "...but the Nintendo Entertainment System was a cultural phenomenon both in the US and abroad."--Silver Edge 06:50, 28 October 2007 (UTC)
It's still seems to be based on console sales. Given my arguments in the related PS2 dispute, what I would prefer is a source using another quantitative metric of success in order to quell JTBX's seemingly petty behavior regarding this article. Which isn't to say I would revert anyone who tries to change it back. Dancter 23:22, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Top-Selling Game

Wouldn't this more accurately be Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt? It sold far more than the standalone SMB cartridge or SMB/Duck Hunt/WCTM. Phediuk 13:58, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

citation needed for statement about blowing in the cartidges

i was under the impression that blowing in the cartidges actually made a difference, and i think quite a few people believed this. if it isn't true, then a source needs to be cited. 81.168.22.81 22:27, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Verb tense

From an earlier discussion at SNES:

A question: If we continue to use the present tense for this console, for how long do we use it? Until the last console stops working? If, twenty-five years from now, it is confirmed that there are only 28 of these consoles, and only one is in operating condition, will we still use the present tense? What if none of them are working? What if they've all been thrown away? What is it that will define the "end" of the present tense—that the game is no longer being used, that copies of it no longer exist, or just that it's no longer remembered? Perhaps we should change the verb tense in this game's article to the present tense? It just seems to me that, since the game is no longer being produced, no longer being marketed by its manufacturer, no longer being retailed by first-run stores, no longer receiving technical support for its owners, that the time has come for the past tense. Unschool 20:53, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
Is there any particular reason that you're citing a discussion that reached no consensus in support of your position? Anyway, I'm sick of seeing this argument being repeated over and over, hopefully [WT:VG#"is a video game console" vs "was a video game console"|WikiProject Video games]] can reach a real consensus. Anomie 12:12, 26 October 2007 (UTC)
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