In video game parlance, a famiclone (portmanteau of Famicom and clone) is a hardware clone of the Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System. They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the Famicom and NES. Hundreds of unauthorized clones have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s. The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones feature a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones utilize single-chip designs, with a custom ASIC which simulates the functionality of the original hardware and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in China and Taiwan, and less commonly South Korea. Outside China and Taiwan, they are mostly widespread across emerging markets of developing countries.
In some locales, such as former Eastern Bloc, former Soviet countries (especially Russia), South America, Middle East, several Asian countries and Africa such systems could occasionally be found side by side with official Nintendo hardware, but clones were cheaper and had wider availability of software so such clones were the easiest available console gaming systems. Elsewhere, these systems often prompted swift legal action. Many of these early systems were similar to the NES or Famicom not only in functionality, but also in appearance, often featuring little more than a new name and logo in place of Nintendo's branding. In contrast, in the former Yugoslavia NES clones often visually resembled the Mega Drive, complete with the Sega logo.Da li ste "pržili" lažnu SEGU Megu? , Mondo.rs. Retrieved 2015–4–9.
Few of these systems were openly marketed as "NES compatible". Some manufacturers opt describing the system generically as a "TV game", "8-bit console", "multi-game system", or "Plug & Play", but even these examples generally say nothing to suggest any compatibility with NES hardware. They would often be distributed along with pirate cartridges containing several different video games, known as multicarts.
History
Origins and early clones Around 1987, Taiwanese tech companies successfully reverse-engineered Nintendo’s custom CPU and Picture Processing Unit. Early clone pioneers like Songtly, Bit Corporation, and TSE began manufacturing hardware that used discrete, third-party integrated circuits. But due to big consoles, it only priced about 10% cheaper than an official Family Computer.
Expansion and regional legends In 1992, a company named Steepler launched Dendy, this elephant-branded console became a massive cultural phenomenon. It practically invented the Russian video game market. The Pegasus (Poland/Balkans): became the gold standard in Central Europe, packaged alongside pirated multi-game cartridges. The Terminator 2 (India/Balkans/Middle East): Designed to look like a Sega Mega Drive but housing 8-bit Famicom hardware, the Ending Man "Terminator" series became one of the most widely distributed clones in history. The Phantom System & Dynavision (Brazil): Local manufacturing laws barred imports, leading prominent Brazilian firms like Gradiente to build high-profile unlicensed clones that explicitly mimicked Western NES styling. The Micro Genius (Southeast Asia/Africa/Middle East): Produced in Taiwan, these were highly durable clones that frequently beat official hardware to market in developing regions.
The NES-on-a-chip By the mid-1990s, engineers compressed the entire motherboard circuitry into a single, cheap Application-Specific integrated Circuit (ASIC). These systems were easily identified by a drop of black epoxy resin (a "glop-top") covering the microchip directly on the circuit board. The cheapness of "NES-on-a-Chip" (NOAC) allowed manufacturers to shove Famiclones into bizarre form factors. These included fake PlayStation shells (PolyStation), functional computer keyboards designed for "educational" use, and N64/Dreamcast controllers that plugged directly into a TV. Clones relied heavily on multi-carts boasting absurd claims like "999,999-in-1". These cartridges usually contained only a dozen classic titles (like Super Mario Bros., Contra, and Duck Hunt) repeated with minor palette swaps or gameplay hacks.
Legality and the modern era During their peak, many consumers bought Famiclones entirely unaware they were purchasing counterfeit products. Nintendo launched countless copyright lawsuits, successfully shutting down several prominent manufacturers over the years. However, as Nintendo's original 1980s hardware patents began expiring in the 2000s, the raw hardware cloning of the NES became legal. Today, the spiritual descendants of Famiclones exist as legal retro-consoles (like Hyperkin systems) or cheap "plug-and-play" handhelds found in modern retail stores.
Types Because NES clones are not officially licensed, they vary in areas such as hardware quality, available games and overall performance. Most clones are produced extremely cheaply, while a few are comparable to first-party hardware in their manufacture quality. In terms of appearance and basic build, there are four general types of clones:
Console type Many clones are designed to resemble the original Famicom, but others have been produced to look like almost all other consoles from the NES, SNES, and Mega Drive/Genesis to the Xbox and PlayStation 3, and others simply in a generic console shape. Usually, it is easy to tell a famiclone from the real hardware it imitates by the presence of either alternate coloring, brand names that do not match the real console's, or weak construction. Console-type clones almost always utilize cartridges, and they are usually compatible with real Famicom (60-pin) or NES (72-pin) games, as well as custom-made carts (especially multi-carts, unauthorized game cartridges which hold a multitude of games as opposed to just one, which are often included with console-type clones). Console famiclones are most popular in Asia, parts of Europe and Latin America, with few actively sold in North America due to stronger enforcement of the copyrights in the games typically packaged with a famiclone and of the design patents in the imitated consoles.
Multi-console type
Consoles such as the Retron 3 include multiple consoles in one clone.
Handheld type
These types of systems contain a built-in LCD screen and are usually powered by batteries, therefore acting as a completely portable handheld system.
One of the first handheld clones is the Top Guy, although only a small number are known to exist. More widely distributed was Redant's Game Axe, which was manufactured in several revisions through the 1990s. Game Theory Admiral featured an improved TFT screen and closely resembled the Game Boy Advance or Wintech GOOD BOY - not to be confused with a Famicom clone also called Good Boy - designed to look like a Game Boy Color. However, this smaller design included a smaller cartridge port; it was supplied with an adapter to allow the use of standard Famicom cartridges with the system. One of the more recent handheld clones is Gametech's PocketFami, the first to be actively marketed as a portable Famicom by its manufacturers, and one of the most widely distributed thanks to the new legitimate status of Famicom clone products.
There are also a number of famiclones in the shape of a Game Boy or similar, but which can only display NES/Famicom games on a TV, and have a simple LCD game in the screen area. such an example is the NES Clone "GameKids Advance", which resembles an older Game Boy Advance, and has a built-in LCD game, powered by 2 AA batteries, or the included AC adapter. However, the NES games can only be played on TV using the AC adapter. It uses a game cartridge, similar to those from a Game Boy/Game Boy Color, and also includes an adapter to play NES games.
In the United States, portable famiclones are sold at budget prices in stores like Five Below and Walmart, under the Merkury Innovations brand.
PocketFami The Pocket Fami, also known as Pocket Famicom (although this name was never used by the manufacturers as Famicom is a trademark of Nintendo) and Pokefami (ポケファミ) is an unlicensed handheld hardware clone of the Famicom produced by GameTech and released in 2004.
The PocketFami features a standard D-pad and six buttons: the four standard NES buttons (A, B, select, and start), plus two additional "turbo" buttons. It features a 2.5 inch backlit LCD screen capable of displaying both NTSC and PAL video. It has one headphone jack, an RCA composite output jack, and can be powered either through 3 AA batteries or AC adapter. Because of the different cartridge pin design of the Japanese Famicom (60 pins) and the international NES (72 pins), international (North American, Australian, European) cartridges cannot be played without an additional converter.
Nintendo sued GameTech over production of the PocketFami, claiming that the device violated their patents on the Famicom's hardware. The courts found in favor of GameTech and allowed the device to be sold in Japan, as the original Famicom was first sold in 1983 and most of Nintendo's essential patents on the system had expired.
Controller type
This type of hardware clone, popular in North America and western Europe, is designed to hold all the console's hardware in the shape of a regular game console controller, usually the Nintendo 64's. Also known as "NES-on-a-chip" due to their extremely miniaturized hardware (relative to the original NES), these controllers usually shun or at least downplay a game cartridge interface in favor of storing games directly in internal memory chips. These famiclones can often run on battery as well as AC power, making them popular for portable usage. These clones have become especially popular in the USA thanks to the new "TV-Games" fad of selling legitimately emulated classic arcade games in a traditional-looking controller. (Atari games are especially common.) Controller clones can usually be found in places like flea markets, mall kiosks, or independent toy stores, and most people who sell and buy them are unaware or do not care that they are in fact illegally made. In Brazil this type of console is commercialized with the name GunBoy.
The Power Player Super Joy III consoles (also known as Power Games and XA-76-1E) are a line of unauthorized handheld Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom clones manufactured by NRTRADE that are sold in North America, Brazil, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The system resembles a Nintendo 64 controller and attaches to a TV set. The second controller resembles a Sega Genesis controller, and a light gun is also included. NTSC, PAL and SECAM versions are available. They all use a custom "NES-on-a-chip" (NOAC) that is an implementation of the NES's hardware (Custom 6502, PPU, PAPU, etc.). The consoles came with 76 built-in games, although marketing frequently claims to have 1,000+ ways of playing them. Most of the included games were originally released for the NES or Famicom, but some have been created by the manufacturer to expand their list of included games. Most of the games have had their title screen graphics removed to save space on the ROM chip, not to mention a company logo removal trick for reduced liability. After this product gained some popularity, the Power Player 3.5, an improved model with more games, was released. A wireless version of Power Games was also released.Gearty, Robert. (April 14, 2005) New York Daily News Video game pirates sunk. Section:News; Page 32St. Paul Pioneer Press (November 19, 2005) Man gets five years in video game fraud. Section: LOCAL; Page 5B