Famiclone
In some locales, such as former Eastern Bloc, former Soviet countries (especially Russia), South America, Middle East, several Asian countries and Africa[1] such systems could occasionally be found side by side with official Nintendo hardware, but clones were cheaper and had wider availability of software[2] so such clones were the easiest available console gaming systems.
[3] 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.
[5] Some of the packaging features screenshots from more recent and more powerful systems, which are adorned with misleading, or even outright false, quotes such as "ultimate videogame technlology" [sic] or "crystal clear digital sound, multiple colors and advanced 3D graphics".
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.
[citation needed][6][7][8] Playervision or Game Stick is another unauthorized Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone built into a gamepad and sold in South America, and is just one version of Power Player Super Joy III, nevertheless, the name of the product varies on and in the box, user manual and the gamepad video game console itself.
In addition, many modern NES clones come with a built-in selection of games, typically stored on an internal ROM which can range from 128 KB up to several megabytes in size.
Duck Hunt (often with its clay shooting mode shown as a separate game) is also a common NES clone feature as they justify the existence of the light gun accessory.
Other popular, although less common choices, are Super Mario Bros. hacks, Excitebike, Tetris, Magic Jewelry (an unlicensed clone of Columns), older sports titles and miscellaneous platform games.
Additionally, some clones incorporate games that, although they may initially appear to be original, are in fact counterfeit copies featuring extensive graphical (and sometimes audio) modifications.
Since most modern Famiclones are based on the NES-on-a-chip ASIC, they automatically inherit all of its limitations, which includes graphical glitches and compatibility issues.
Some manufacturers have added new backward-compatible features to their NOAC ASICs, which allow developers to add new features like an improved processor (a 65C816 compatible), better graphics, stereo sound (by adding another audio unit), PCM audio, and a unified bus (OneBus) which lets manufacturers use a single ROM to store games instead of the two (one for program and other for graphics) the original NES and Famicom used.
Grant wrote, "IGN devotes the majority of the review to the pretty packaging, nice design, and wireless controllers, glossing over the compatibility.
[32] The cabinets feature artwork from the originals, and utilize licensed NES ports of the games included on them, with Nintendo copyright information removed.
[41] According to an interview with Eddy Kiersz, CEO of Electrolab, they paid royalties to Nintendo both to sell the "famiclones" and to import the games, with the condition that they would not export them outside of Argentina.
[78] The popularity of these devices continued in the People's Republic of China in the 2000s, due to the fact that in June 2000, the Chinese government decided to ban all video game consoles.
[88] Nintendo was in this region from the early 1980s,[89] but stores distributed clones like Crazyboy,[90] Redstone,[91] NASA (compatible with NES),[92] Action Set,[93] NTDEC[94] etc.
[95] Following poor sales of the license-built NES consoles, Samurai-branded famiclones produced by Micro Genius began to appear in the early 1990s.
[99] One of the most popular games were Super Mario Bros. (called locally Mushroom Eater[100]), Contra, Duck Hunt, Double Dragon, Mega Man etc.
In 1994, changes in Polish copyright law resulted that BobMark get rid of bootleg games and bought official license to software published by Codemasters,[clarification needed] Sachen and Western Technologies and distribute them in Asian cartridges.
[123] From that time Pegasus brand began to slowly lose its importance due to more cheaper clones[124] and new generation consoles with last models sold until late 1990s.
[124] Other popular famiclones in Poland are for example BS-500AS, also known as Terminator, Gold Leopard King (GLK),[125] Polystation,[126] Fenix or Family Game.
Notably, Micro-Genius' version of Super Mario Bros 3 was sold extensively throughout Quebec for months ahead of its official North American NES release.
The games and series consisted mainly of Super Mario, Bomberman, Lunar Pool, Double Dragon 3, Star Soldier, and Ninja Ryukenden 3.
Released in 1992 by the Steepler company, the Dendy was easily the most popular video game console of its time there, and enjoyed a degree of fame roughly equivalent to that experienced by the NES/Famicom in North America and Japan.
[143] When Sega released Mega Drive, most pirates wanted to mislead buyers giving a cheaper and similar looking clone, mostly called Terminator.
[158] Within the Donetsk region, Atlantida company sold a Dendy competitor, the Jippy game console, which was a clone of Ending Man.
During the life of the NES, famiclones were very rarely distributed and more common was sale of unlicensed video games produced by e.g NTDEC, which often resulted in lawsuits from Nintendo.
[85] Power Player Super Joy III was one of the clones sold in US and was quickly discontinued in 2005, when Nintendo initiated a court case against sellers.
[163] Around the late 1980s, a new established company called Nintendo de Venezuela C.A[164] began selling famiclones and bootleg games in self-made packaging.
All consoles, games and accessories had the Nintendo logo, the boxes were translated into Spanish and had warranty cards, instructions and stickers to make everything look professional and official.
