Famicom Disk System
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Image:Famicom Disk System.jpg The Family Computer Disk System (FCD) was released on February 21, 1986 by Nintendo as a peripheral to their overwhelmingly popular Family Computer ("Famicom") console in Japan. It was a unit that sat underneath the Famicom and used proprietary floppy disks for data storage. It was announced, but never released, for the North American Nintendo Entertainment System. In Japan, Sharp released Twin Famicom (ツインファミコン), a composite console of both Famicom and disk system under license.
The device was connected to the Famicom deck by plugging a modified cartridge known as the RAM adapter into the system's cartridge port, which attached via a supplied cable to the disk drive. The RAM adapter contained 32 kilobytes of RAM for temporary program storage, 8 kilobytes of RAM for tile and sprite data storage, and an ASIC known as the 2C33. The ASIC acted as a disk controller for the floppy drive, and also included additional sound hardware featuring primitive FM synthesis capabilities. The floppy disks used were double-sided, with a capability of 64 kilobytes per side. Many games spanned both sides of a disk, requiring the user to switch sides at some point during gameplay. A few games used two full disks (four sides). The Famicom Disk System was capable of running on six C-cell batteries or the supplied AC adapter, even though the Famicom itself was not portable.
Image:FDS DiskWriter.jpg The primary appeal of the FDS was the cost: a disk could be produced for a fraction of the price of a cartridge. Disk-based games retailed for around ¥3,000, compared to approximately ¥5,000 or more for cartridges. Because floppy disks were less expensive than cartridges, and because of the additional features offered by the Disk System's hardware, many developers produced titles for the system that were sold cheaply at kiosks in retail stores. Also of note was Nintendo's Disk Writer, a vending machine that charged ¥500 to write a new game onto a blank disk. With blank disks costing only ¥2,000 apiece, this approach had obvious advantages over a ¥5,000–7,000 cartridge.
In 1986, the disks' 128K of storage space was quite appealing. The rewritable aspect of the disks also opened up interesting possibilities; games such as The Legend of Zelda (the first FDS game), Metroid, and Kid Icarus were released to the FDS with a save feature. Many of these titles were subsequently ported to cartridge format and released for the NES a year or two later, with saving implemented with password resume or battery-backed memory.
The machine was not as successful as was hoped. Nintendo turned off developers at the outset by demanding partial copyright ownership over any games developed for the FDS. This caused many licensees to simply ignore the system outright. Four months after the release of the FDS, the first 128K cartridge-based game, Ghosts 'n Goblins, was released. Memory prices went down and battery backup technology improved a lot faster than Nintendo had anticipated, and all of a sudden, the FDS's storage capacity and saving abilities were no longer as appealing to developers. Publishers and retailers complained that the Disk Writer machines, while great for game buyers, were severely cutting into their profits. The final nail in the Disk System’s coffin was an unlicensed device that connected two FDS systems in order to copy games. After a brief surge of FDS sales following the device's release, in 1993, Nintendo ordered all the vending machines to be dismantled.
While the Disk System was years ahead of its time in terms of a disc-format game console, the system and games both have reliability issues. The drive belt in the drive is a proprietary size, and standard floppy drive belts are too big. In addition, no drive in the US uses that size belt, so replacement belts must be obtained from Japan. Japanese residents can send their systems to Nintendo directly for repairs/belt replacements (at least until recently—they may or may not still repair them), but Nintendo of America does not service them. Those buying Disk Systems from second-hand sources will want to verify that the system has been tested before purchase. The old belts have a habit of breaking or even melting on occasion.
In addition, the disks themselves must be tested and verified to work on both sides, as the FDS disks’ construction can allow dirt to get into the disk, or even for the disk to demagnetize over time. Even one bad sector on a disc will render it unplayable. In an effort to save money on production, Nintendo opted to not use disk shutters (a feature seen on 3.5” floppy disks) to keep dirt out, instead opting to include wax paper sleeves as with the older 5.25” floppies. The only exception to this were certain games that were special released on blue discs (which did have shutters).
Trivia
- The FDS disks were proprietary 3" 64K-per-side double-sided floppy. These "Disk Cards," as Nintendo called them, were a slight modification of Mitsumi's "Quick Disk" format which was used in a handful of Japanese computers and synthesizers. Mitsumi already had close relations with Nintendo as they manufactured the Famicom and NES consoles, and possibly other Nintendo hardware.
- Square Co., Ltd. had a branch at one point called 'Disk Original Group' for producing FDS games. After a series of management blunders and shoddy games, Square pinned their survival on a well-crafted Dragon Quest-inspired title that they called Final Fantasy. This game was to be released for the FDS, but a disagreement over Nintendo's copyright policies caused Square to about-face at the last minute and release the game as a cartridge.
- Nintendo released a disk version of Super Mario Bros. in addition to the cartridge version. This disk version had extended minus world levels. The original Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2 (eventually released abroad as The Lost Levels as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the SNES) was a disk-only game that allowed saves at any point in the game. This may explain why the game is so difficult to beat in cartridge form.
- Nintendo used to hold game score contests, and the mascot was called Disk-kun (Mr. Disk).
- Disk-kun appeared as a trophy in all versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee, even when the FDS wasn't released outside Japan.
- The FDS game Nazo no Murasamejou's disk (alternatively known as Nazo no Murasame Shiro) makes a cameo in Pikmin 2.
- Nintendo provided a service to rewrite Disk Cards until September 30, 2003.
- Nintendo's flagship mascots Mario and brother Luigi make an appearance in the FDS's BIOS. After turning on the system, a "battle" between the two characters would begin over the color scheme of the Nintendo sign and screen border, until a disk is inserted into the FDS.