Taiwanese Famicom HVC-001(TPE)

[dreddnott]

Picked this up at a thrift store in Southern California for a song. Didn't realise it was different from a Japanese Famicom until I got it home and compared them.

I don't think there are any pictures online of the original Taiwanese Famicom box, so here you go. It's used and beat-up but original. Still has the seal over the screwhole on the bottom.

It works on American TVs at Channel 13. I had to use a SEGA Master System AC adapter and RF switch, as it did not come with either.

[fcgamer]

Shit, I want that!!!  It would look very nice in my Taiwanese gaming collection!

Thanks for the pictures of that thing.

[dreddnott]

Here's more pictures. It came with a four-player adapter, I think the controllers are imitations.

[fcgamer]

Maybe the whole thing is a fake?  I'd be quite interested in some confirmations as to if the Famicom were legitimately released in Taiwan, as I know both Super Famicom, N64, and Game Boy were.  But the FC, there are a lot of clones, and little evidence to suggest a true release.

[dreddnott]

Oh, I only meant the addon controllers are imitation. The built-in controllers are definitely the real thing. I opened the 2P controller to fix the microphone issue (cleaned the contact, bent the tab a bit for better conduction).

The built-in controllers are above, the probable pirated ones are below (they plug into the front connector). Notice the turbo switches and lack of a volume control on 2P.
Post Merge: May 02, 2014, 11:02:18 pm
http://scanlines16.com/en/blog-3/retro-gaming/nintendo-nes-famicom/famicom-from-taiwan-et-autres-histoires-sur-la-distribution-asiatique/

This guy posted on his blog (translated from French) about a Taiwanese Famicom, this is the only other information I've seen online and seems to authenticate it.

[fcgamer]

PM sent.

[L___E___T]

These are incredibly rare outside of Taiwan, I've been looking for one for ages.  Never seen one boxed before, so thanks for sharing the find!

[Russam5354]

Awesome. I didn't know they had these in Taiwan. Is it just a pirate made to look like the real, Japanese one?
By the way, I only read some Simplified Chinese. Taiwan uses Traditional Chinese.

[L___E___T]

It's legit, very limited numbers so theyare very hard to find.  If you need anything on it translating, let me know.

[Russam5354]

Nintendo sold these in Taiwan?

[L___E___T]

More likely through a third party distributor similar to Hong Kong.
Post Merge: May 03, 2014, 07:53:42 am
Doesn't appear to have a distributor's logo on though - interestingly, Taiwan was open to Western business at this time while China was closed, so it could have been sold by a small official outfit though it would seem an unusual way to do business considering Nintendo didn't have a massive consumer presence in Taiwan.

I'm not the expert on this though - FCGamer and Trenton_Net know much more about it than me, as will the other mods I expect.

[Russam5354]

And South Korea. They sold an NES called the Hyundai Comboy (and the Super Comboy) thru Hyundai.

[L___E___T]

Not quite the same - it was sold as a Hyundai product, not distributed through Hyundai so that's licensing rather than distribution.

In Hong Kong for example the Famicom (and NES) was sold as a Nintendo product, but distributed by a separate company (Mani and others) who would then have their logo on the box as distributor.  

I think Samsung used to license SEGA Megadrives in South Korea as well, while we're on the topic.

[fcgamer]

I think it was done through Nintendo themselves, and not another distributor.  This is based on how they did the Super Famicom, N64, and the like.  For the longest time Nintendo had an official distribution in Taiwan specifically, but it closed down a few years back, or so I've heard.

[dreddnott]

Yes, please translate the entire thing, I only read Japanese.