What Is A Family Computer Network System?

[okame]

I'm looking for good deals on Famicom stuff from a Japanese Yahoo Auction and I came across something I've never seen before. It's called the Family Computer Network System, and it also has the Nintendo name and 'Dataship 1200' on it. It's black, has a pop up slot for...something. It has power and reset buttons, as well as a plug for a controller in the front. I see some phone jacks on the back of it, and what looks like a network jack that might accept DSL plugs. What is it? Is it an online Famicom, or just a modem add on to the original? I'm not buying it, but I've always been interested in the history of Video Games, and anything Famicom is my new field of study. Besides, if it is an online system, the Japanese dial up service for it probably stopped existing DECADES ago!

[Frank_fjs]

It's basically a cool looking dust collector/paper weight these days.

I believe it was used to allow a Famicom to connect to the internet and perform tasks such as online gambling/ betting and banking.

[UglyJoe]

The Famicom Network System is what Frank and 80sFreak have said -- it was an add-on for the Famicom that used a modem (phone, not DSL) to connect to some rudimentary online services (stock market, gambling, etc).  The device sits in the FC's cartridge slot and rests on top of the FC.  It has a pop-up slot that takes some type of system card, which contains the software.  (By the way, if anyone has one of these cards and is looking to get rid of it, please let me know ).  Most auctions don't have the system card, so the hardware will do nothing more than give you a gray screen to stare at.  If you have the card, I think the most you can do nowadays is stare at an error screen.

The Dataship was pretty much a standalone Famicom Network System, as far as I can tell.  It must have some Famicom guts in there, but there is no cartridge slot.  They are rarer than the Network System units.  I would love to see some shots of the insides, just to see how much of a Famicom is actually in there

It's an interesting piece of hardware, but not very usable unless someone can figure out the modem I/O and spoof the old online system.