Famicom in South Africa..?

[Matt_Hill]

Hi,

I'm new here so apologies if this topic has been covered at some point. Anyway, I was born in South Africa and moved to England when I was 7 years old in 1992. When I was in South Africa however, I had this little console that I used to play Mario and Double Dragon on, and I remember another game with a sky blue cartridge that I think was Loony Tunes or something like that... I brought it over to England with me and at some point lent it to some arsehole who went and broke it. I had never seen this console in England and assumed it was some knock off version of the NES that was sold in South Africa.

BUT THEN, literally 20 years later I stumble across this series of videos on YouTube by the Angry Video Game Nerd (check him out, he's pretty funny and talks about some classic games and consoles, but beware, he swears... a lot - http://www.youtube.com/user/JamesNintendoNerd ) and this guy is talking about the NES, and how the first version of it, the Japanese version, is called Famicom... Lo and behold, the console he has in front of him is the same frickin' console I had all but forgotten for some 20 years ago!

Man, I talk some crap at times, sorry everyone. I guess my question at the end of all this, is this: My console was black... The whole thing, controllers too... Was my console a Famicom? And if so, why was it released in the Japanese form in South Africa?? And why did the Europe and US version look like a VHS player??? And why was the name changed to NES!?

Ok, so I had more than one question there... If anyone has some info and could explain a little, that would be great. I have spent years wondering what the hell my old South African console was and now the answer seems pretty close.

Cheers,
Matt

[manuel]

Welcome!
If it was black, it was definitely no official Japanese Famicom. Those were all red/off-white.

[80sFREAK]

Welcome, Matt.

While ago i used to work with some south africans - good people. Hardworking, reliable, with good sence of humor and lots of dirty jokes Do you speak afrikaans?

arsehole

LOL i wonder if you still have south african accent.

And answer for your question - most likely your console was clone.

[jpx72]

Yes, probably a "famiclone", I have seen a couple of black ones, you can check this database for the one you have, but beware, there are LOTS of them!
http://ultimateconsoledatabase.com/famiclones.htm

This one is from Russia: http://dendygames.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/black-dendy.jpg
Another one: http://dendygames.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/suborkl-235k1.jpg and http://dendygames.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/likolkg.jpg

[VinylDracula]

probably had a Reggie's .....it also came in black

http://youtu.be/pq5rH4LESDo

[Jedi Master Baiter]

http://youtu.be/pq5rH4LESDo

Wow - so weird.

This thread reminds me of the time when I saw a "Family Computer" for sale in Mexico when I didn't know what a Famicom was. Probably was a pirate. Wish I could go back & see.

[Matt_Hill]

Damn, I was hoping I had a real Famicom! Sadly, it was definitely black. Thanks for your quick response though.

Matt.
Post Merge: October 26, 2012, 08:39:45 am

Welcome, Matt.

While ago i used to work with some south africans - good people. Hardworking, reliable, with good sence of humor and lots of dirty jokes Do you speak afrikaans?

arsehole

LOL i wonder if you still have south african accent.

And answer for your question - most likely your console was clone.

Haha, yes, South Africans tend to have quite a 'dry' humour, which I think have also. I left before I could learn Afrikaans, which is a shame. I would have loved to have learned it. Unfortunately, like most people who speak English for a first language, it is the only language I know.

As for the accent, that has also gone. I now look and speak like a pasty Englishman!

Thanks for your reply.

Matt

[fcgamer]

Yup most likely had one of numerous Famicom clones.  My apartment mate, who is from South Africa, said that he used to (still does?) have a blue and white Famicom clone in South Africa.  Knowing the limitless variety of clones, you probably had one too.

Too bad you didn't learn Afrikaans too, such a fun language, which i am glad to be learning.