Famicom.jpg
Image: National Media Museum

Here's one to make some of us feel old - the Famicom is 32 years old today, released in Japan on 15th July 1983. It was, of course, the system that would be revamped and remodelled as the NES in October 1985 in North America.

Famicom was the shortened name for Family Computer; a key difference of this original model over the eventual NES came with the controllers, in particular. They were permanently wired to the system, so couldn't be replaced, and also had a functional microphone that had limited use in games like The Legend of Zelda.

We've written extensively about the Famicom in the past, so by all means check out our article on the history of the system, or leap forward a couple of iterations for our hardware review of the AV Famicom.

The Famicom will forever be an integral part of Nintendo's history; let us know if you have one of these original Japanese models, or share some memories of its successor the NES. Both are part of the big N's glorious 8-bit history.