This image could be a PSA warning about the dangers of smoking... at least when it comes to your consoles. In a tweet by @arare_wansaka, these two consoles - a Famicom and a Super Famicom - look like a rare colour variant, with the more common white, grey, and red plastic replaced with a sexy burnt umber.
That is, until you realise these are meant to be white and grey. So, what happened? Were the two consoles placed in direct sunlight for 30 years? Were they both immersed in soy sauce the whole time? Are they really into tanning? Or have they been sitting in the house of a smoker for a few decades?
Unfortunately, we may never know the origin of these two greasy boys, unless anyone fancies finding out which Japanese shop is selling them. The Famicom costs about £3, and the Super Famicom costs £2. Worth it to solve the mystery of whether or not these consoles would respond to retrobrighting? You tell us.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 30
im going for a smoker. and actually like most things contanimated with cig smoke they are actually more dangerous than actually smoking
@KateGray I'm gonna go with the sunlight one, because my Game Boy was about this color after being in an attic for 20+ years.
Weird. Because most used things from japanese people look usually better then new ones.
I would buy them and put them in the bin. Put them out of there misery poor little things xx
Meanwhile a Mega Drive will always look like a dust magnet. The fate of every black console.
Slow news day...
Nothing a bit of Retrobright can't fix!
Oh boy.... that looks hideous. Reminds me of my uncle's SNES. The entire bottom is yellowed. Nowhere near as bad as that though.
300 Yen is like what, less than 3 euros?
Meanwhile in EU/US sellers would still ask 50 euro or more for it...
Oww the smoke scented snes Oww the smell
Warning don't lick it 🤪🤢🤮💀👻
I wonder if the snes will have a smokers cough when started up
Or just set on fire ommmm
Oh dear, looks like the previous owner could not get hold of toilet roll during the early days of the Covid outbreak, or the SNES is a 60 a day smoker? Hopefully they didn't put VGC on the Ebay ad??!!
@superderper about 300 times it's worth and then some
Funny how on the right there's a box that has the word "cleaner" on it. I see, using my magical katakana skills, that these are classified as junk, hence the pricing. It doesn't mean they can't or don't function. They could be untested. I believe with the Super Famicom, there's a fuse that can blow. For someone who knows what to look for and doesn't mind the cleaning, that's not a bad deal in my book.
This highlights that Nintendo could never anticipate the power of nostalgia. I doubt they were meant to last this long
Consoles as young as the Dreamcast would yellow with time. Maybe it's UV degradation that's more noticeable in lighter colored plastics due to the inherent characteristics of its formulation.
But any of the causes for such color change is possible, and many people like to restore their appearance.
You can remove the yellow, through the use of black magic and necromancy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0yHp70LcuU
NINJA APPROVED
Looks like they've been dredged up from the bottom of a canal and they probably still work flawlessly. A testiment to Nintendo build quality.
@Yanina ....What? Like used garments from vending machines? See, stereotyping is dumb.
Also, maybe they were in a house fire. "The dangers of smoking" "We may never know the reason"....Sure.
The reason the consoles turn yellow like this is thanks to a fire retardant chemical that is used in the plastic. Over time the chemical oxidises, resulting in the yellowing. Nintendo obviously used different chemicals across different batches because some consoles will never yellow like this. You can notice this best example of this is the fact that on some cartridges half will be yellow and half grey.
@rjc-32 You are right about the choice of chemical used at the time! It also depends on where they are stored. My legacy consoles are stored in an open place, out of direct sunlight, still hooked up to an old CRT. They don’t have any signs of yellowing!
NINJA APPROVED
Well, the store did clearly label them as "JUNK"
Where the heck did they find these, burried in someone's backyard?!
LMAO 🤣
@HobbitGamer WHAT? Used garments from vending machines? No, just no. The honorable people of Japan would never...
Oh...
@HobbitGamer I mean, yeah I guess you are right. But whenever I bought something used from japan it just blew my mind how well the condition always was. And how well they packed it etc.
I have a diagnosed OCD illness that is related to such things. Which means that I am VERY picky when it comes to stuff like this. But so far the Japanese never disappointed me.
I think stereotyping in a positive way is allowed in this case. Deal?
I have seen plenty of these systems. Especially in the 80’s and 90’s, but even today, a lot of Japanese people smoke indoors. I soak these systems in soapy water for a night and go to town with a magic eraser. It’s gross, but it works for the most part.
@GC-161 Your profile pic freaked me out.
@superderper Considering the online popularity of it, probably not just in Japan. Or perhaps I'm confused with snatching...
That color isn't from dirt. It's the effects of indirect sunlight. My NES and SNES are that color.
Just say it's an ultra rare gold variant and you'll be fine
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