Super Famicom
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Production
- 1990–2003
- Generation
- Gen 4
- Type
- Home
- Region
- JP
- Units sold
- 17.2M
About Super Famicom
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released as the Super Famicom, in Japan on November 21, 1990, as the Super NES in North America on August 23, 1991, and internationally throughout 1992. It was Nintendo's second programmable home console, following the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). A fourth-generation console, the Super NES primarily competed with the Sega Genesis in the console war, a fierce battle for market share in the United States and Europe.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
1,448licensed games
- Japan: 1,448
Launch titles & exclusives
Super Mario World · F-Zero · Pilotwings · Bombuzal · Populous · Gradius III · Actraiser · Final Fight
None (sold as standalone hardware in Japan)
Super Mario World · Chrono Trigger · Final Fantasy IV/V/VI · Seiken Densetsu series · Dragon Quest V & VI · Romancing SaGa series · Tales of Phantasia · Star Ocean · Treasure of the Rudras · Bahamut Lagoon · Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Metal Slader Glory: Director's Cut (2000, Nintendo's last SFC release via Power Loader) is widely cited as the final licensed game
Star Fox 2 cartridge (cancelled, finally released on SNES Classic 2017); Power Loader rewritable carts; many JP-exclusive late RPGs in CIB condition command strong premiums
Hardware revisions
- Original Super Famicom SHVC-001(1990)
original launch hardware
⚠ cream plastic does not yellow like NA SNES did
- Super Famicom Jr. SHVC-101(1998)
final cost-reduced redesign, smaller footprint, composite-only
Launch colorways & special editions
- Satellaview-bundled Super Famicom (BS-X service); various JP retailer color variants
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- N/A; FXPak Pro / SD2SNES (flashcart)
Reception & legacy
Massive launch in Japan — initial 300k units sold out instantly, scalpers reported in Tokyo within hours
Yakuza groups reportedly extorted retailers around launch leading Nintendo to schedule shipments mid-week to avoid public chaos; Satellaview broadcasts (download-only games) created preservation challenges that persist today
Defining JP home console of the 16-bit era; Square and Enix's collaboration with Nintendo here produced the JRPG canon that defined the genre worldwide
References
More from Nintendo
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Super Famicom in the news
Recent coverage mentioning the Super Famicom, gathered from 80+ gaming-news sources.
"I Have A Long History With This Game" - New Rushing Beat Shura SNES Fan Translation Aims To Undo The Original North American Localisation
Available to download now from GitHub & romhack.ing. A fan translation has just been released for the Super Famicom title Rushing Beat Shura — the third entry in Jaleco's Rushing Beat series of beat-em-up games. Rushing Beat Shura was first released in Japan in 1993 and is a sidescrolling beat 'em...
Random Game Saturday: Jaki Crush (Super Famicom)
A crushing disappointment? Like many other import-savvy Mega Drive owners back in the early '90s, I was completely addicted to Devil Crash MD (also known as Devil's Crush and Dragon's Fury). A gloriously demonic take on pinball, it became so influential that it would inspire the equally wonderful...