Super Famicom
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Production
- 1990–2003
- Generation
- Gen 4
- Type
- Home
- Region
- JP
- Media
- Cartridge
- 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 (SFC) 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 SNES 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
Pricing
Launch price (1990)
- 🇯🇵 JPY
- ¥25,000
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 specs
- Weight
- ~0.96 kg (2.12 lb)
- Dimensions
- 203 × 68 × 254 mm
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.
Super ZSNES – Apple / Android TV Support Added
Developer zsKnight has just released v0.310 of the newly re-launched Super Nintendo / Super Famicom emulator Super ZSNES. This version includes HD enhancements for Star Fox, as well as support for Apple TV and Android TV streaming boxes. There’s also bugfixes and optimizations. The Apple and...
Freight News! We Now Have Our First-Ever Footage Of Railroad Tycoon's Lost SNES/Super Famicom Port
The port was first rumoured back in 1991 in the pages of Nintendo Power. Thanks to being an official Nintendo-branded magazine, Nintendo Power was well known in the '80s and '90s for featuring coverage of games well in advance of its competition. It's true, a lot of these games would later grace...
Legendary RPG Officially Coming to Steam 37 Years After Release
The Super Famicom version of Wizardry 6: Bane of the Cosmic Forge is coming to Steam in 2027.
"A Cursed Pen Awaits" - Wizardry VI For The Super Famicom Is Getting A Rerelease On Steam Next Year
Sadly, it looks like there's no English localisation in sight though. Here's some Wizardry news for you - all hot off the presses! The Super Famicom version of Wizardry VI is getting a rerelease next year on Steam, courtesy of D4 Enterprise and Drecom (though sadly with Japanese-language options...
Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge for Super Famicom coming to PC “and more” in 2027
Publisher Drecom and developer D4 Enterprise will release the Super Famicom version of Wizardry VI: …
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon Classic HD (PS5) Review
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon Classic HD is one of those rare spinoff games from the storied history of Dragon Quest that has remained Japan-exclusive until now. First released in 1993 on the Super Famicom, Enix’s beloved Dragon Quest spinoff brought an addicting dungeon-crawling...