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Nintendo Power (cartridge)
Encyclopedia
The flash RAM cartridge was a Japan-only peripheral produced by Nintendo
for the Super Famicom
and the Game Boy
, which allowed owners to download Super Famicom/Game Boy games onto a special flash memory
cartridge for less than what the full cartridge would have cost.
During the days of the Family Computer
, Nintendo developed the Disk System, a disk drive expansion for the Famicom with expanded RAM which allowed players to use rewritable disks. The system was relatively popular, but suffered from issues of limited capacity. However, Nintendo did see the market for a rewritable game device thanks to the popularity of the Disk System. The NP cartridges solve the piracy issue by the fact that they are solid-state, as opposed to being a rewritable medium like the FDS, making their use in duplication limited. The limited capacity issue was solved by maximizing the size of the flash memory in the cartridge to 4 megabytes, the largest amount used by the vast majority of Super Famicom games.
Each cartridge's flash RAM is divided internally into eight blocks. Unless an 8-block game is loaded onto the cartridge, however, one block is reserved for the game selection menu, leaving only seven blocks for games. In addition, each cartridge has a small amount of SRAM for game saves, which is divided into sixteen blocks. Games are rounded up in capacity (i.e. a 10 megabit Super Famicom game needs three flash RAM blocks (12 megabits), a Game Boy game that needs 100 kilobits of save space would need 2 SRAM blocks (128 kilobits).) The system does have one limitation - games that utilize a special chip (such as the Super FX
) cannot be placed on the NP cartridge, as the needed chip was not in the cartridge.
A user would first purchase the RAM cartridge itself, then bring it to a store which had an NP copier. The player would select games to be placed on the cartridge, and then had them loaded on. In addition, the store would provide the purchaser with a printed copy of the manual for the game. Game prices varied, with older titles being relatively cheap, and newer titles and NP exclusives being more expensive.
A similar system of distribution was later used by Nintendo for the iQue Player in China
.
3,980
2,500
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, which allowed owners to download Super Famicom/Game Boy games onto a special flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
cartridge for less than what the full cartridge would have cost.
During the days of the Family Computer
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, Nintendo developed the Disk System, a disk drive expansion for the Famicom with expanded RAM which allowed players to use rewritable disks. The system was relatively popular, but suffered from issues of limited capacity. However, Nintendo did see the market for a rewritable game device thanks to the popularity of the Disk System. The NP cartridges solve the piracy issue by the fact that they are solid-state, as opposed to being a rewritable medium like the FDS, making their use in duplication limited. The limited capacity issue was solved by maximizing the size of the flash memory in the cartridge to 4 megabytes, the largest amount used by the vast majority of Super Famicom games.
Each cartridge's flash RAM is divided internally into eight blocks. Unless an 8-block game is loaded onto the cartridge, however, one block is reserved for the game selection menu, leaving only seven blocks for games. In addition, each cartridge has a small amount of SRAM for game saves, which is divided into sixteen blocks. Games are rounded up in capacity (i.e. a 10 megabit Super Famicom game needs three flash RAM blocks (12 megabits), a Game Boy game that needs 100 kilobits of save space would need 2 SRAM blocks (128 kilobits).) The system does have one limitation - games that utilize a special chip (such as the Super FX
Super FX
The Super FX is a coprocessor chip used in select Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game cartridges. This custom-made RISC processor was typically programmed to act like a graphics accelerator chip that would draw polygons to a frame buffer in the RAM that sat adjacent to it...
) cannot be placed on the NP cartridge, as the needed chip was not in the cartridge.
A user would first purchase the RAM cartridge itself, then bring it to a store which had an NP copier. The player would select games to be placed on the cartridge, and then had them loaded on. In addition, the store would provide the purchaser with a printed copy of the manual for the game. Game prices varied, with older titles being relatively cheap, and newer titles and NP exclusives being more expensive.
A similar system of distribution was later used by Nintendo for the iQue Player in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Device specifications
Super Famicom
MSRP - ¥Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
3,980
- Onboard flash RAM (for game data) - 32 megabits total (4 megabits/block x 8 blocks)
- Onboard SRAM (for game saves) - 256 kilobits total (16 kilobits/block x 16 blocks)
Game Boy
MSRP - ¥Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
2,500
- Onboard flash RAM (for game data) - 8 megabits total (1 megabit/block x 8 blocks)
- Onboard SRAM (for game saves) - 1024 kilobits total (64 kilobits/block x 16 blocks)