MITSUMI QUICK DISK SOFTWARE

Nintendo's Famicom system was starting to flourish and while primarily cartridge-based, ideas from the home computer would crossover into the console world, resulting in the Famicom Disk System - or FDS - which did exactly what it said on the tin, offering disk-based software to run on the console we would eventually come to know as the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Disk System's vague error messages, long loading times, and the poor quality of the rubber drive belt that spun the disks are also cited as attributing to its downfall.In Western countries, the era of the console was effectively dead by the mid-1980s, with a flourishing home computer scene replacing it - but the situation was very different in Japan. Retailers disliked the Disk Writer kiosks for taking up too much space and for generally being unprofitable. Four months after the Disk System was released, Capcom released a Famicom conversion of Ghosts 'n Goblins on a 128k cartridge, which as a result made consumers and developers less impressed with the Disk System's technological features. Third-party developers for the Disk System were also angered towards Nintendo's strict licensing terms, requiring that it receive 50% copyright ownership of any and all software released - this led to several major developers, such as Namco and Hudson Soft, refusing to produce games for it. Piracy was also rampant, with disk copying devices and bootleg games becoming commonplace in stores and in magazine advertisements. The disks themselves are fragile, and the lack of a shutter made them collect dust and eventually become unplayable as a result. Most common was the quality of the Disk Cards Nintendo removed the shutters on most Disk System games to reduce costs, instead placing them in a wax sleeve and clear plastic shell. Nintendo remained confident the Disk System would be a sure-fire success, and ensured that all future first-party releases would be exclusive to the peripheral.ĭespite the Famicom Disk System's success and advantages over the Famicom itself, it also imposed many problems of its own. The Famicom Disk System sold over 300,000 units within three months, jumping to over 2 million by the end of the year. Marketing material for the Disk System featured a yellow mascot character named Diskun, or Mr. The same day, Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda as a launch title, alongside disk re-releases of earlier Famicom games. Following several delays, the Famicom Disk System was released on February 21, 1986, at a retail price of ¥15000 (US$80).

The add-on itself was produced by Masayuki Uemura and Nintendo Research & Development 2, the same team that designed the Famicom itself. The Disk Card format presented a number of advantages over cartridges, such as increased storage capacity that allowed for larger games, additional sound channels, and the ability to save player progress. Seeing its potential, Nintendo began work on a disk-based peripheral for the Famicom.įor its proprietary diskette platform, which they dubbed the 'Disk Card', Nintendo chose to base it on Mitsumi's Quick Disk media format, a cheaper alternative to floppy disks for Japanese home computers. Floppy disks were cheap to produce and rewritable, allowing games to be easily produced during the manufacturing process. It turned towards the home computer market for inspiration Nintendo specifically looked to floppy disks which were quickly becoming the standard for storage media for personal computers. To satisfy these requests, Nintendo began thinking of ways to potentially lower the cost of games.

Chip shortages also created supply issues. Retailers also requested for cheaper games the cost of chips and semiconductors made cartridges expensive to make, and often cost a lot of money for both stores and consumers to purchase. Because of its success, the company had difficulty with keeping up demand for new stock, often getting flooded with calls from retailers asking for more systems. By 1985, Nintendo's Family Computer was dominating the Japanese home video game market, selling over three million units within a year and a half.

Mitsumi quick disk