In 1986, consumer conscious Nintendo released the Disk System peripheral in Japan. The Disk System attached to the Famicom via the ROM Adapter, which connected to the Famicom's cartridge slot. The Famicom Disk System originally did not come packaged with a power adapter as it was capable of running on six "C" batteries. As the name implies, Disk System games were stored on proprietary floppy disks, which were cheaper to produce than ROM carts. The floppy disk format provided many other benefits over the standard ROM as well.

For one, the disks were rewritable. Thus, when playing games like Metroid and Kid Icarus, your game progress could be saved right to floppy disk as opposed to having to write down and then input long passwords. Nintendo also populated Japan with download kiosks where gamers could take their floppy disks and download new games for only 500 yen. Finally, the floppy disk's 128k of storage capacity was much greater and cheaper than the standard ROM cart.

Overwhelming these benefits were many problems. For a number reasons, the rewritability function of the disks ultimately led to the downfall of the Disk System. First, the ease with which games could be copied led to piracy. Second, at around 2000 yen for a disk game or only 500 yen for downloaded game, the software was so cheap that retailers and publishers both suffered from low margins. Third, Nintendo omitted protective shutters from the casing design, which left exposed to the elements the delicate film on which the data was stored. A little spilled cola or some static electricity could instantly wipe out data making the disks unreadable.

Although for a period of about two years Nintendo released their new titles exclusively on the Disk System, the console generally suffered from a lack of third party support. One reason was the low margins, but the primary reason was that Nintendo required all publishers to grant them partial copyright ownership for any games released on the Disk System. Unwilling to relinquish their invaluable IP, many publishers simply scorned the system and released their games on the Famicom.

Although Nintendo continued to support the Famicom Disk System until 2003, the viability of the system ceased in 1989. By then piracy was rampant, the cost of ROMs substantially decreased, and reliable battery-save carts had replaced the need for rewritable floppy disks for game save storage. The system was never released outside of Japan.

Reliability Issues

Though not as finicky as the floppy disks, the Disk System hardware has reliability issues of its own. This is because the system is dependent upon a thin rubber drive belt to operate. These belts have a life expectancy of about five years after which they may break or even melt. Until 2003, Japanese residents were able to send their systems to Nintendo directly for belt replacements.

Thankfully, there are Famicom Disk System enthusiasts who have created online guides showing you the step-by-step process to repairing your broken drive belt. Other than a lot of patience, the only tools you need to repair the drive belt are a philips-head srewdriver, a flat-head screwdriver and a replacement band. If you'd like to give it a try, then stop by Pink Godzilla where we sell non-functioning Disk Systems for only $10.

Disk Error Messages

If you've ever tried to fire up a Famicom Disk System, then you've inevitably encountered one of a number of cryptic error messages. As the only information contained in the message is the error number, these messages are never very helpful. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of translations for all the error messages below. You generally want to stay away from numbers 11 through 29.

ERR.04 = Game Maker ID Is Incorrect.
ERR.05 = Game Title Is Incorrect.
ERR.06 = Incorrect Version Number.
ERR.08 = Disk #1 Is Incorrect.
ERR.09 = Disk #2 Is Incorrect.
ERR.10 = Disk #3 Is Incorrect.
ERR.11~19 = You're Pinked. There is something wrong with the Disk System's memory.
ERR.20 = Screen Data Is Incorrect.
ERR.21 = Disk Head Block (Nintendo-HVC) Is Incorrect.
ERR.22 = Disk Head Block #$01 Is Unreadable.
ERR.23 = Disk Head Block #$02 Is Unreadable.
ERR.24 = Disk Head Block #$03 Is Unreadable.
ERR.25 = Disk Head Block #$04 Is Unreadable.
ERR.26 = Problem With Game Save.
ERR.27 = Cannot Locate Block End Mark.
ERR.28 & 29 = You're Really Pinked. The system is broken.
ERR. 30 = Disk Full.
ERR.31 = Problem Encountered With The Number Of Data Files.

Pink Godzilla's Top Ten Famicom Disk System Games

In compiling this list, we focused on games that were either not released or were a little more obscure in the US.

1. Super Mario Bros. 2
2. Boku tte Upa
3. Vs. Excitebike
4. Doki Doki Panic
5. Smash Ping Pong
6. Eggerland
7. Metto Mag
8. Panic Space
9. Namida no Sokouban Special
10. Topple Zip

Rare And Collectible Titles

Kaette Kita Mario Bros.
I Am A Teacher Te-Ami no Kiso
I Am A Teacher Super Mario no Sweater
Panic Space
Transformers The Headmasters
All Night Nippon-ban Super Mario Bros.
Golf Japan Course Gold Disk
Golf US Course Gold Disk
Super Mario Bros. Gold Disk

Disk-kun: The Disk System Mascot

Disk-kun. What is it? Does it have a gender? The fact that his name ends with the suffix "kun" identifies the amorphous yellow glob as male, but that doesn't explain what it is. Other than being the official mascot of the Famicom disk system, not much is known about Disk-kun. Back in the Famicom's heyday, Nintendo would hold game score contests throughout Japan. As a prize in these contests, Nintendo gave away gold-plated disks. These disks came packaged in a swank Disk-kun shaped yellow cases. These shiny gold disks not only looked cool but were fully playable. Some even had extra content such as the Golf, which had an extra course not found in the regular game. Needless to say, these gold disks are highly collectible.

For more information on Disk-kun, be sure to check out Pink Godzilla's in depth expose on the little yellow glob.

Fun Famicom Disk System Commercials