Super NES Hardware and Accessories

The Super Famicom, released in 1990 in Japan, was designed by Masayuki Uemura, the designer of the Famicom. The system was redesigned for its U.S. release, featuring more sharp angles and a dominant purple colour design. The PAL version of the SNES kept the curves and colour scheme of the Japanese system.

Released 2-3 years after its 16-bit competition the Sega Genesis and NEC TurbografX-16, the Super Famicom featured enhanced graphics and sound capabilities. Its biggest feature at launch was Mode 7, a graphical technique that allowed a flat graphic to be scaled and viewed in various scrolling 3D perspectives.

The system featured 2 controller ports and an expansion port that would be used for the Satellaview add-on, as well as for a planned but never released CD expansion.

Serial	Hardware
SHVC-001	Super Famicom / Super Nintendo Entertainment System
SNS-002	AC Adapter
SNSP-003	RF Switch
SHVC-007	Monaural A/V Cable
SHVC-008	Stereo A/V Cable
SHVC-009	S-Video (S-VHS) Cable
SHVC-010	RGB Cable
SNSP-015	Euro Connector Plug

A satellite modem system, released only in Japan in 1995. The Satellaview receieved scrambled signals during "Super Famicom Hour" from the satellite radio company St. GIGA, to which users would have to pay a subscription fee.

The scrambled signals were decoded as digital magazines and games that could be saved to a Memory Pak. Some games provided a competitive element, sending score or time data back to Nintendo.

Special "Soundlink" games were often played exclusively during certain broadcast hours, often leading to competitive play. These broadcasts would typically feature actors whose voices would be broadcast during the game.

Serial	Hardware
SHVC-029	Satellaview
SHVC-030	AV Selector
SHVC-031	Memory Pak
SHVC-032	AC Adapter
SHVC-033	Power Supply Relay Box
SHVC-039	ROM Pak
SHVC-028	Satellaview Cartridge
SHVC-040	Satellaview Cartridge

A redesigned version of the Super Famicom and SNES was released in 1997 in the U.S. and 1998 in Japan. The system was never released in PAL territories.

The system was much smaller than the standard system, and featured a much less complicated button layout. Due to the size limitations, a number of other accessories are not compatible.

The U.S. release featured the exact same shape and layout of the Japanese system, but the colour scheme was changed to the purples of the original model SNES.

The controller released with the system features its own model number, but it was essentially identical to the original SNES controller.

Serial	Hardware
SHVC-101	Super Famicom Jr. / SNES Jr.
SHVC-102	Controller

The Super Famicom & SNES controller was more rounded than the Famicom and NES controllers, providing for a more comfortable grip. Movement input was still through a digital + Directional Pad, while other inputs were through four coloured face buttons (A, B, X, Y), a Start and Select button, and two shoulder buttons (L, R).

In the U.S., the face buttons were recoloured purple, in-keeping with the design of the SNES.

Serial	Hardware
SHVC-005	Controller

A large, wireless, shoulder mounted light gun that registered hits by reading scanline information from CRT television sets and feeding the hit/miss data to an infra-red sensor positioned on top of the TV set. Because it uses this method, the Super Scope will not function on many modern LCD or plasma TV sets.

The Super Scope required 6 AA batteries, but had a short battery life.

In PAL regions, the Super Scope was simply called the "Nintendo Scope".

Serial	Hardware
SHVC-013	Super Scope
SHVC-014	Infra-Red Receiver

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Compatible Games

• Super Scope 6
• Yoshi's Safari
• BattleClash
• Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge
• Tin Star

A computer-style 2-button mouse for the Super Famicom & SNES. Many popular 16-bit games were designed for home computers, and many would not port comfortably to the Control Pad.

The Mouse and Mouse Pad came packaged with Mario Paint.

The Mouse was compatible with dozens of games, many of them ports of PC puzzle or strategy games. Nintendo themselves produced a small number of games compatible with the device.

Serial	Hardware
SHVC-016	Mouse
SHVC-017	Mouse Pad

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Compatible Games

• Mario Paint
• Mario & Wario
• Mario's Super Picross
• Tin Star
• Motokochan's Wonder Kitchen
• Super Game Boy

Only available in PAL regions, the Score Master arcade-style controller was designed to play games such as Street Fighter II using a more authentic interface.

The controller featured a large joystick in place of the + Directional Pad, and six large buttons on the front, with the L and R shoulder buttons relocated on either side of the X button.

A number of similar, third-party arcade controllers were available in other territories.

Serial	Hardware
SNSP-026	Score Master

The Super Game Boy game pak, released in 1994, allowed original Game Boy cartridges to be played through a Super Famicom or SNES on the TV. Classic Game Boy cartridges and black Game Boy Color cartridges work in the system (running in classic Game Boy rather than Color mode), but Game Boy Color exclusive games do not work in the device.

Because Game Boy games output at a lower resolution than a TV screen, the Super Game Boy provided a number of border designs that would display around the edge of the game area. It was also possible for the player to design their own borders using a Mario Paint style interface.

Nearly all Game Boy games released after 1994 featured their own Super Game Boy borders and special colour palettes, while a number of titles also contained enhanced sound and other special features.

In 1998, Nintendo released the Super Game Boy 2 in Japan, which featured a link cable port and LEDs showing power and game link. It also featured a number of exclusive borders, replacing those found in the original Super Game Boy.

Serial	Hardware
SHVC-027	Super Game Boy
SHVC-042	Super Game Boy 2