Here\'s a shocker!(read)

What console has the highest demand in Japan right now? Not PS2, not NGC, not GBA, not Xbox, the most wanted console in Japan is.... NES? Keep reading.

Famicom Enjoys Rebirth

 Despite the impending release of Nintendo\'s GameCube and Microsoft\'s Xbox, Nintendo\'s classic Famicom (NES) console is more popular than ever in Japan. According to a survey of Japanese retailers, the Famicom is enjoying a rebirth of sorts. In one Kagoshima-based retailer, demand from thirty-somethings for classic software has outpaced most newer titles. Considering some rarer Famicom games can fetch prices as high as 20,000 yen ($165) each, retailers stand to gain considerably from its second wind. More intriguing, Nintendo revealed today that they\'ve received production requests in excess of 50,000 units for new Famicom units from Japanese retail chains. In the words of one local retailer, "The generation of players who grew up on the Famicom simply aren\'t as captivated by complex new consoles and games."

The Japanese are a weird bunch. What\'s next? Could we see a possible pong comeback?

Maybe Nintendo should have considered making the Gamecube backward compatible somehow?  That would be really backward.  On the other hand it sounds like it would have been hard to predict this.

I would love to pick up some titles for the NES

ch ch ch ch ch, overrated! ch ch ch ch ch!

Never really liked the NES. Maybe it is because they BROKE!!! shoddy manufacturing = disliking from Eric. Although it is pretty neat that gamers still enjoy the classics! Not that many games come out anymore that are destined classics.

Eric Jacob

[Bobs_Hardware]

eh...ive got an emulator on my PC...that\'ll do me for now...even though i was more of a Sega person back in those days

that\'s awesome i reckon! NES probably is still my fav ever console... maybe that\'s just cos i\'m over nostalgic, but still, i think it\'s awesome as well that people still like the classics.

I wonder if it will get a rebirth anywhere else... I have NO idea where my NES is and I\'m not happy about it

Expect Nintnedo to start cracking down on Rom sites bigtime due to this news. They\'ve already taken a rather hardnosed approach and forced many sites to close up. (In stark contrast to Sega who, from what I\'ve heard in the scene, dosen\'t really care that their roms are being traded).

Get em while you can.. if this phenomenon spreads to areas outside of Japan... good Rom sites will probably become as rare and undependable as good ABware sites.

i love my NES i still play it today ( Zelda games)

I guess some systems just won\'t die.

In my opinion, this is the game machine that really got me into games (played manic miner but the nes was just so groung breaking at the time.)

Well i love the NES and but i just don\'t care to play it anymore

sure i love the games but i think most of them i have played to death

I still got my NES system... I really wish I could find the original Legend of Zelda... (gold cartridge) that game IMO is still one of the very best RPG\'s EVER!!!! I know the graphics can\'t comeare to FF or any other recient game for that matter... But the Fun Factor of that game is unmatched.

-Ramon

I love my SNES but have no NES

Yeah I agree with Altered, the NES was overrated. It didn\'t have that many great games for the second best selling console of all time. The only games that I enjoyed were Super Mario 1 and 3(3 still remains the best 2D platform game EVER), MegaMan 3, Metroid, PAPERBOY(god the memories..), Duck-Hunt, and Punch-Out. It was still a good system, but not that great for one that sold over 50 million units. The SNES was A LOT better than the NES.

I actually find i can\'t play my NES games to death... they\'re just timeless for me. I\'ll never get tired of playing them, especially Zelda 2, possibly my fave game ever. I\'ll always remember the first gaming mag I ever saw, dad bought it, brought it home, and there was a 4 page feature on Zelda 2, and i HAD to have that game. It was the next game I got and still to this day I\'d play it.... if i could find my NES