Nintendo Entertainment System Hardware Clone - Hardware and Software Compatibility Issues

Hardware and Software Compatibility Issues

While most Famiclones will run most original licensed Nintendo software and work with most original carts (being even more versatile than an original NES because of the lack of regional lockout chips and sometimes having a dual 60-pin and 72-pin cartridge compatibility), the degree of hardware compatibility with original NES accessories and miscellaneous hardware equipment may vary, and even software level compatibility isn't always perfect.

The most common software-level incompatibility is the lack of CMOS backup memory, causing the few games that use it to fail when trying to save or load data. Since most modern Famiclones are based on the NES-on-a-chip ASIC, they automatically inherit all of its powers and limitations, which includes graphical glitches and compatibility issues.

At a hardware level, the most common incompatibility is the lack, in some Famiclones, of the original Famicom's expansion port (although it is always present, at least at a logical level, and in some clones it is internally hardwired; e.g. in computer-type Famiclones it is hardwired to the built-in keyboard, even if not externally accessible).

Most Famiclones also use standard Atari 9-pin shaped or even 15-pin joypad connectors instead of the proprietary NES connectors, and their controllers usually offer all of the functionality of a standard NES controller and sometimes features such as "slow motion" or several autofire keys with different speeds, which are not present on the standard out-of-the-box NES joypads. Despite being physically identical to Atari 9-pin or PC game ports, the pinouts of those connectors are not standard, and connecting standard controllers to them may result in malfunction or damage of the controller or the Famiclone itself.

Also, some Famiclones use a third connector for the lightgun accessory, without the need for unplugging one of the two joypads, while the design and quality of the lightgun itself varies with those of the Famiclones themselves.

Lastly, like many modern consoles and other devices meant to be connected to a TV, many modern famiclones lack an RF modulator and instead only have separate audio and composite video outputs (sometimes S-Video), also to cut on the (already low) production costs.