Although most modern gamers only know it as the developer of the Wii and of the DS Lite (OK, perhaps the GameCube as well), the truth of the matter is that Japanese company Nintendo has managed to influence the world of gaming in a decisive manner, practically introducing the concept of “video gaming console” into the world of consumer electronics.

Over its very long history, Nintendo has come up with a lot of crazy stuff, some of them more successful than others. Plus, they've also released certain console models just in a limited series, in select parts of the world (mostly on their home turf, on the Japanese market), and that's exactly the case with the Famicom Box, somewhat of a collector's item from the Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. era.

The thing that really differentiated the Famicom Box from all of the other Nintendo consoles was the fact that it came pre-loaded with no less than 15 different games, so there was no need to change the cartridges. However, for this reason (plus the fact that the device had to house ALL the game cartridges), the Famicom Box was larger than all the other consoles and features one might call nowadays an “industrial” design.

Recently, Le Journal du Geek has managed to come across a product of this type being sold off at an auction on Yahoo Japan. Apparently, as the photos indicate, the device is in mint condition, and has drawn quite a lot of interest, since the initial price (1,000 Yen) has risen to around 21,000 Yen (or around 230 US dollars).

The lucky person who got this thing (since the auction is now over) will also benefit from the possibility of using the original accessories, including here the gamepads and the gun, as well as from the pleasure of owning one piece of the ever-developing history of gaming. 

 
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