Nintendo of Japan dropping Hardware support for the Famicom

Itmedia is reporting that Nintendo of Japan is finally ceasing hardware support for the Famicom system (the Japanese equivalent of the NES) as of October 31st. With all the news of Sega finally ending support on the Dreamcast consoles this past year, it is amazing to think that Nintendo has carried on the Famicom system for this long. According to the report, Itmedia cites the company as stating that the necessary parts for repairs have become increasingly difficult to obtain.

Also mentioned in the report, Nintendo of Japan is also ending their support for the Super Nintendo (Super Famicom), Nintendo 64, Gameboy, and Gameboy Pocket lines.

There is a silver lining however (according to Nintendo). With the Wii Virtual Console allowing for downloadable releases of classic NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64 games, you'll be able to continue enjoying the games long after the original systems have died. Unfortunately, this doesn't take into account needing to buy the games a second time and also the fact that the library selection pales in comparison to the full libraries of the host systems, but we can't win all the battles, right?

Good night Famicom, you started a revolution and are to this day a solid workhorse that has inspired two generations of gamers.