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Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone

They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the Famicom and NES. Hundreds of unauthorized clones have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s. The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones feature a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones utilize single-chip designs, with a custom ASIC which simulates the functionality of the original hardware and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in China and Taiwan, and less commonly South Korea.

Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone

Motherboard from a NS-90AP Famiclone. You can see the CPU (center-left, bearing code UA6527P) and the PPU (center-right, bearing code UA6538), both manufactured by United Microelectronics Corporation in 1992. Chips made by Hyundai are the RAM memories.

Socram8888 · CC BY 3.0

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video game console · plug-compatible machine

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They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the Famicom and NES. Hundreds of unauthorized clones have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s. The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones feature a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones utilize single-chip designs, with a custom ASIC which simulates the functionality of the original hardware and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in China and Taiwan, and less commonly South Korea.

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In this article

  1. 01Origins and development
  2. 02Notes, references and evidence

The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.

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