Then the user pushed the cartridge down (again emulating the behavior of a VCR) and powered on the console. In the NES, the user opened a front flap, slid a cartridge into the machine, and the insertion force occurred at the back of the machine, where the (hidden) cartridge slot lived-pins within the cartridge crammed up against the slot in the back. Its slot required insertion force, and it was buried inside a box-making it hard to fix when things went wrong.Ī version of the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES. A typical mid-to-late 80s VCR is a variant of ZIF design: the tape goes in the front, then the machine grabs it and gently pulls it into place. This is a good thing from an engineering standpoint because users can do things like push too hard, and eventually connectors that require this kind of contact wear out. A ZIF connection is one in which the user doesn't directly press the cartridge into its host connector-no insertion force is exerted by the user. What Nintendo tried to emulate was a "Zero Insertion Force" (ZIF) connection-a phrase that sounds like a bad joke about problems in bed, but is a real engineering notion. Nintendo wanted to be new, and better-so it hid its slot. It was similar technology, but hidden in a way that American consumers might assume was more like a familiar VCR-and more importantly, different from game consoles like the Atari 2600, which were old news. When Nintendo created the NES for the US, a major design change was to place that cartridge slot deep inside a VCR-style gray box (shown below). (It also featured a snazzy red-and-cream color scheme that to my eye looks a bit like Voltron.) By putting the cartridge in on top, the label on the Famicom cartridge served as a kind of billboard, advertising the game currently being played.
![72 in 1 game cartridge 72 in 1 game cartridge](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H85395f0aa9994215acc5e6a857578f24k/239-in-1-Multi-Game-Cartridge-Memory-Card-8-Bit-72-Pin-for-US-NTSC-NES.png)
The Famicom (short for Family Computer) is shown above-it featured a top loading design in which you crammed the cartridge into a slot on the top. looked very different from Nintendo's original Famicom console sold in Japan.
![72 in 1 game cartridge 72 in 1 game cartridge](https://image.made-in-china.com/43f34j00VOYtlaIsIirQ/Nes-Nintendo-150-in-1-Game-72-Pins-8-Bit-Games-Card-Cartridge-Ninja-Turtles.jpg)
The Nintendo Family Computer, or Famicom.