These 4 Nintendo consoles were exclusive to Japan

Nintendo’s rich console history is quite deep and interesting, even if not all of its game consoles came out of Japan. In some cases, Nintendo didn’t find the market strong enough to warrant a worldwide release, and in others, some of the company’s inventions were simply too niche. Looking back, Nintendo’s diverse portfolio is intriguing, considering the scale of its global gaming presence compared to when the company first established its console lineup. Today, it would be very unusual to see a Nintendo console or similar invention remain permanently stuck in Japan.

For example, Nintendo and Panasonic released a very rare, Japan-exclusive Nintendo GameCube edition called the Panasonic Q GameCube. This item, if sold today, could fetch well over $1,000, depending on condition and what is included. It turns out that this limited edition was sold in very few copies in Japan – less than 100,000 – and is considered a rare collector’s item. But it also meant that there was virtually no chance of this niche product leaving the country.

The Twin Famicom, also known as the Sharp Twin Famicom, is a 2-in-1 console designed by Sharp in 1986. The Japan-exclusive console combines Nintendo’s Home Computer, also known as the Famicom, a cartridge slot, and the Famicom Disk System (FDS) into one package. These units were released in two slightly different color schemes: red with black trim or black with red trim. The system also included built-in RCA connectors, while including an external RF modulator as a complement. Previous Famicom systems were also RF only, so this one technically offered an audio and video upgrade if the TV could support it. The rear of the console also features two wired controllers with a D-pad and face buttons – although turbo switches were later added to the AN-505 models and the controllers had longer cables.

If you want to get a Twin Famicom, you can do so on eBay. Conditions vary as most sellers have them used and without the original retail box. You can also find the console at a retro store in Japan, or import one through Enjoy Game Japan online.

The Panasonic Q GameCube was undoubtedly a special, even original, gem released in the early 2000s, based on a collaboration between Nintendo and Panasonic. It was also Nintendo’s answer to a console capable of natively playing DVD/CDs, much like its rival Sony. However, this premium console is as successful as one could hope. One reason is that its launch price was almost ¥41,000-46,000 and Japanese consumers found it cheaper to buy a GameCube and DVD player separately. Nintendo didn’t fully announce the product when the standard GameCube launched, nor did Panasonic provide it with the proper marketing it needed to get off the ground. Additionally, it didn’t help that the standard Nintendo GameCube was also a commercial failure. Then, of course, while the chassis had a nice, shiny, unique coating and structure – almost looking like a mini metal stereo and oven – it wasn’t compatible with many accessories. All of this combined essentially made this rare collectible a commercial failure, which is why it probably never left Japan.

Finding a Panasonic Q GameCube at a reasonable price is trickier due to its rarity. You can find these units sold internationally on eBay, but at a very high price for a working model, and cheaper if you buy one for parts.

When talking about the Famicom, or any iteration of it, things tend to get a little confusing, because the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is technically just the westernized version of the Famicom. That’s why it makes more sense to look at specific Famicom editions that were never released in the West, like the Nintendo AV Famicom. The Nintendo AV Famicom was released in 1993. It was considered a rebuild of the 1983 Famicom. The major difference came from the console’s technical specifications: Nintendo used this revision to replace the old RF-only TV connection with standard composite AV multi-output ports. This is also why the Nintendo AV Famicom differs from the new NES (NES-101) released overseas in 1993; Nintendo has decided to remove the AV ports and go back to strict RF modulator output. This was likely due to a financial decision to cut costs and maximize profits at the end of the Famicom/NES era, since the SNES had already been released in Japan and America in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

The Nintendo AV Famicom isn’t too hard to find since it’s not as old as some of the other Japan-exclusive consoles on this list. The easiest place to look is eBay, where you can search for the model (HV-101) or use Enjoy Game Japan to import one.

The origin of Nintendo is Japan. So it’s no surprise that Nintendo’s original console, the one that predates the original Famicom, never left Japan either. The color TV game includes an entire series that began in the late 1970s and continued until 1980, and was developed in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electronics. Most notably, it wasn’t like a traditional gaming console where you bought cartridges and loaded them up to play; these came with games preloaded.

The Color TV-Game 6, released in 1977, included six variations of “Pong”, including hockey, volleyball and light tennis. Later, the Color TV-Game 15 was released, with 15 variants and detachable controllers. The Color TV-Game Racing 112, followed in 1978, features a top-down racing game. In the following years, 1979 and 1980, Color TV-Game Block Breaker and Computer TV-Game (based on the arcade game “Computer Othello”) focused more on specific arcade titles. It also makes sense that Nintendo never exported these inventions outside of Japan because, at the time, the company was still focused on the domestic market and lacked the resources to go international. Nintendo of America was not established until 1980.

The Color TV-Game series is a little trickier to secure today. It is quite old, but it lives up to its name. You can buy them separately on eBay, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find the Color TV-Game Block Breaker and the Computer TV-Game. Fortunately, museums also preserve the latter two systems, such as the Center for Computing History for Color TV-Game Block Breaker and the Mario Museum for Computer TV-Game.