If you’ve lived long enough to see an original Famicom cartridge, you must have wondered what use the little holes on the top of the cartridges were for. It had to have some kind of use, you must have been sure, but what?
Was it for ventilation purposes or perhaps it was there so aliens couldn’t play the games? Well, you don’t need to imagine anymore as Nintendo has finally revealed why they were there.
In an interview with the Afternoon News, Nintendo answered when asked what purpose were the holes were for in the Famicom cartridges.
But what about the holes on the Famicom carts? Japanese website Afternoon News asked Nintendo about them. Here is how the exchange apparently went:
Afternoon News: ‘I believe there are holes on the top of [Famicom] cartridges. Do you know what kind of meaning they had?’
Nintendo: ‘Yes, to be honest, they were just part of the design.’
Afternoon News: ‘Um, these aren’t holes made during the molding or the assembly?’
Nintendo: ‘That’s correct. They’re just [part of the cartridge’s] design.’
Afternoon News: ‘Then, the holes on the front and the back of Irem’s cartridges are also design?’
Nintendo: ‘That’s correct. Similarly, that’s the design.’
Well, there’s the answer, it was just a design decision the company took and didn’t actually serve any real purpose. Well, at least we have an answer now.