TIL: Nintendo’s insane legacy for their RCA cables

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Nintendo, notorious for their proprietary plugs, actually used a consistent standard for their RCA plug for a long time. It WAS proprietary, but the shape of the end you connect to your console was introduced for the A/V Famicom (JP version of the NES Top Loader) and then it stuck around for the SNES/SFC, N64, AND the GameCube! That’s about 15 years of the same plug being usable.

I should mention though: I just yesterday had an issue with that particular plug, where it worked fine on my N64 but not my SNES. Same cable, OEM cable, and I still had a problem, so perhaps tricky Nintendo DID change something internally to make sure you had to buy new cables. I wouldn’t put that past them.

 

[moonbits]

It also worked on the Wii, didn't it?

 

[Tonberry]

It also worked on the Wii, didn't it?

iirc they actually changed it for the Wii, but they just shortened it on the side or something, so that you couldn't insert the jack. Kinda like how they added that little nub to 3DS cartridges just so you wouldn't stick them in your 3DS.

Wii

The one that looked like this I could switch between my SNES, N64 and Gamecube

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

It also worked on the Wii, didn't it?

Just did the plugging yesterday. It is not the same cable for the Wii.

Why? I have no idea. You’d think it would be the same, since the GameCube and Wii are the most similar systems technologically.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 9:48 PM

iirc they actually changed it for the Wii, but they just shortened it on the side or something, so that you couldn't insert the jack. Kinda like how they added that little nub to 3DS cartridges just so you wouldn't stick them in your 3DS.

Wii
View attachment 126972
The one that looked like this I could switch between my SNES, N64 and Gamecube
View attachment 126973

Yup. Bottom one is the cable that’s on all the systems I mentioned.

 

[Tonberry]

Yup. Bottom one is the cable that’s on all the systems I mentioned.

The only reason my brain retains this information is because my cat once pissed on the Wii scart cable so I had to throw it away, and I never replaced it because I thought the Gamecube one would work just fine.
I was wrong...

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

It is in this thread that I must remind you:

This is the same company that didn’t give you AN AC ADAPTER WITH THE NEW NINTENDO 3DS!


Yeah, don’t think I forgot that controversy. That’s still some garbage a decade later.