Just when you thought it couldn't get any more meta than a full NES clone hacked into an NES controller, somebody goes and mods up an NES cart to play Famicom cartridges. The all-in-one unit includes a pair of controller plugs, video out and that all-important reset switch in a pretty slick package. That's great and all, but when our grandkids start building PS3 clones out of discarded Blu-ray cases, we're seriously going to start freaking out.

[Via technabob]

According to reports (translated, possibly misunderstood, clearly speculative reports), come this year's E3, Nintendo could be rolling out a brand-spanking-new DS -- most likely very unlike the one pictured above. If you follow the text in a Bloomberg Japan article, Famicom magazine publisher Hirokazu Hamamura says that the timing of E3 would fall right in line with the two-year stagger the Big N has applied to other handheld releases. Of course, Nintendo is saying "no comment," though we find that's usually the last thing they say before introducing the Wii, Game Boy, N64, Harry Potter Wand, or Ultimate Doomsday Device.

[Via Joystiq; Image courtesy Kris/Rakka]

Using a simple but bulky cart from Japan, it's possible to make your DS play Famicom games. It'll also play NES games if you can get your hands on an adapter for the different cart shape. Mark this down on your shopping list before you make your compulsory, once-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Akihabara.

[Via Technabob]

It's an end of an era, we suppose. No longer can you bash up your Famicom for flatly refusing to entertain your cartridge of choice and expect Nintendo of Japan to fix it up all pretty for you, like it's been doing for the past 20+ years. For whatever reason, Nintendo has been providing hardware support for the Famicom since its inception, which certainly seems a little extreme, but who's complaining? That support is finally ending, along with support for the Super Famicom, Nintendo 64, Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket -- relative newcomers to the console game when pitted against grandpa Famicom. Repairs will officially end on October 31st, and the reasoning is pretty simple: there just aren't enough spare parts laying around to make the repairs. Nintendo of America stopped supporting the NES a few years back, so this really is the end of the line. Oh, and Nintendo would like to take this opportunity to remind you that it wouldn't mind at all if you give it money again to repurchase your old favorites on the Wii's Virtual Console -- now that's service.

[Via Advanced MN Wii]

If you think these nuggets were the rarest of the rare, just take a look at the PlayStation / Super Famicom prototype pictured above. Back when Sony was reportedly looking to collaborate with Nintendo on a machine, this here device was supposedly the offspring of their collective imaginations, but over a decade later we're finally seeing dusty images of what could have been. Of course, there's no way of telling whether this shot is actually authentic, and Game-Rave certainly doesn't go out of its way to lend any further credibility to the situation, but feel free to click on through for a shot of the rear and take guesses as to how much it'll fetch on The Bay if real.

[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]