Robot
04-23-2010, 07:45 AM
Sharp and Nintendo have been best buds for quite a while -- as least as long as the latter company has been in the game business. Today, Sharp provides the LCD screens for Nintendo's handheld systems (and is likely doing the same for the Nintendo 3DS (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178454)), but back in the '80s and '90s, Sharp provided screens of a different kind. They made a few different televisions with Nintendo consoles built-in, offering great convenience to households... for a price (and still quite a price if you happen to find one for sale online or off). Here's a rundown of the sweet sets Sharp made back in the day.
"C1" series
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3803064&type=lg
The original Famicom TV, manufactured in 1983, right after the Famicom's launch, and available in two colors. Like most of Sharp's similar licensed products, almost all evidence of Nintendo is erased from the unit's labeling, right on down to the generic "GAME" controller (which is easily removable via a round plug, unlike the internally-wired Famicom pads). The set apparently also displayed games in higher-quality composite video, making it technically superior to the regular Famicom in that respect. The C1s were also notable for including a Sharp-branded Donkey Kong Jr. (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3130989) cartridge, which included the game modes from Donkey Kong Jr. Math. As if the whole thing weren't rare enough.
"19S" series
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3803065&type=lg
Sharp brought their console TV concept to North America later in the decade with the 19SV111 television, which is, as you might guess, a TV with an NES inside it. The VCR-like front-loading style of the NES lent itself to the base of a TV better than the Famicom version from a design standpoint. But, boy, I would not want to try and take it apart if it broke -- it looks stacked like a wedding cake, and one can only hope that a former owner kept up a steady habit of shoving an Officially Licensed NES Cleaning Kit in it often. The 19SC111 was a second model that was used in stores, hotels and the like.
"SF-1" Series
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3803066&type=lg
The inevitable Super Famicom TV came just after the console's debut in 1990... and in two sizes, no less! Like the regular Super Famicom, the design of the set is sleeker than its predecessors, and the shifting of the cartridge slot from the bottom to the top makes more sense. Plus, the slot is angled; I imagine that would make it easier for a kid to reach up from the floor and change games ('cause if you didn't play games on the floor, you must have been spoiled or something).
As mentioned, these TVs are hard-to-find curios in any part of the world, so if you find yourself drooling over any of them, start saving up.
Sources: Wikia (http://nes.wikia.com/wiki/Television_With_Built-In_NES), ASSEMbler (http://web.archive.org/web/20020408080447/http://assembler.roarvgm.com/Sharp_Nintendo_Television/sharp_nintendo_television.html), TV Game Kan (http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~isesaki/)
More... (http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9026464)
"C1" series
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3803064&type=lg
The original Famicom TV, manufactured in 1983, right after the Famicom's launch, and available in two colors. Like most of Sharp's similar licensed products, almost all evidence of Nintendo is erased from the unit's labeling, right on down to the generic "GAME" controller (which is easily removable via a round plug, unlike the internally-wired Famicom pads). The set apparently also displayed games in higher-quality composite video, making it technically superior to the regular Famicom in that respect. The C1s were also notable for including a Sharp-branded Donkey Kong Jr. (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3130989) cartridge, which included the game modes from Donkey Kong Jr. Math. As if the whole thing weren't rare enough.
"19S" series
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3803065&type=lg
Sharp brought their console TV concept to North America later in the decade with the 19SV111 television, which is, as you might guess, a TV with an NES inside it. The VCR-like front-loading style of the NES lent itself to the base of a TV better than the Famicom version from a design standpoint. But, boy, I would not want to try and take it apart if it broke -- it looks stacked like a wedding cake, and one can only hope that a former owner kept up a steady habit of shoving an Officially Licensed NES Cleaning Kit in it often. The 19SC111 was a second model that was used in stores, hotels and the like.
"SF-1" Series
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3803066&type=lg
The inevitable Super Famicom TV came just after the console's debut in 1990... and in two sizes, no less! Like the regular Super Famicom, the design of the set is sleeker than its predecessors, and the shifting of the cartridge slot from the bottom to the top makes more sense. Plus, the slot is angled; I imagine that would make it easier for a kid to reach up from the floor and change games ('cause if you didn't play games on the floor, you must have been spoiled or something).
As mentioned, these TVs are hard-to-find curios in any part of the world, so if you find yourself drooling over any of them, start saving up.
Sources: Wikia (http://nes.wikia.com/wiki/Television_With_Built-In_NES), ASSEMbler (http://web.archive.org/web/20020408080447/http://assembler.roarvgm.com/Sharp_Nintendo_Television/sharp_nintendo_television.html), TV Game Kan (http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~isesaki/)
More... (http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9026464)