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Sunburned Super Famicom catches collector’s eye

As the rainy season in Japan begins to wind down and we head into the sweet spot of midsummer, more and more people are hitting the beach and working on their tans. For followers of a certain fashion aesthetic, there’s nothing more appealing than a beautifully bronzed body, which holds true whether we’re talking about men, women, or even video game consoles, it seems.

When Nintendo finally got around to releasing its 16-bit console, the Super Famicom, in 1990, rival Sega’s Mega Drive had already been on the market for two years. Nintendo needed to do something that would immediately differentiate its product visually, so in contrast to the Mega Drive’s somewhat sinister dark form, the Super Famicom’s casing was molded in much lighter tones and featured four brightly colored face buttons.

▼ Mega Drive (top) and Super Famicom (bottom)

But while Nintendo’s design gave off a much cheerier impression, it also concealed a downside. The Super Famicom was such a hit that many gamers held onto theirs for many years, at which point it became apparent that the plastic of yesteryear is prone to fading and discoloration.

On the used market, a discolored Super Famicom tends to be a hard sell, as most people aren’t willing to pay for a system that looks like the family dog has repeatedly claimed it as his territory. In rare cases, though, the 16-bit Nintendo’s inability to retain its original hue can be a blessing in disguise, as Twitter user Hapi Nano recently discovered when he stumbled across this specimen.

色違いのスーファミを見かけたので思わず買いました！かなりレア！ pic.twitter.com/9KtP5hRnqo

— hapi⇒＠出演 3/20・29：VRDJ予定 3/30：リアルDJ予定 (@hapinano) June 28, 2014

According to owner of the shop where Hapi Nano found the system, the case has become “beautifully suntanned.”

“Ones that are this color are really rare, so I snapped it up right away!” Hapi Nano tweeted. Despite his enthusiasm, the cagey collector still talked the shop owner into a discount due to its non-standard appearance, and confirmed that the internals were in good working order before handing over his cash.

Once again, though, we’d like to remind everyone that the Super Famicom was launched in 1990. In the more than two decades since then, medical researchers have learned much about the dangers of ultraviolet rays and melanoma. While we agree Hapi Nano’s sun-kissed system does look mighty fine, remember that for a day at the beach, doctors recommend a hat and sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 for modern systems like the Wii U.

Source: Jin
Insert images: Wikipedia/Evan-Amos (1, 2)

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