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Charge up your new tech with a nod to old games with Famicom controller battery pack/card reader

Casey Baseel Jan 20, 2015
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Although millions of people have fond memories of playing games on Nintendo’s original Famicom (known internationally as the NES), not too many people spend much time actually playing with the system anymore. After all, portable gaming devices like Nintendo’s own 3DS and even smartphones now boast more powerful hardware specs than the classic 8-bit console, and have just as large a library of legitimately fun games as well as the capability to play old-school titles as software downloads.

Of course, the flipside to having so many great portable games to play or, in the case of smartphones, extremely important websites to visit, is that your mobile devices are going to be running out of juice before long. Now, though, there’s a way to give your new tech a recharge and your old tech a shout-out simultaneously, with this battery pack/card reader that’s styled after the Famicom’s Player One controller.

Although it’s obvious that Nintendo’s first control pad was the muse for the item, peripheral maker Datel Japan makes no overt mention of the Famicom in its packaging. Officially, this is the Retro Controller Battery and Card Reader, even if we all know the inspiration for its design and color scheme didn’t come from Sega’s Master System or NEC’s PC Engine.

Aside from lacking a cord and the Famicom controller’s Roman numeral I in the upper left corner, the battery pack looks identical to the Nintendo original. While the directional pad and select, start, and B buttons are all non-functional dummies, pressing the A button turns the unit on and causes the indicator along the top edge to light up, showing how much charge the 3,600-mAh battery has remaining.

The device also functions as a card reader, and has all the necessary plugs and cables you’ll need to transfer photo files, chiptunes playlists, or whatever other data you need to move from one device to another. For starters, you’ll find a micro SD slot right in front of the A button.

The right edge of the controller has micro-USB and Standard-A ports.

And finally, Standard-A and micro USB connectors pop out of the bottom and top edges of the unit, respectively.

The battery pack even comes with a strap, which will come in handy whether you’re looking to show off you retro gadget or simply need something to grab onto when you’re pulling it out from under a pile of newer, shinier-looking gadgets inside your bag.

The Retro Controller Battery and Card Reader can be ordered here from Amazon Japan, where’s it’s currently selling for 5,854 yen (US$49). Oh, and if you’re wishing Datel had instead focused on the slightly quirkier Famicom controller 2, fear not: they came up with a nifty inline headphone mic modelled on just that last year, meaning that you’ll be able to rock controllers for both players one and two without having to double up on your electronic gizmos.

Source: Akiba PC Hotline!
Top image: Amazon Japan
Insert images: Amazon Japan, Fanpop