Former Nintendo designer discusses Famicom coloring and naming
The Famicom possessed an interesting color scheme. These days, we typically don’t see hardware that is covered in red, gold, and white colors.
Masayuki Uemura, a former Nintendo hardware designer, cleared up some misconceptions as to why the color scheme was chosen while speaking with Weekly Playboy:
“Originally, the inexpensive steel body we planned to use was too fragile, so we changed it to a highly durable plastic.”
Uemura went on to say that the red color didn’t come from the plastic, which some have said was cheaper than other colors. It was actually former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi who sent down the request.
“The reason why we used the dark red was simply due to an order from the company’s president. Our President often wore a scarf that was a similar dark red color, with the reason being this was a color he liked.”
Later in the interview, Uemura explained how the Famicom got its name. There were terms such as “personal computer” and “home computer” that were quickly becoming popular in the early 1980s. Therefore, “I thought the word ‘family’ hasn’t been used yet.”
Uemura’s wife soon suggested the name “Famicom” because Japanese people tend to shorten long words. She believed that most wouldn’t say “Family Computer” more often than not. While Uemura thought highly of the idea and presented it to his boss, the name was rejected as the higher-ups at Nintendo believed that “Family Computer” was easier to understand.
