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→Peripherals
*'''External sound chips''': The Famicom had two cartridge pins that were originally intended to facilitate the Famicom Disk System’s external sound chip, but were also used by cartridge games to provide sound enhancements. These pins were removed from the cartridge port of the NES and relocated to the bottom expansion port. As a result, individual cartridges could not make use of this functionality and many NES localizations suffered from technologically inferior sound compared to their equivalent Famicom versions. (Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is a notable example of this problem)
*'''Hardwired controllers''': The Famicom’s original design includes hardwired, non-removable controllers. In addition, the second controller featured an internal microphone for use with certain games and lacked SELECT and START buttons. Both the controllers and the microphone were subsequently dropped from the redesigned AV Famicom in favor of the two seven-pin controller ports on the front panel used in the NES.
*'''Lockout circuitry:''' The Famicom contained no lockout hardware and, as a result, unlicensed cartridges were extremely common throughout Japan and the Far East. The original NES (but not the top-loading NES-101) contained the [[10NES]] lockout chip, which significantly increased the challenges faced by unlicensed developers. Tinkerers at home in later years discovered that disassembling the NES and cutting the fourth pin of the lockout chip would change the chip’s mode of operation from "lock" to "key", removing all effects and greatly improving the console’s ability to play legal games, as well as bootlegs and converted imports.
*'''Audio/video output: ''' The original Famicom featured an RF modulator plug for audio/video output, while its redesign, the AV Famicom, featured only RCA composite output. On the other hand, the original NES featured both an RF modulator and RCA composite output cables, but the top-loading NES-101 model featured only RF modulator output. The original North American NES was the first and one of the few game consoles to feature direct composite video output, and thus having the ability to be connected to a composite monitor. The French NES, model (FRA) featured a unique "RGB audio/video Output", a proprietary output connector similar to the SNES connector. With the help of an additional PAL-to-RGB chip, it allows this model of NES to output RGB video signal. A specific cable was given with every unit, using the SCART plug to connect it to the TV set.
*'''Third-party cartridge manufacturing:''' In Japan, several companies, namely Nintendo, Konami, Capcom, Namco, Bandai, Taito, Irem, Jaleco, Sunsoft and Hudson Soft, manufactured the cartridges for the Famicom, which allowed these companies to develop their own customized chips designed for specific purposes, such as Konami's VRC 6 and VRC 7 sound chips that increased the quality of sound in their games. All licensed US cartridges were made by Nintendo except Konami and Acclaim (who produced their own PCBs, but used Nintendo's provided gray cartridge shells).
