Nintendo factory hardware

Nintendo has used a wide variety of bespoke hardware as part of their manufacturing processes, many pieces of which have surfaced into the community via Xianyu.

This page will catalog items of factory hardware which don't yet have their own articles.

Many of these are copied (with revisions) from the Odd Taobao Neocities site, with permission from the author. This isn't a 1:1 copy of what's on that site, as this article's scope is limited to factory hardware, and several other types of items have showed up on Xianyu which will be documented separately. More pictures of some items are available on the Odd Taobao site.

Nintendo has a tendency to use their own products as part of factory testing setups for other products, even sometimes across console generations. As such, there are a lot of odd revisions of consoles and peripherals here which were themselves used to help manufacture other consoles.

Cartridge Testers

These pieces of hardware were used to verify each cartridge's checksums before packaging.

Famicom

The white cartridge inserted at the top contained the software used to verify the newly manufactured orange cartridge at the bottom.

Famicom cart tester

Book excerpt

NES

This machine is similar to the Famicom unit. It is known as the CAT (Cassette Assessment Tester?). There would be Famicom hardware to run the software from the white cartridge, as well as NES hardware to test the gray cartridges.

NES cart tester

SNES

This machine is known as the SCT. It is equipped with a Game Boy screen.

SNES cart tester

N64

This machine would have featured both Super Famicom and Nintendo 64 hardware, with a Super Famicom cartridge containing the N64 cartridge tester software. This cartridge was documented extensively on eludevisibility.org.

Notably, the Super Famicom cartridge would not boot when inserted into a regular Super Famicom.

While the SFC cartridge has been dumped, no pictures of the tester hardware have been found.

SFC cartridge used in N64 cart tester

NUS Cassette Checker software

Game Boy

This machine is known as the DUCK (DMG Universal ChecKer). It resembles the NES unit with its two cartridge slots, but features a Game Boy screen instead.

Famicom hardware is present to run the software from the top slot, as well as GB hardware to test the GB carts in the bottom slot.

Game Boy cartridge tester

DS

While photos of the tester hardware have not been found, a board labeled NCAT from a DS phat CPU tester has been found.

NCAT-CARD-01 board attached to DS CPU tester

DSi

This machine is known as TCAT. It uses a Game Boy Advance SP console with a GBA cartridge to run the software, alongside (at least) 3 slots for DSi cartridges.

DSi cart tester. The GBA software displays "Main Menu for TCAT". Taken from Nintendo Company Guide 2015

N64

Aging Cartridge

Source: ?

Regular and PAL versions of the N64's aging cartridge.

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  N64 aging cartridges

GameCube

"Engineering Test Controller"

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

This is a white, final model GameCube Controller with a second wire with an unknown plug type attached to it in addition to the regular one. It's unknown what this was used for, possibly for controlling some kind of test equipment (not necessarily for the GameCube itself).

Rough translation of the label:

External objects management Management Number: S-B8520-465 Angular Velocity (CFS8280 Handle)

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  "Engineering Test Controller"

Wii/Wii U

'SAMU' DP2 Prototype Wii Fit U Pedometer Test Jig

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A test jig for a DP2 pedometer prototype, used with the game 'Wii Fit U'. The silver label reads 'For Finished Product Inspection'.

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  SAMU test jig

GameCube Controller and Memory Card Jig for Wii Family Edition + Factory Memory Card

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A jig with GameCube controller ports (1 and 4, as 4 is used for verification inputs by many internal tools) and memory card slots, intended to be plugged into the GameCube port-less Wii Family Edition via a debug port present in place of the second GameCube memory card slot. A memory card is also present.

Unit label (Roughly):

Jigs and Tools Management Label 2011/09/22 Ver.00 Name: Jigs for Post-Aging Inspection Finalization RVK Nintendo Co., LTD Uji Factory Product Engineering Department

The memory card label (Roughly):

Jigs and tools management label 2009/01/15 Ver.04 Name: Memory card for aging RVL New Technology Department, Uji Factory, Nintendo Engineering Co., Ltd.

These labels indicate that this jig was used as part of the factory process on RVK (Family Edition) units, since some parts expect GameCube port input which would not be possible otherwise. The memory card was likely used by RVL_DIAG tools, and predates the RVK.

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  Wii Family Edition jig

Wii Power Supply for Inspection/Testing

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A power supply likely used for testing Wii systems in a factory setting. The label on the front reads "AC Adapter Power Supply for Testing" ("検査用ACアダプタ电源")

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  Wii test AC adapter

RVLC-DIF-01 - Wii Crusher Disc Interface Board (USA & EUR versions)

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

These boards contain memory chips with the Crusher program which is sent to the console as an emulated disc. It's not clear, but something along the lines of 'cpu - 40/50/60' seems to be written on the white tape on the EUR board, indicating it is specific to certain (later) board revisions.

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  Wii Crusher board (USA)

RVLC-SI-02/02 - Wii Crusher Serial Interface Boards

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

These boards contain two "CNT-DOL" chips, the main chip of the GameCube Controller. The "SI" in the name indicates they're connected over the GameCube Controller interface, and so might be used for playing back verification inputs or serving as a controller adapter of some sort.

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  Wii Crusher SI board

GBA

GBA Test LCD - 'Good Sample'

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A GBA LCD known to be in good working order, used for testing. The label on the back reads 'AGB LCD Machine Inspection Good Sample'.

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  GBA test screen

DS/DSi

Factory/Internal Top Halves

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

These are several DS/DSi console top halves with various internal-use labels. Of note is parts from a 3DS that appears to have been used as part of a microphone tester setup, as well as (probably non-factory) a DS that appears to be from NST, a highly defective 3DS which failed numerous factory tests and has the error codes printed on it along with "NG", three DSi XLs with the names "Kin Corn Karn", "Unira", and "Sable Able" printed on them, and a DSi branded with the Nintendo World Store (now Nintendo NY) logo.

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  DS top halves

Factory Test Cartridge

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

An unidentified DS test cartridge.

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  Unknown DS factory cartridge

TWLC-FMCOM-01 board with TWL-EVA 3.1 flashed

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A 'TWLC-FMCOM-01' memory board which connects to a 'TWLC-FDUMMY'. Written to it is version 3.1 of the factory test suite TWL-EVA.

The "TWLC" naming scheme suggests a connection to the DSi Crusher system.

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  TWL-EVA board

X4 DS Prototype/Factory Unit

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

An X4 Nintendo DS prototype that was likely used as part of a factory process, judging by the wires attached to it. Its serial number is NTPAB20003 - see the xTPAB page for more information on the NTPAB/RTPAB serial number prefix. Interestingly, this appears to have been one of the first units of the NTPAB2 series, which would have been the first series using the final shell design, as the FCC test photos of an early-shell DS prototype taken in August of 2004 show an NTPAB1 serial.

A unit of the same origin as this one had its firmware dumped and released via Forest of Illusion by Twitter user MasChief in 2022. Documentation of this firmware can be found on the IPL section of the DS page.

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  X4 DS showing NTPAB2 serial number

Broken DS/GBA Factory Cartridge Boards

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

Two broken factory test cartridge boards, and two GBA cartridge boards that have had their components de-soldered.

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  Desoldered cartridge boards

3DS

Gyrobox Station

Source: Voodooween

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CTRC-MAIN-ANALOG-01 (3DS Crusher board?)

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A board with two cartridge slots, RCA composite video/stereo audio jacks and a headphone jack. An obscured label appears to read 'CTRANA10--37'. May be the main board for the 3DS Crusher system.

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  The CTRC main board

KIS-CARD

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A DS cartridge with a special port which is used for NTRBoot during the factory process. It's also been seen in certain 3DS XL kiosks.

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  KIS-CARD

CTR-LU-J1

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A small board of unknown purpose, appears to have been part of a factory process.

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  CTR-LU-J1

Misc.

TFTT-00 Test Screen

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A Nintendo-branded LCD display with a severely damaged polarizer film, dated to 2000. Has composite video and power inputs. The widescreen aspect ratio and date might indicate that it's GBA-related.

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  Widescreen unknown LCD

Unlabelled Test Screen

Source: Xianyu (Odd Taobao)

A similar device, in what appears to be 4:3 aspect ratio. There's a small possibility this is related to the GameCube's planned 3D LCD, but it's more likely a piece of factory equipment.

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  4:3 unknown LCD