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The iNES format suffers from many problems. It is often misused, with people inserting their
names in the header, for example. Marat Fayzullin's involvement in NES development seems
to have decreased recently and, in the absence of any official updates to the format, many
developers have specified their own alterations, others have also been devising their own
mapper numbers. This has led to the format becoming increasingly inaccurate and the
development of UNIF (Universal NES Interchange Format) [40].
UNIF format files generally have the extension *.unf and contain a header which identifies
the format and the revision number, followed by a series of chunks. Each chunk consists of
an ID string to identify the purpose of the chunk, the length of the block in bytes and the data.
The format is quite similar to XML, although chunks are not closed, whereas tags are closed
in XML.
The UNIF format identifies each mapper from the name of the board used, rather than via a
number. This ensures that only genuine boards can be used. Although the UNIF format
improves greatly on the iNES format, it is currently supported by fewer emulators and less
ROM files are available in the format. The iNES format should be gradually replaces by UNIF
within the next few years.
4.2 Famicom Disk System
Partially in response to rising chip
prices and partially as part of an effort
to make the Famicom more like a
computer,
Nintendo
released
the
Famicom Disk System in early 1986
[28]. The system allowed the Famicom
to run games stored on 2.5" magnetic
disks with 32 KB of RAM and 8 KB of
VRAM, rather than the traditional
cartridges [9]. The Famicom Disk
System is shown attached to the
Famicom in figure 4-5 and the Mario
Golf disk is shown in figure 4-6.
Nintendo hoped that the system would
allow for larger games, due to larger
capacities,
and
would
also
offer
cheaper prices to the consumer. The
Figure 4-5. Famicom attached to
disks were also reusable, allowing
Famicom Disk System [28].
gamers to replace a game with a new
one at special kiosks, paying a small fee rather than having to pay for a new disk [10]. Almost
2 million Disk Systems sold in 1986. However, the system was not popular with licensees
who had to decide which format to release games for, and Nintendo's strict licensing for Disk
System games also made the format unpopular. When semiconductor prices dropped,
cartridges could have a higher capacity than disks for the same price. Although over 4 million
Disk Systems were sold by 1990, the cartridge remained the main method of storing games
and the Famicom Disk System was never released outside Asia. More information on how
the Famicom Disk System worked can be found in [9].
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