Comment by pbhjpbhj

Comment by pbhjpbhj 10 hours ago

2 replies

No firmware, no microcode? It's all completely hard-wired?

(Genuine question, I've no idea what chips it uses or anything - was never rich enough to have a game console until I started work myself.)

zeta0134 36 minutes ago

Nope! The system does include a CIC lockout chip, but emulators pretend it doesn't exist. The CPU immediately begins executing game code at power on. There is no BIOS or operating system, and indeed no fixed ROM inside the console at all.

ronsor 8 hours ago

No firmware, no microcode. The NES uses an old 8-bit CPU and a few custom chips; at the time, including firmware would've been too costly (think of the RAM and ROM!).