Which Nintendo console was the first to use interchangeable game cartridges?

Nintendo’s Family Computer was the company’s first console to use interchangeable game cartridges.

Released in Japan on July 15, 1983, the Family Computer—usually shortened to Famicom—used removable ROM cartridges that players could insert into the console. This design allowed one machine to play many different games instead of being limited to software built into its hardware.

The Famicom launched with titles including Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Popeye. Its cartridge system helped Nintendo expand its library rapidly, while the console’s affordable design made it a major success in Japan. Nintendo later redesigned the system for Western markets as the Nintendo Entertainment System, which launched in North America in 1985.

A common mix-up is calling the NES Nintendo’s first cartridge console. The NES was the international redesign and successor of the Famicom, not the original Japanese system. Nintendo’s earlier Color TV-Game machines contained built-in games rather than accepting interchangeable cartridges.