CIC (Nintendo)

Common card · No. 498337

The Checking Integrated Circuit (CIC), also known as the 10NES system, is a lockout chip designed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game console in 1985; the chip is part of a system known as 10NES, in which a key (which is stored in the game) is used by the lock (stored in the console) to check that the game is authentic and that the game is for the same region as the console. The chip was designed in response to the North American video game crash of 1983, which was partially the result of a lack of both publishing and quality control; the idea was that by forcing third-party developers to have their games go through an approval process, Nintendo could stop shovelware from entering the market. Improved designs of the CIC chip were also used in the later Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Nintendo 64, although running an updated security program that performs additional checks. The lockout chip was controversial, with several developers opting to release...

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