Comment 1: This device is similar to the game kiosks in game stores in Japan which allowed you to buy a diskette and insert money into the device and it would copy a game onto your diskette, for use in the Famciom Disk System. Except, this uses flash RAM carts and works with the Super Famicom. This is apparently a new development for the SFC, I had never heard of it before. More games are planned for exclusive release in this format. I guess the SFC still has some life left in it after all, too bad I can't say the same for the US SNES, however. Below is some information about this nifty device.

Licenced to Copy - By Nintendo Available only in Japan, Nintendo actually makes a game copier of its own. It's called 'Nintendo Power'. Sharing the same name as Nintendo's magazine, Nintendo Power (NP for short) allows you to copy a game from this machine and play it into your SNES console, at a significantly lower cost.

It works something like this: First you buy a SFC cart named 'SF Memory Cassette', which contains 32Mbit flash memory and 256kbit SRAM for 3980 yen. Then you go to a shop with a NP machine, insert the cart, and choose the title(s) you want from the machine. If your cart is already full, you will need to delete some space. After you have downloaded the games, you go to the counter and pay for the titles, and receives the manual(s) for the respective game(s) within 3 minutes. The titles for NP costs 1000 yen (old) to 3000 yen (new ones, especially the ones sold exclusively for NP) per title, which is much cheaper than they were originally released. There are, however, some titles are missing from the NP releases. All the titles that require special chips like DSP, Super FX, etc. are not available as part of NP inventory. Note: 2 Mbit titles (eg Space Invader) automatically rounded up to use 1 block of flash memory each. Similarly, 10 Mbit title (eg Final Fight 2) uses 3 blocks of flash memory.

Below is a list an incomplete of games released on Nintendo Power:
Contra Spirits
The Firemen
Ganbare Goemon 3
Ganbare Goemon 4: Kira Kira Douchuu: Boku Ga Dancer Ni Natta Riyuu
Ganbare Goemon: Soreyuke Ebisumaru Karakuri Meiro
Kiki Kai Kai (aka Pocky and Rocky)
Kiki Kai Kai 3 (aka Pocky and Rocky 2)
Parodius
Super Donkey Kong (aka Donkey Kong Country)
Super Donkey Kong 2(aka Donkey Kong Country 2)
Super Donkey Kong 3(aka Donkey Kong Country 3)

Comment 2: Japanese Nintendo Power Cartrige and Copier

If you've had (or still have) an interest in the old Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom, you've probably heard of the Famicom Disk System and it's Disk Writer System. Back then stores had this sort of vending machine where you were able to buy a new Famicom game if you had an empty FDS (Famicom Disk System) disk.

This system is very similar, but for the SNES and has a FLASH-ROM cart instead of the disk. Else everything is pretty much similar. You buy this special 32mbit flash rom cart which you insert into a machine and choose a game which then will be copied onto the flashrom cartridge.

Because the cartridge is a "FLASH-ROM", you're able to rewrite the cart over and over. The cartridge itself cost around 3900yen, and the games are from 1000 to 3000yen, depending on their popularity. Most of the games were once released on carts, but some games are actually made exclusively for the "Nintendo Power Copier", just like the old FDS. You are also able to put more than one game on each Power Cartridge, though I think the maximum is 3 games, even if they're all 4mbit ones.

I personally think this idea is incredible cool and wish that we would get something like that here in the western world. Also, it must be quite popular "over there" since Nintendo of Japan's (NCL) site is stuffed with new titles available on the Nintendo Power Copier.