NES creator explains why the system was made into a front-loader for the West

The Famicom was a top-loading game system, but that changed when Nintendo brought the hardware over as the NES. Why did the system have its cartridge slot moved from the top to the front? Masayuki Uemura, the man responsible for designing the NES, recently revealed the details during a presentation at the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield.

On the Famicom, the cartridge was directly connected to the hardware inside. So if you attach the video [game cartridge] to the actual devices, there’s static and charges, and [this can result in a] short circuit. Unlike Japan, where it’s humid, Texas, for example, in North America is very dry, so it’s likely that children, when they touch it, will [cause a] short circuit. And in the living room there are rugs and stuff like that, so it’s likely that we will have static. So front-loading prevents children from actually touching their hands to the devices, that’s why [we developed it] as a front loader.

You probably have the same question I do. If static was the reason for the redesign, why did the second version of the NES go back to a top-loading slot?! Unfortunately, no answer was given, so the decision remains a mystery.