Plastic discoloration: why your SNES turned yellow

by Blake Snow on Jan 17th 2007 12:46PM

Why did your SNES (or any plastic housing for that matter) turn yellow ochre? Vintage Computing and Gaming investigates the issue through good old-fashioned forum searching, Nintendo contacting, and expert chatting. An antiquated Nintendo response claims that the flame-resistant chemical used in the case discolors via exposure to heat, air, or light over time. One plastics expert suggested that manufacturers avoided using color defending plastics back in the day because of cost.

So what can you do to prevent plastic discoloration of your beloved SNES (assuming it isn't already hideous)? The article recommends coating it with spray-on plastic. That's right. Sleeve it.

[via Slashdot]

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Reader Comments (46)

Mine has been hideously discolored for awhile now. I always wondered why the bottom plastic or the plastic around the cartridge didnt turn yellow though.

Mine is yellow; but not THAT yellow.

I kind of like the one on the right. It looks classier. Bronzed.

My mother decided I was allowed to have a console one year before the release of the N64, which means my console has not discolored in the slightest. Nintendo has always made good hardware and I'm pleased to say my SNES still works :D

I had the SNES since 1989 and it hasnt turned yellow. Its now the home of many roaches, but its not yellow.

I bought the updated SNES in 1998 or 1999 and it hasn't turned yellow on me. Fire retardant coating? You've got to be kidding me! Like a coating is going to prevent that SNES from melting and if I had a house fire my SNES would be the last thing on my mind.

I always thought that electronics makers intentionally used that hideous beige color for PCs (and in this case the slightly different SNES color) because the color would turn yellow over time and basically signify "I'm old! Replace me with something new and pretty!"

I'm still convinced that's why PCs were produced in that ugly beige color.

Wow you had a Snes before it ever came out

3. Sphere:

Are you sure about those dates? The SNES was released in August 1991. Even the Super Famicom model wasn't released until late 1990.

umm...console is 15 yrs old...who cares?

I have two SNES's. The one I used forever until it stopped working is not discolored at all. The other one, which does work, I got from my cousin and it was discolored exactly like the picture in the article. I think he kept his in the closet or attic or something...

No wonder Sphere's SNES didn't change color - it's one of those amazing time-travelling ones that can just go back in time to be the original color.

Eh, mine changed color years ago. Not as strongly as the one in the pic, but still it's yellow. However, considering it works just fine, I don't see any reason to worry. I personally don't spend much time looking at the console itself, but instead focus on the games its playing.

From what I've heard, only SNES models made after '94 turn yellow. The earier models were made with slightly different materials and didn't yellow. Weird how ONLY the top yellows.

My brick Game Boy is all yellow, too.

Everyone jumped on Sphere for his date reference - what about the fact that he said ROACHES live in his SNES? I find that to be a bit more of an issue.

Just think of what the Wii is gonna look like in a few years. White was a bad choice, not only does it not match my surrounding TV components, but I imagine it will get dirty-looking pretty quick (similar to the white macbook problem)

My fiancee and her sister each got SNES systems for Christmas back at launch. Interestingly, the two systems were bought at the same store and have sequential serial numbers.

One yellowed somewhat and the other didn't.

*shrug*

@9 False.

My 1992 SNES is about halfway between the two shown in those pictures.

Eh, my SNES is still mint-grey. :)

My two NESes are still in great grey conditioning; no yellow whatsoever.

@ #10
I know! I wouldn't let any vermin that could survive a nuclear war near my time traveling game system; they could use it for evil.

It's what's on the inside that counts.

My SNES hasn't yellowed at all but I have seen a few like those. Generally leaving
a console in the sunlight or a smoke filled environment can cause that kind of yellowing.

my snes hasnt turned yellow at all its a pal snes so it started out that kind of grey colour and its just a bit dirty and it was my uncles before i had it and he smokes so our design must have used better plastic i prefer the design as well

Mine hides in the back of the entertainment center in all its yellowish glory. I got mine in 1993. Used. So either way, it's definitely pre-'94 AND yellow.

But yeah, why didn't they use the same plastic on top as they did for the bottom?

Has anyone considered that maybe it's connected to tobacco use or smoking? It might do that if the one set of plastic happened to be porous.

I know that's just the type of yellow my aunt's white curtains seem to turn, and she's a heavy smoker. Meanwhile, no one in my family has ever smoked, and my SNES looks just fine.

I gutted mine out and used it for parts. HA HA HA! (not funny)

It's not smoking. My grandma's SNES is turning yellow and has never been near smoke.

I always thought it was because my parents smoked and the smoke turned it a different color. Why did I believe this? 1- Everything else would turn yellow because they smoked and 2- Because two of my friends who's parents didn't smoke had a perfectly grayish shiny SNES. My NES never got discolored though which is interesting.

My SNES is sparkly gold and has a Decepticon spray painted on the top of it.

It is awesome.

Only the bottom half of my SNES has discolored for some reason and it is a unit from the Christmas of the launch year.

Yellow is the color of pee

Another possible reason as to why the system might turn yellow is that since it's pretty obvious the thing is made out of some kind of plastic polymer, any exposure to UV light(i.e., sunlight) over a long period of time could cause what is known as "photodegradation." While the mechanism as to how this occurs isn't entirely known, it basically takes place due to impurities that are introduced into the plastic during manufacturing. To take these out, or make sure they don't get into the plastic would add significant cost to the production of the console (especially when you're talking about millions and millions of units). As far as I know, adding a flame-retarding agent to a plastic increases the amount of impurities introduced and may accelerate the discoloration process, especially if left out in the open rather than, say, a closet.

My SNES hasn't turned yellow either, but then it was always in a cooler, darker part of the house, or at least kept from direct sunlight most of the time.

Roaches used to hangout in my snes. I found out when looked inside cuz the won't work and saw the poor guy. He was smashed I guess he wanted to make the cart reader his home lol

It's a Zelda edition SNES. Sell it on Ebay.

First off, David004, your grandma is awesome.

Second, it's something that definitely happened to first-run SNES consoles and not necessarily as a result of smoking. I received my SNES for Christmas in 1991, and nobody in my household smoked. And yet, mine is a bit yellowed. I heard that it was merely the plastic they used back then, and that Nintendo switched to a more color-resistant plastic for later runs of the console.

As for the roaches - it could be worse, they could have used the original Game Boy (which also could survive a nuclear war) and used it to travel through time to kill us all.

I always thought that my yellowing SNES was because of my smoking (I've since quit), but thought it weird that the controllers never yellowed, even though I'd smoke and play at the same time.

Wow, with that shade of yellow, it's GOLD, and it looks badass! I want a yellow SNES too!

Yea that looks about right.
I just thought my friends and I smoked too much.

Don't do drugs kids.
-G

This is an extremely interesting article and this guy has done his research properly. Kudos joystiq on finding this. Indeed it really was an interesting question.

When nintendo made first made the snes they made it with a higher quality plastic (the ones that look grey now) and as production went on they used a lower quality plastic, and it wasnt smoking or you peeing on it, no my friends, it was oxidation that caused your snes' crappier plastic to turn yellow.

And if your wondering why the yellow ones still have the grey part around the cartrige slot, well its cause that nintendo still made those parts with the better plastic.

My SNES is not yellow. A little opaque, yes.

I've always wondered about this as well. I got my SNES on launch day and mine looks almost as bad as the one on the right.

I tried like crazy to clean the discoloration off a couple months ago to no avail... I guess this explains it.

Mine looks like that, can you image in another 10 or 20years, it will probably be dookie brown

HOW TO FIX: Remove plastic shells from the console and soak them in bleach for a few hours. Works every time.

i have 2 nes's, ones turning yellow, and one is still grey, both work fine too

I was expecting an answer to reverse this horrible occurrence. Hm, back to the drawing board.

I got my SNES on christmas of 1992. Yes, it has also yellowed, slightly, but only the top part (the bottom and the sides are perfect) where the power + reset buttons lie. Also, during that period (92-98)I lived in an apartment with really weak curtains and the sun would always shine on the SNES. what's strange is that the controllers never turned yellow.

The sun also discoloured a number of photos and electronics just as bad as my SNES. Personally, I think it's the sun's fault for the yellowing (or possibly mine, for not covering the SNES up).

Hey guys, you don't have to keep speculating on why SNESes yellow. If you actually read the article, it tells you, and it tells you better than anything else you'll ever read about it.

Plastic discoloration: why your SNES turned yellow

Reader Comments (46)

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