To accompany the release of the original Famicom in Japan, Nintendo released the Famicom Disk System. The device, a disk-reading add-on, enabled the use of games with increased memory capacity and allowed game saves using an internal-battery. Kiosks called "Disk Writers" were located in retailers across Japan and allowed gamers to download games to a rewritable Famicom disk for a small fee. The Famicom Disk System was initially appealing due to its disk's minimal cost and large storage space. A disk could be produced for a fraction of the price of a cartridge and contained a massive 128K of storage. The cheap software was great for consumers however publishers and retailers complained that the Disk Writer machines were severely cutting into their sales. Furthermore an unlicensed device was introduced to the market that connected two Disk Systems and allowed the illegal copying of games. The service became very popular for these reasons. Unfortunately, advancing technology would eventually render the disks obsolete. In the years after the Disk System's release transistor prices dropped and battery backup technology improved significantly faster than Nintendo had anticipated. These features were soon possible for developers to include in standard carts. The result was that America received many Disk System titles including The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Kid Icarus on standard game carts rather than on disks. Despite only being released in Japan, many of its innovations, including its rewritable software and battery-save that successfully replaced the ancient password system, have all left a permanent mark on the industry.

Toward the tail-end of the service's life, when the kiosks were no longer present in stores, users were given the option to mail-in their disks and acquire games directly from Nintendo for a postage and tax fee of 500 Yen. Nintendo closed the Disk System service on September 30, 2003, after over 17 years.