Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in 1984. The Soviet state owned the rights. He collected no royalties for twelve years.
Alexey Pajitnov was a computer scientist at the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Soviet Academy of Sciences when he created Tetris in 1984. The game was built on an Electronika 60, a Soviet computer with no graphics capability — Pajitnov represented the falling pieces using text characters. He shared the game with colleagues, who shared it with others; it spread across the Soviet computing network before reaching Hungary, and from Hungary into Western Europe and the United States. By the time Tetris reached the West, it had left its creator entirely. Because Pajitnov worked at a Soviet state institution, the rights to Tetris belonged to the Soviet government. He received no compensation from any of the international licensing deals — the Nintendo handheld rights, the arcade agreements, the home console versions — that generated hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties during the 1980s and 1990s. He did not receive any share of those revenues until 1996, twelve years after the game's creation, when he had emigrated to the United States and partnered with Henk Rogers to establish The Tetris Company and finally claim his creation. The licensing rights to Tetris generated one of the most contentious legal battles in gaming history. Nintendo secured the handheld rights; Tengen, Atari's home software division, released an unlicensed NES cartridge and was sued. The Famicom version, released by Bullet-Proof Software in Japan in 1988, was among the early legitimate home releases of a game whose legal status in every market it entered had to be individually negotiated. The game itself — seven tetromino pieces, one narrow well, gravity — has not required modification since 1984.
About this game
The Famicom Tetris published by BPS in December 1988 was the first console version of Tetris ever commercially released — and it sold over two million copies in Japan, making it BPS's best-selling title. This version is separate from the better-known Nintendo NES Tetris (1989, North America): both used the same underlying game design from Alexey Pajitnov, but the BPS Famicom version was the first to reach living rooms, arriving two months before the Game Boy version and over a year before the NES cartridge.
Gallery
The Story Behind
The licensing rights to Tetris were legally contested: Robert Stein had sold BPS's founder Henk Rogers the console rights under a misinterpretation — Stein thought 'computers' covered consoles. When Nintendo acquired worldwide console rights directly from the Soviet agency ELORG, BPS's Japanese console rights were retroactively authorized through a sub-license from Nintendo. This complex legal battle became the subject of the 2023 film Tetris starring Taron Egerton as Henk Rogers.
Tricks & Tales
The BPS Famicom Tetris was the first Tetris version anywhere to include the iconic 'Korobeiniki' melody (the famous 'Tetris Theme') in a home release. Composer Hiroshi Taguchi's original piece 'Technotris,' written for this game, later appeared in Super Tetris 3 (Super Famicom) and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. The game sold out repeatedly after launch; BPS had difficulty keeping up with demand.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Japan exclusive Famicom release. The North American NES Tetris (1989, Nintendo) is a separate product with different music and presentation.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Tetris copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Famicom cartridge work on a North American Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
No, not without an adapter. The Famicom uses a 60-pin edge connector while the NES uses a 72-pin connector with a physically different form factor — the two are incompatible at the cartridge slot level. Third-party adapters exist that bridge the pin difference and allow Famicom cartridges to run in a NES. On a Japanese Famicom, NES cartridges face the same incompatibility in reverse. To play Japanese Famicom software, you need a Japanese Famicom, a Famicom-compatible clone console, or a NES fitted with an appropriate adapter.
How should I clean a Famicom cartridge to ensure reliable play?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated PCB edge contacts on the base of the cartridge. Never blow into the cartridge — breath moisture accelerates contact corrosion over time. If cleaning is needed inside, Famicom cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws (not standard Phillips); a security bit screwdriver is required to open the shell without damage. Note that most Famicom boot failures originate in the 60-pin console slot rather than the cartridge itself — cleaning the console slot contacts separately with a contact cleaning tool is often the more effective fix.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Tetris
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Tetris sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
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