Nintendo launched Super Famicom Jr. in Japan on 27 March 1998 as a compact, inexpensive revision of Super Famicom. It retained compatibility with the platform’s Japanese cartridges but simplified the exterior design and some of the connectivity compared with the original 1990 model. It was the Japanese equivalent of the North American redesign known as the New-Style Super NES. Its release extended the commercial life of the 16-bit platform when Nintendo 64 had already been on the Japanese market for almost two years, offering a simpler way to continue using the extensive Super Famicom catalogue.