They're virtually the same chip, sharing for the most part the same mappers and functions etc.; the only real difference between the two (and a very relevant one in our case) is that the N163 actually includes expansion audio, which the N106 doesn't,
Pretty much, yeah. All the cool kids are calling it the N163 nowadays~~ Frankly I'm amazed it took so long for people to realise the error of their ways - the Nesdev Wiki has been telling it like it is for over a year now.
The reason it was called Namco 106 initially is because that was the name in the original RE document by goroh, which also described the sound registers. I didn't discover the new name until it was labeled 163 in Nestopia, but that seems to be the accepted name. Honestly I have no idea where either name comes from anyway, I checked some PCBs but I don't see it printed anywhere.
There's an N106 (Yes, I am still going to say N106 instead of N163) game I've always wanted to do a cover of (I already did the 2A03 US version). I'm not saying what it is though because I don't want anyone to get to it before me. Though I don't think anyone else will cover the game.
So basically, N163 is a variation of the N106 that actually used the extra audio. Same for the SN5B, which is a variation of the FME7 that used the extra audio. Pretty simple.
Would it be possible to make some kind of PCB designed for the NES that actually worked on a NES with extra sound? If it's possible would it be different compared to using the PowerPak (I don't know if N163 is supported on the PowerPak)?
