Guerilla Video Gaming By Craig E. Engler (Author's Note: The following information was provided in a large part from a source within the video game industry who chooses to remain anonymous. None of the information has been verified, and I myself have never seen one of these systems and do not know anyone who has obtained one. The legality of these "back up" systems is also a gray area. Neither I nor the publisher of Zapp! are trying to promote these systems in any way. This article is simply meant to provide a closer look at some "underground" technology that is a source of constant rumors in video game circles everywhere.) Anyone who owns a video game system has heard the rumors: There's a 100 in one gamepak available in Taiwan... There's a console that's a SNES, Genny and Turbo all in one, over in Europe... In Japan there's a device that will allow you to alter your gamepaks... In the U.S., the kid next door has a system that will let you copy your carts... All of this technology has always flourished in the video game underground, and some of it has even slipped across the line from illegal rumors to legal hardware. For instance, three years ago people were smuggling Game Genies for the NES across the border from Canada because Galoob wasn't able to sell their product in the U.S. Nintendo had a court order prohibiting the sale of Game Genies because they claimed the device impinged on their rights. Recently Galoob won the court battle and now Game Genies are available throughout the country. That decision paved the way for other systems such as the Game Action Replay for the Sega Genesis, and now similar devices are available at the local Toys R Us or Software, Etc. However, other technology remains underground, available only through overseas vendors or on the gray market. One of the systems that has been causing a lot of rumors lately is the Super Magicom, a device that will let you copy game carts onto regular computer disks. Using the system you can play the games from just the disk, so it's possible to "pirate" carts even though the code is literally etched in plastic. The advantages of such a system are obvious. You can copy games you rent or borrow from friends, and although that is clearly illegal, with carts costing anywhere from a $20 Genny special to a 250 Neo Geo game, the idea is certainly tempting to some. Also, though pirates it's possible to get a hold of games before they're released (and at a substantially reduced price), or to get the Japanese version long before it's ported over to U.S. systems. The big disadvantage with game copiers is that if their use becomes widespread, it will certainly drive cart prices up to phenomenal heights as companies seek to recoup losses suffered through piracy. Copiers could easily destroy the industry itself if pirating gets out of hand, because even though companies are gouging consumers now with game prices, they will have to up costs to continue profit margins if their games can be handed from player to player with no money being paid out. Whether these copying systems are legal (or even ethical), the fact remains that they exist. It's even getting easier to purchase game copiers. Within the span of one or two weeks it was possible to obtain the number of four vendors that claimed to carry one or more copying machines, and that with only casual inquiries. Unfortunately, all the vendors were from outside of the U.S. and it was never confirmed if they were able to produce the systems in question. There was a great deal of variety in the offerings though, and it turns out the Super Magicom is only one of many game copiers in existence. The Super Magicom itself is designed solely for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. For about $300 you can reportedly get the base unit which will copy games up to eight megs, excluding gamepaks with battery back ups. For $400 the Super Magicom comes in a configuration which will allow you to copy 16 meg carts. The second system is the Super Magic Drive, which is a Super Magicom designed for the Genesis. Again, the two models available are the $300 version which will copy carts up to eight megs, and the $400 which will copy 16 meg carts. The third system is the most interesting, versatile and, of course, expensive. It's the Multi Game Doctor II which has a base price of $200. For the money you'll get a drive and a cartridge slot. The back up unit costs an additional $100. What you'll end up with is a system that reportedly looks like a box with ports for each type of cartridge. There's also an attachment that will let you hook up the unit to a personal computer and allow you to change parameters such as extra lives, energy, etc. How this supposedly works is you load up one or two Ramcards (the former for eight meg carts and the latter for 16 meg games) with the game from the disks, then you place the Ramcards in an adapter for whichever system you want to use it on. Each adapter is sold separately, and they range in price from $30 to $100. With a full system you should be able to copy games for the SNES, Genny, PC Engine (Turobgrafx), GameBoy or Game Gear. The total cost would end up somewhere around $1,000 plus the mark up from your retailer/pirate. The manufacturer is also rumored to be releasing an adapter for the Neo Geo system. The Multi Game Doctor II can be easily customized for your game system or systems, and once the main components are bought the add ons won't hurt your budget so much. A fourth system which has also been rumored is the Game Hunter. This system has been offered for about $500 and supposedly will copy games for both the SNES and the Genny, handling carts up to 16 megs. It has a built-in operating system for formatting disks along with an on-screen menu system. The list doesn't stop there, and rumor has it that there are several more game copiers available for almost every video game system. With little searching it seems it's easy to turn up someone or some company willing to sell these devices, although whether or not they can produce what they're offering is a different story. For now, the game copiers are more rumor than fact in most places, and if they do come into widespread use it's fairly easy for companies to protect their carts from piracy. Chances are you won't be in a position to pick a copier up anytime soon, but it does make gaming a little more interesting knowing. Craig E. Engler