Difference between revisions of "Mega Drive region converter cartridges"
From Sega Retro
Lukdriver14 (talk | contribs) m (→Physical scans) |
|||
(4 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
==Physical scans== | ==Physical scans== | ||
− | {| | + | {{AccessoryReleaseTable| |
− | + | {{AccessoryRelease | |
− | + | | cover=Datel Pro Universal Adaptor MD UK Cover.jpg | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | | | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
| name=Professional Universal Adapter | | name=Professional Universal Adapter | ||
| brand=[[Datel]] | | brand=[[Datel]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|UK||{{gte}} 1991}} |
| image1=ProfessionalUniversalAdaptor MD.jpg | | image1=ProfessionalUniversalAdaptor MD.jpg | ||
Line 50: | Line 40: | ||
| brand=[[Datel]] | | brand=[[Datel]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|UK||{{gte}} 1991}} |
| image1=UniversalAdapter MD.jpg | | image1=UniversalAdapter MD.jpg | ||
Line 65: | Line 55: | ||
| brand=[[Datel]] | | brand=[[Datel]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|UK||{{gte}} 1991}} |
| image1=UniversalAdapter MD.jpg | | image1=UniversalAdapter MD.jpg | ||
Line 80: | Line 70: | ||
| brand=[[Fire]] | | brand=[[Fire]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1= | | image1= | ||
Line 95: | Line 85: | ||
| brand=[[Fire]] | | brand=[[Fire]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1= | | image1= | ||
Line 110: | Line 100: | ||
| brand=[[Freetron]] | | brand=[[Freetron]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey MD Freetron.jpg | | image1=MegaKey MD Freetron.jpg | ||
Line 125: | Line 115: | ||
| brand=[[Freetron]] | | brand=[[Freetron]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey MD Freetron Alt.jpg | | image1=MegaKey MD Freetron Alt.jpg | ||
Line 140: | Line 130: | ||
| brand=[[Freetron]] | | brand=[[Freetron]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey2 MD Alt.jpg | | image1=MegaKey2 MD Alt.jpg | ||
Line 155: | Line 145: | ||
| brand=[[Gold Dragon]] | | brand=[[Gold Dragon]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1= | | image1= | ||
Line 168: | Line 158: | ||
| brand=[[Honey Bee]] | | brand=[[Honey Bee]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=GameAdaptor MD.jpg | | image1=GameAdaptor MD.jpg | ||
Line 181: | Line 171: | ||
| brand=[[Honey Bee]] | | brand=[[Honey Bee]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=GameAdaptor MD black.jpg | | image1=GameAdaptor MD black.jpg | ||
Line 193: | Line 183: | ||
| brand=[[Megacom]] | | brand=[[Megacom]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1991}} |
| image1= | | image1= | ||
Line 205: | Line 195: | ||
| brand=[[Megacom]] | | brand=[[Megacom]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1991}} |
| image1=MegacomMemoryModule MD.jpg | | image1=MegacomMemoryModule MD.jpg | ||
Line 217: | Line 207: | ||
| brand=[[Megacom]] | | brand=[[Megacom]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1991}} |
| image1=MegacomMemoryModule MD Red.jpg | | image1=MegacomMemoryModule MD Red.jpg | ||
Line 233: | Line 223: | ||
| brand=[[Realtec]] | | brand=[[Realtec]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=SuperMegaKey MD.jpg | | image1=SuperMegaKey MD.jpg | ||
+ | | image1name= | ||
+ | }} | ||
+ | {{AccessoryRelease | ||
+ | | front= | ||
+ | | back= | ||
+ | | spinemissing= | ||
+ | | square=yes | ||
+ | |||
+ | | name=Video Game Cartridge Converter | ||
+ | | brand=[[Realtec]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||1992}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | | image1= | ||
| image1name= | | image1name= | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 248: | Line 252: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=CodeBuster MD.jpg | | image1=CodeBuster MD.jpg | ||
Line 264: | Line 268: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=GameAdaptor MD Alt.jpg | | image1=GameAdaptor MD Alt.jpg | ||
Line 282: | Line 286: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MD Megacom Game Module & Protector Green Front.jpg | | image1=MD Megacom Game Module & Protector Green Front.jpg | ||
Line 297: | Line 301: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=GameModuleandProtector MD.jpg | | image1=GameModuleandProtector MD.jpg | ||
Line 312: | Line 316: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1993}} |
| image1= | | image1= | ||
Line 327: | Line 331: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MagicKeyIII MD.jpg | | image1=MagicKeyIII MD.jpg | ||
Line 342: | Line 346: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaConverter MD.jpg | | image1=MegaConverter MD.jpg | ||
Line 355: | Line 359: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaConverter MD Alt.jpg | | image1=MegaConverter MD Alt.jpg | ||
Line 369: | Line 373: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaDriveConverter MD.jpg | | image1=MegaDriveConverter MD.jpg | ||
Line 384: | Line 388: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey MD.jpg | | image1=MegaKey MD.jpg | ||
Line 399: | Line 403: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey MD Alt.jpg | | image1=MegaKey MD Alt.jpg | ||
Line 414: | Line 418: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey2 MD.jpg | | image1=MegaKey2 MD.jpg | ||
Line 432: | Line 436: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey3 MD.jpg | | image1=MegaKey3 MD.jpg | ||
Line 447: | Line 451: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=MegaKey MD PT.jpg | | image1=MegaKey MD PT.jpg | ||
Line 463: | Line 467: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=SuperKey MD.jpg | | image1=SuperKey MD.jpg | ||
Line 478: | Line 482: | ||
| brand=?? | | brand=?? | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1990}} |
| image1=TVGCCC MD.jpg | | image1=TVGCCC MD.jpg | ||
Line 487: | Line 491: | ||
| front=Bitman Mega Key RU Box Front.jpg | | front=Bitman Mega Key RU Box Front.jpg | ||
| back=Bitman Mega Key RU Box Back.jpg | | back=Bitman Mega Key RU Box Back.jpg | ||
− | | spinemissing= | + | | spinemissing=yes |
| square=yes | | square=yes | ||
Line 493: | Line 497: | ||
| brand=[[Bitman]] | | brand=[[Bitman]] | ||
− | | | + | | dateprice={{DatePrice|||{{gte}} 1994}} |
| image1=MegaKey2 MD.jpg | | image1=MegaKey2 MD.jpg | ||
Line 500: | Line 504: | ||
| image2name= | | image2name= | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | + | }} | |
==References== | ==References== |
Latest revision as of 16:52, 12 October 2023
The Sega Mega Drive was Sega's first console to offer games which were region locked, i.e. cartridges which can only be played on specific regional hardware. To overcome this problem one solution was to use a Mega Drive Region Converter.
From a Sega perspective there are three "main" regions - NTSC-J, the format used for consoles in Japan, NTSC-U, the format used in North America, and PAL, used in Europe and Australia. Other regions would pick one of the three formats - Brazil typically went for NTSC-U and Asia used a mixture of PAL and NTSC depending on the country. There are other forms of region locking too - Japanese cartridges are a different shape than their western counterparts and won't physically fit in some consoles (similar to the "region locking" of the Sega Master System).
Traditionally this means a game intended for use with a North American Sega Genesis could not work on a European Sega Mega Drive. There are, in fact, many exceptions to this rule as not all software was region locked on the system, but in many cases there was still an obstruction. Region encoding would generally have a greater impact with the Sega Mega-CD, Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast - in the early 1990s few people contemplated the idea of importing games as there were often no easy methods of doing so.
There are no official Mega Drive region converters but numerous unlicensed third party ones. Most typically originate from Asia where there was far less regulation on this sort of thing and numerous television standards between countries. In all cases a region converter is inserted into a Mega Drive system in-between the console and game cartridge, forming a "tower" (and avoiding sizing issues in the process). Some region converters have switches to toggle between regions, while others merely convert to a specific region.
In no cases do Mega Drive region converters solve coding issues. For example, a game designed for 60Hz NTSC televisions will run roughly 17% slower on a 50Hz PAL television due to the difference in refresh rate (and likewise a European game running on an NTSC TV will likely run too fast). Resolutions can also differ - PAL Mega Drives can in theory display 320x240 images while NTSC ones can only achieve 320x224, though very few games take advantage of the extra sixteen rows of pixels.
It should be noted that some devices such as the Game Genie can also act as region converters. More recent consoles by AtGames have region converting features built in (and of course there is always the option of modifying the internals of the console manually.)
Magazine articles
- Main article: Mega Drive region converter cartridges/Magazine articles.
Physical scans
Box | Name | Brand | Date & Price | Images | Documentation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Professional Universal Adapter | Datel | UK: (≥ 1991)
|
|
||
Universal Adapter | Datel | UK: (≥ 1991)
|
|
||
Universal Adapter | Datel | UK: (≥ 1991)
|
|
||
Nitro Adaptor | Fire | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Nitro Adaptor 2 | Fire | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key | Freetron | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key | Freetron | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key 2 | Freetron | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key | Gold Dragon | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Game Adaptor | Honey Bee | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Game Adaptor(?) | Honey Bee | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Memory Module | Megacom | (≥ 1991)
|
|
||
Memory Module | Megacom | (≥ 1991)
|
|
||
Memory Module | Megacom | (≥ 1991)
|
|
||
Super Mega Key | Realtec | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Video Game Cartridge Converter | Realtec | (1992)
|
|
||
Code Buster | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Game Adaptor (or Mega Adaptor) | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Game Module & Protector | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Game Module & Protector | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Game Module & Protector II | ?? | (≥ 1993)
|
|
||
Magic Key III | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Converter | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Converter | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
MegaDrive Converter | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key 2 | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key 3 | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Mega Key (Portuguese) | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Super Key | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
TV Game Computer Cartridge Converter | ?? | (≥ 1990)
|
|
||
Bitman Mega Key | Bitman | (≥ 1994)
|
|
References