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 WELCOME TO ROB'S
GAME GEAR ACCESSORIES SECTION! This Section Last Updated Why
all the bits and bobs?
The
Sega Game Gear has some really excellent accessories which are totally
unique to this console. In
this section, my aim is to provide the most definitive list of Game
Gear accessories to be found anywhere on or off the web! Enjoy! Accessories Sega
New Alkaline Sega
Battery Pack Sega
AC Adaptor Sega
TV Pack Sega
Master Gear Simple Start Solar Gear Time Gear GG-Pro Flash Cartridge SMS-Pro Flash Cartridge GameGear TV Blast I Game Gear Capacitor Fix
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| Sega TV Auto Tuner Coming Soon! | Sega External Antenna Coming Soon! | Sega Carry Cases Coming Soon! |
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ROB'S
DEFINITIVE GAME GEAR ACCESSORIES LIST
PRESENT TOTAL: 23 ITEMS! Non-Rechargeable Batteries all non-rechargeable battery options so that you can play your Game Gear anywhere and anytime ! last updated: 12/07/09 Sega
Mega Power New Alkaline Batteries
 These non-rechargeable
AA alkalines were released in packs of six as longer-lasting
batteries for the Sega Game Gear as part of the Mega
Power range in the early 1990s.They were also advertised as being ecologically and environmentally friendly because they do not contain cadmium nor mercury. Packs of these batteries are rare to find and only important for collectors now as any survivors are likely to be leaking chemicals through their oxidised casings and will look like this! More Non-Rechargeable Battery Images
More Non-Rechargeable Battery Information In my opinion, no one should really be buying non-reusable batteries nowadays with such excellent rechargeable batteries on the market. Nevertheless, the Rayovac batteries are closest to the Sega originals because they are the most environmental heavy duty alkalines with no mercury nor cadmium; they are also leakproof with packaging that is easy to open, resealable and recyclable. However, if you want or need to buy some batteries to be used only once then I would definitely recommend the lithium batteries from Energizer above all the rest. Lithium AA batteries have a higher energy density which means that they can store more energy for their size and weight. They also have a lower self discharge rate which means that they retain their charge for a longer time even if they are installed and kept in the Game Gear. I have not yet tried the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries, but the noticeable difference in battery life should be huge. Rechargeable
Batteries
all rechargeable battery options so that you can play your Game Gear endlessly anywhere and anytime ! last updated: 14/07/09 Sega Battery Pack  The Battery
Pack was Sega's first solution to the problem of the Game Gear's
low battery life with standard AAs. As far as I know, the Battery Pack is the only rechargeable battery in Europe for the Game Gear released by Sega. It is recharged via the AC mains or Car adapter (see my cables section) on an internal timer which takes 8 hours. Once charged, it supplies approximately 3 hours of extra uninterrupted gameplay and can be recharged 300 times. There is a clip on the reverse of the battery pack so that it can be attached to clothes when carried around. However, having to be carried around separately, yet still attached to the Game Gear, does make the portable console rather less portable. Sega PowerBack  The
PowerBack, or Power Battery in Japan, is the
second and final rechargeable battery option released by Sega for the
Game
Gear. In the USA, the PowerBack was released
seperately (left),
and also packaged with the AC
mains
adaptorVery similar to the Battery Pack above except that the PowerBack is clipped onto the back of the Game Gear so that it does not need to be carried seperately (see here), the PowerBack also features faster charge times as it has a quick charge mode, and is reported to provide approximately 4 hours of Gameplay. More Rechargeable Battery Images
More Rechargeable Battery Information The rechargeable NiMH and Lithium-Ion batteries which we use today for devices such as digital cameras that have a high energy drain would not become mainstream until after the Game Gear was no longer released; thus the battery packs which were sold at that time all contained NiCd batteries of approximately 1200mAh. Because of the age of these accessories, the NiCd batteries will almost certainly have degraded until they have very little capacity left. Your best bet, if you want one of these original power packs, is to buy one which is unopened and unused. The Sega PowerBack is easier than the Sega Battery Pack to find boxed new and unopened on Ebay and other websites, but even then, these power packs will only offer a maximum of 4 hours battery life compared with modern battery options. Rechargeable Lithium batteries are not produced in AA size but for a non-rechargeable AA battery, lithium cells are by far the best (see my Non-Rechargeable Batteries section here) Thankfully, there is a much better and simpler solution than non-rechargeables and power packs since we now have rechargeable Ni-MH batteries in standard AA size which are specifically designed for high-drain devices; they can be recharged up to 1000 times and, unlike NiCd rechargeable batteries which can only be recharged about 500 times, do not suffer from 'memory effect' - you must fully deplete NiCd batteries before recharging or else you will shorten their life span. NiMH batteries are also commonly considered to have a lower environmental impact than NiCd batteries, due to the absence of toxic cadmium. The most important thing is to buy rechargeable NiMH batteries with the highest capacity, so purchase 6 AA NiMH batteries of 2700mAh or higher and they should give you more than 10 hours of gameplay on a Sega Game Gear (reportedly 15 hours)! NiMH batteries also have 1-hour chargers available now, but it is still a good idea to keep a second set of 6 charged and ready for when your batteries run out. It is fun to use an original Sega power pack with the Game Gear, and it is certainly handier to recharge one battery unit than 6 individual AA batteries, but 12 AA 3000mAh NiMH batteries running a Game Gear away from a mains will provide endless hours of gameplay before the first 6 need recharging! top of page
Cable
Accessories
all cable accessory options explained so you can make an informed decision ! last updated: 14/07/09 Sega
AC Adaptor Original Sega AC adaptors are not difficult to find on Ebay and other websites worldwide. This is the official Sega AC Adaptor for use in the USA in the revamped second style of packaging. More
AC Adaptor Images
More AC Adaptor Information The AC Adaptor is an absolute must for any Game Gear owner. Much better than using batteries unnecessarily, simply plug your Game Gear into any standard wall socket and play until your heart's content! The Game Gear console is a portable system which can be taken and is for sale all around the world - Europe, Japan, USA, Canada, Australia, and so on. Furthermore, the most interesting consoles (red, yellow, blue, etc) were released mainly in Japan (see the Console Section here), so how safe is it to plug your Coca Cola Game Gear console bought in Japan directly into the mains outlet in your country? - the great news is that it is not that complicated a situation at all! The output voltage for all Game Gears is 9V, so no matter if the Game Gear you own is from Europe, Japan or the USA (I have both Japanese and European Game Gears), the only thing to remember is to use an AC adaptor that is designed for the country that you are in, and not necessarily from your Game Gear's country of origin. However, if you buy a Game Gear from abroad which comes with an AC Adaptor included, or if you are taking your Game Gear to another country on holiday along with the mains adaptor you usually use back home, it is important to note that just adding a simple plastic plug adaptor so that it fits nicely into the wall socket while abroad could easily blow up your Game Gear! The reason is that voltage and frequency of the main electricity supply differs in different countries. In Europe as a whole, the voltage is 230V and the frequency is 50Hz, whereas in the USA, voltage is 120V while the frequency is 60Hz, and in Japan, the voltage is 100V with a regional frequency of either 50Hz or 60Hz. For example, if you own a European Game Gear with a European AC adaptor, but you are travelling or living in the USA, you would be trying to insert your 240V European AC adaptor into a 120V electricity supply! This would probably blow the fuse in the AC adaptor (if there is one), blow up the Game Gear, trip the fuse box trip switch in the building you are in, or worse. Oops! It is possible to buy a voltage converter for your AC adaptor before you go abroad, but as mentioned above, by far the easiest and safest solution is to use an AC adaptor from the country you are in, as long as it has between a 9V ad 10V output, it will work just fine on any Game Gear (although all Game Gears have a 9V output, the official Sega US AC adaptor has a 10V output so obviously that works fine). If you travel a lot, it is probably worth considering finding a universal AC/DC adaptor with an input of AC 100V-240V 50/60Hz and an ideal output of 9V. These universal adaptors work just about anywhere which is why they usually come standard with laptops (see your laptop charger). Sega Car Adaptor  The
Sega Car Adaptor is a cable which connects your Game Gear
directly to a battery via the cigarette lighter socket.
Typically,
these sockets are found in cars - hence the product name - but
also boats, caravans and some battery devices, This image shows a rare official Sega Car Adaptor from Japan in revamped packaging and called Car Adaptor II. More Car Adaptor Images
More Car Adaptor Information Take your Game Gear with you and use it on the move without the need for batteries - the car adapter is great for when you are on a road trip somewhere! Game Gears from any country can run from any car battery because the console simply takes the 9V power it needs to run. This amount of output is insignificant for a car battery because they are heavy duty, and since a car battery is also recharged whenever the car is run, there is no reason for the car owner to worry about such a small amount of extra battery power absorption at all. There are a huge variety of different car adaptors available to buy both from Sega and many other companies, including the Handy Plug from STD, and the universal car adapter for use with the Game Gear, Game Boy and Nomad from High Frequency or Madcatz. All of these adaptors are 12V DC plugs that do exactly the same thing - they take the power from the battery that is required for the Game Gear to work. The 12V DC cigarette lighter sockets do come in two different sizes though, and European and US sockets are reportedly often different, so just check that you buy a car adaptor for your Game Gear that is the right size for the cigarette lighter socket you are using, and then enjoy endless hours of play on the road! Sega Gear-to-Gear Cable  Known
as the VS Cable in Japan, the Gear-to-Gear cable links two Game Gears
together so two people can play 2-player games!
The two players will see the same in-game screen and play the same game at the same time. Genius! You will also need two copies of the game, but this is not really a problem because even if your pocket is a bit empty at the moment, loads of 2-player games like Columns and Aerial Assault, for example, are sold really cheaply on Ebay and other websites.. More Gear-to-Gear Cable Images
More Gear-to-Gear Cable Information The Gear-to-Gear Cable is a fantastic accessory if you have two Game Gears and two copies of a game (and a friend). Playing 2-player games linked up really adds extra fun to the Game Gear's game playing experience, and because games for the Game Gear are not locked by region (any Game Gear will play any game), you can even link with a friend using two copies of a game from two different regions - for example, play Columns with a friend by linking a Japanese and a US version of the game together. Likewise, any two Game Gears will link together, so link your friend's Japanese Game Gear with your EU one. Brilliant! Some games worth considering to get you started are Aerial Assault, Columns, Super Columns, Lemmings, Micro Machines 1 and 2, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2, Sonic Drift Racing and Virtua Fighter Animation. There are loads of 2-player games available for the Game Gear, including many sports games only released in the US, and many puzzle games only released in Japan. For a full list of 2-player games, check out my Definitive Game Gear Games List here Gear Master Link Cable  As
far as I know, the Gear Master Link Cable was never released by Sega
and is not an official Sega product.
One end of the cable connects to the Gear-to-Gear socket and the other one connects to any sega compatible DB9 controller. With a Master System converter attached to the Game Gear, 2-player Master System games can then be played simultaneously by two players on one Game Gear! In order to play 2-player Master System games on the Game Gear, you will of course also need to own one copy of the actual game. More Gear Master Link Cable Images
More Gear Master Link Cable Information This accessory would be really really cool if it were possible to link the Game Gear to a controller and play 2-player Game Gear games using one cartridge and only one Game Gear. As far as I know, this is not possible, though I have not found the need to get my hands on one of these cables just yet in order to try it. However, Game Gear compilation cartridges (68 in 1, etc) often include a lot of 2-player Sega Mark III games, and these should work with this cable too. The cables are sold fairly regularly on Ebay, but be warned that 2-player compatibility depends on the game. I have read that it works with most 2 player games, but I can't confirm for you yet which ones. Nevertheless, this accessory must be quite amusing to use since one person has to use the Game Gear to play while the other person presumably watches the screen and plays over the Game Gear player's shoulder! Sega A/V Cable  Sega
released the A/V Cable for use with the Game Gear TV
TunerA Game Gear with a TV Tuner attached can then be linked to a video camera so that the image you are recording or playing back can be seen on the Game Gear screen in colour - something which was quite innovative and exciting when the Game Gear was new. Nowadays, all video cameras tend to have a screen of their own, but with an A/V cable and a TV Tuner, the Game Gear can still be hooked up directly to many other modern devices such a digital camera, Video Cassette Recorder, DVD Player/Recorder, or modern video gaming systems; thus enabling your favourite photos, videos, TV series, films and games to be watched on the small screen of the portable Sega Game Gear. More A/V Cable Images
More A/V Cable Information< Though I doubt that anyone is going to have their Game Gear permanently connected to a Video Cassette Recorder or DVD Player instead of their typical household TV set, it is really fun to link your TV Tuner to a VCR or DVD Player in order to try out watching a film or TV episode on the portable small screen. A lot more fun could be had if you are lucky enough to have a digital TV with A/V out sockets at the back. By connecting your Game Gear to such a TV, everything that you have connected to the television will now be viewed and heard through the Game Gear - VCR, DVD Player, Digital TV and radio channels - even a modern video games console like any Playstation, GameCube or XBox. I only have audio out on my TV, so unfortunately I can only output sound. Furthermore, your Game Gear with TV Tuner can also be directly connected to any modern gaming console, to a digital camera (pictured), or to an iPod Video, and be used as a mobile monitor with sound. However, it should be noted that these devices have their own A/V Cables which would need to be bought separately.You then connect the video (yellow) and mono (white) plugs into a phono to mini jack adaptor (pictured) and plug that into the composite A/V input on the TV Tuner. The Sega A/V Cable does not have a red phono plug because although the Game Gear can output stereo and the TV Tuner can feed in stereo, the A/V connector on the TV Tuner does not support it, so when you plug headphones into the Game Gear headphone socket, you will only receive mono sound. One way to resolve this is to only connect a device's video (yellow) cable to the TV Tuner on the Game Gear, and connect its mono (white) and Stereo (red) to some speakers that have a headphone socket. The Sony SRS-A205 speakers (pictured) are not the newest speakers around, but they are an example of speakers with a headphone socket on the front. For most Game Gear owners with a TV Tuner then, the standard uses of the A/V Cable will probably not be so much practical as a lot of fun to play around with. Nevertheless, I will finish with one scenario which is not just fun but also practical. If you are living with someone else who wishes to watch TV in the living room while you feel like watching a video or DVD, or even playing on your modern gaming system, as long as the device is connected to the TV via a Scart lead or S-Video, the A/V out sockets will be free to be connected to your TV Tuner. Thus while someone else is watching television, you can sit in the same room with headphones on and watch a video, DVD or play a game instead. Cool! Finally, to find out how the A/V Cable helps make your Game Gear into a portable digital TV Tuner when travelling, go to the Sega TV Tuner Pack section here top of page
Gadget Add-ons
all gadget add-on options explained so you can make an informed decision ! last updated: 14/07/09 TV
Tuner Pack
 The
TV Tuner plugs into the cartridge slot of the Game Gear and, with the
TV Tuner's attached extendable aerial, changes the console into a
portable colour analogue televison.Once the crème de la crème of all portable console accessories, the TV Tuner's usefulness is now being questioned with more and more countries abandoning analogue television and switching over permanently to digital. Nevertheless. the TV Tuner is an amazingly advanced and versatile piece of kit way ahead of its time and there are still many interesting, fun and practical ways to make the most of this amazing add-on. More TV Tuner Images
More TV Tuner Information The Sega Game Gear was one of the very first portable games consoles, yet even today, there have been almost no other handheld systems with the ability to be used as a portable colour television, and the only portable games console that can totally outrival this function is the PSP which arrived on the scene 13 years after the Sega Game Gear! As far as I know, any Sega Game Gear will work with any TV Tuner; it states all over the internet that version 2 Game Gears which display the BIOS message "PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD." on a blue background before the SEGA logo appears, and whose serial number starts with a letter, are not compatible with the TV Tuner. Well, I have a Virtua Fighter Kid’s Gear which is the last Game Gear model ever produced by Sega back in 1996 and the serial number is P61031813 - I also have a standard black Game Gear with serial number B31063699 – and both of these work fine with the TV Tuner. There was a Game Gear released by Majesco in 2000 called The Core System which is not compatible with the TV Tuner (you hear sound but receive no picture), but this is acknowledged on the packaging, and the Game Gear itself is easily identifiable because the plastic screen which covers and protects the Game Gear’s LCD display has no colour, and the start button is purple. (see my Console Section here) The only important thing to remember when buying a TV Tuner is that you need a model designed for the country you live in. Not a problem for Japan or the US whose television standard is NTSC, but a bigger problem for us in those small countries in Europe because the packaging is the same but the TV Tuners are different. French TV Tuners are SECAM, and although most other countries in Europe use PAL, we have PAL I in the UK while most other Western European countries have PAL B/G and Eastern European countries tend to use PAL D/K. For a full list of television standards by country click here This is a problem for us Europeans because while you can tune into the video signal without any problems, the audio is on another subcarrier depending on if the broadcasting frequency is PAL I or PAL B/G or something different. In other words, you will receive the picture, but just here a continual hissing sound. However, this is only a problem if you are travelling between European countries with a PAL TV Tuner; it is also worth noting that this will also affect digital TV because the sound frequency is still carried through the digital coax cable and will still differ between countries. Once again, if you are only planning to use your Game Gear as a portable TV in your country then this is not a problem. This is also only relevant to the TV Tuner’s aerial which I'm covering in this section, not to the A/V Cable which was covered earlier, as all Sega Game Gears will work with all TV Tuners via A/V regardless - relevant because I use this fact to solve the problem of receiving digital TV abroad at the end of this section! It should now be noted that there are still many countries in the world where the TV Tuner can still pick up broadcasted TV in perfect colour. Nevertheless, now that analogue TV is on its way out, are there other ways that the TV Tuner can be useful? The answer is a big YES. Firstly, the TV Tuner supports A/V input, and I have already stated above that with an A/V cable, the Game Gear can be hooked up to a VCR, DVD Player, digital camera, iPod Video and all modern gaming systems like any PlayStation, GameCube or XBox to be used as a mobile monitor with sound. (see my cables section here) Secondly, all models of the TV Tuner except the ones produced for Italy and Germany come with an external antenna port which was originally intended for when reception was poor and was probably banned from Italian and German models due to their national laws on safety because in the TV Tuner's manual, Sega advertised the need for their external car antenna fixed to the top of the car in order to get a good reception on long car journeys. For more details, see pages 22 and 23 of the TV Tuner instruction manual here Nowadays, the external antenna port is an invaluable extra function that the TV Tuner offers and I wouldn't recommend buying a TV Tuner without one. The TV standard in Australia is also PAL B/G and all there TV Tuners should come with an external antenna port as standard. Be careful though when buying a PAL B/G tuner in Europe because although the external antenna port was only omitted from those models intended for Germany and Italy, many other countries close to their borders ended up with some of these models too - it is common to find PAL B/G tuners in Austria and Spain without the external antenna port, for example. Anyway, if you have a TV Tuner with an external antenna port, by buying a coax aerial to mini jack adapter (pictured) the Game Gear now has three extra fun yet practical uses as a portable monitor other than just receiving broadcasted television in countries that still offer it. The first thing that you can do is connect a digital TV coax cable from the wall, a digital TV (freeview) set top box, or Satellite digibox via the aforementioned adaptor into the external antenna port of the TV Tuner - now you have home digital TV on your Game Gear! The second thing you can do with this little adaptor is connect any games console, retro or modern, to the Game Gear via the external antenna port using RF out. Although modern systems, as mentioned above, all have A/V out which provides a much better signal picture quality, every system since 1985 also has RF out which connects straight into the coax aerial socket of a TV and so can be connected with the coax adaptor straight into the external antenna port of the TV Tuner. Modern systems don't usually include an RF adaptor anymore, but if you want to try this on a modern system then you can purchase an RF modulator if you can't find an RF adaptor for your system. The main use of the RF cable nowadays then is to connect retro consoles which don't have the A/V out to the Game Gear such as the NES, SNES and Sega Mega Drive (Genesis). Consequently, if you have a SNES hooked up to your TV at home, and someone else wants to watch television or a DVD, just take the RF cable that plugs the SNES into the TV, stick it into the TV Tuner of the Game Gear! Ever wondered what Super Mario Kart or Donkey Kong Country would look like on the Sega Game Gear? I have, and I can tell you they look really cool! The following final use of the coax to mini jack adaptor is the most useful. As mentioned already, thanks to digital (freeview) set top boxes being so cheap nowadays, all you need to do is buy one which connects to a TV via the coax aerial cable (and not just Scart lead) and then, thanks to the TV Tuner's extendable aerial, you have a portable digital TV Tuner which will pick up all the free to view channels in the country. But that's not all; some digital set top boxes are also 12V so that they can be powered in a car, boat or caravan via the cigarette lighter socket - making them great for travelling in-country. TVonics is a Welsh digital set-top box company whose headquarters are at Sony. Their MFR-200 and MFR-300 digital set-top boxes are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, they are designed to be connected to a TV via coax aerial cable whilst still giving the highest quality signal possible, they are Energy Savings Trust approved, and they even have an optional A/V out socket on the front of the box which means that video can be attached via A/V cable into the Game Gear's A/V in slot for superior video quality while the stereo output could be redirected to stereo speakers for stereo sound! (more on A/V Cable possibilities here) And the cream on the cake? By connecting the TV Tuner to the Game Gear via the A/V Cable instead, the sound will also come through correctly on any PAL tuner! Maybe you will be needing that A/C Cable after all?! For more about the TVonics digital set-top boxes visit www.tvonics.com/digital-set-top-boxes For more about the different uses of the Sega TV Tuner, check out this great Game Gear TV Tuner FAQ file by Sam McRae-Skinner (aka Arguro DeXill) here Sega Wide Gear  Sega
released the Wide Gear, or Big Window in Japan, to magnify the Game
Gear's 3.2 inch screen to
(reportedly) 5 inches, though this is not certain as the magnification
of the Wide Gear is not specified on the packaging.Other sources state that the screen improves contrast and visibility and blocks out ambient lighting. If the Wide Gear came with an instructions booklet, I have not yet seen one, so the only thing that I can be sure of is that the magnifying glass is there to make the screen bigger during game play. Sega Super Wide Gear  Sega
also released the Super Wide Gear, or Big Window II, which in Europe
was part of the Mega
Power collection.The Super Wide Gear may have a stronger magnification than the Wide Gear but again this is not confirmed as the magnification of neither magnifying glass is specified. The main difference then is that the Wide Gear screws into the back of the Game Gear to hold it in place whereas the Super Wide Gear not only has the screw but also a wire bracket which you pull back over the Game Gear to further hold the magnifier in position. More Wide Gear Images
More Wide Gear Information The Wide Gear and Super Wide Gear will work with any Game Gear, but note that the Majesco Game Gear does not have the facility to screw accessories into the casing on the rear of the console. Personally, I never wanted one of these because I never really saw the point. It is said that it makes the game screen a bit smoother, but I just thought about how clumsy it makes the whole handheld console experience. You have to screw it in every time that you want to use it, and it is a large accessory to carry around in a travel bag for what it is. I also don't really think that it can be that good for your eyes playing games for hours through a magnifying glass. General reports have always been that these things do not work that great - how many times have you seen someone walking or sitting around with a big magnifier attached to a handheld? However, I must say that my prejudgments have recently been, at least in part, proved false. I have recently purchased an accessory which can be found in my Innovative Extras section called the Handy Gear, which is not a screen magnifier attached to the Game Gear but it does magnify the screen, and my conclusion is that a screen magnifier for a handheld can actually work quite well, especially for playing Master System games on the Game Gear with the Master Gear Converter. It is really hard to play one of my favourite shoot-em ups, R-Type, on the Game Gear with the Master Gear converter, for example, because the bullets when shrunk from standard TV size to a handheld-size screen just can't be seen, making one of my favourite games unplayable. The Wide Gear could really help with situations like that. Nevertheless, I would recommend checking out the Handy Gear instead. It's so brilliant! Stereo Gear  This
accessory by Beeshu plugs into the cartridge slot of the Game Gear and
turns your console into a stereo FM tuner.The sound does not come out of the Game Gear speakers which don't support stereo anyway, but instead through the headphone socket which is why headphones are supplied with the tuner. Obviously speakers could also be inserted instead. The quality of radio reception is really very good, and this add-on can be used on any Game Gear anywhere in the world so the Stereo Gear is really fun to have and use sometimes. More Stereo Gear Images
Game Attachments
all accessories which are connected to game cartridges as well as the Game Gear are listed here ! last updated: 14/07/09 Sega
Master Gear
 The
Sega Master Gear is a Master System converter which enables games
designed for the Sega Master System (SMS) to be playable on the Game
Gear. The converter is inserted into the Game Gear's cartridge slot and
then an SMS game is inserted into the converter.
The game is then recognised and treated in the same way as any standard
Game Gear cartridge by the console.
The picture left possibly shows a genuine Master System converter by Sega, but the production of the Master Gear as an official Sega product is still a bit of a mystery to me because I have still never seen a Sega Master Gear boxed in original Sega packaging. Still, there are various Master System converters available, all of which do the same thing - they allow hundreds of games that were released on the SMS but not on the Game Gear to be playable on the portable Game Gear console. More Master Gear Images
More Master Gear Information As pictures above, there are many different Master System converters which enable SMS games to be played on the Game Gear and the good news is that any Sega Game Gear will work with any Master System converter; however, if your Game Gear has a blue screen at start up which states “PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD.” instead of going straight to the SEGA logo, then your Game Gear is a later release and will refuse to run some early Japanese Master System games that do not have a certain piece of text at a specific location in the cartridge ROM. Nevertheless, these games are few and far between, and all non-Japanese Master System games will work on any Game Gear console. Consequently, there are almost no differences between Master System converters. Nonetheless, there is always a 'but', so here is some information for you to consider before purchasing a suitable converter: The only difference between a Master System Converter 1 and a Master System converter 2 is that The Core System Game Gear by Majesco in 2000 (see here) is reported to only work with the Master Gear 2 converter. You will know if you own a Majesco Game Gear because the plastic screen which covers the Game Gear's LCD display has no colour, the start button is purple, and there is also no facility on the back of The Core System Game Gear to screw in the converter. All Master System converters except for the ones produced by Beeshu and Nuby have a plastic screw built in the casing which can be used to firmly attach the converter into the back of the Game Gear. The Gear Master from Beeshu does come boxed with a loose screw, but this is more easily lost and the converter itself looks deceivingly less well made. I'm not sure if the Beeshu Gear Master will work with the Game Gear by Majesco - I'm waiting for someone to confirm this - but it probably will as the Beeshu converter is actually a quality product which is reportedly more compatible with unusual SMS games like those from Codemasters, and with pirate cartridges. Moreover, it works well with the SMS-Pro flash cart Finally, the Nuby Converter does not have a screw since it is the only converter with a completely different design - the cartridge is inserted at right angles to the screen. Since it is not designed to be affixed to the console, this converter is sometimes preferred because it can quickly be inserted and then taken back out. The Nuby converter works perfectly with all Game Gear systems (Majesco and Sega) and is preferred by many for its ease of use, so if you are happy with its unusual design, this may be the best converter to consider overall. Game Genie  The
Game Genie is a cheat device designed by Codemasters.By inserting the Game Genie into the cartridge slot of the Game Gear, another slot pops up into which a Game Gear game cartridge can then be inserted. When the Game Gear is turned on, a menu appears which allows you to enter codes in order to temporarily alter the binary code of a game, giving unlimited time, lives, energy, etc, during gameplay. The Game Genie also includes a compartment containing a book of codes. More Game Genie Images
More Game Genie Information The Game Genie is the first game hacking device of its kind and the more popular of the two available for the Game Gear. Designed by top British independent games developers, Codemasters, the company filed a patent on cartridge cheat devices way back in May 1990 and released the cheat device for the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive (Genesis), and of course for the Sega Game Gear - any Sega Game Gear will work with the Game Genie. The Game Genie for the Game Gear was released worldwide and was especially successful in the United States where it was distributed by Galoob. To view a poster by Galoob advertising the Game Genie, click here Distribution of the Game Genie in the UK was handled by Hornby Hobbies who set up a dedicated telephone helpline for the latest cheat codes. The service was manned by Mark Stoneham, the Game Genie guru of the early 90s; he often listed his latest codes in magazines and made occasional guest appearances on Channel 4's Gamesmaster, the first-ever UK television show dedicated to computer and video games. Code book updates were printed to be kept in the Game Genie's code book compartment. Codes in the booklets are printed on sticky labels which can be stuck onto the back of Game Gear cartridges so that they can easily be seen rather than having to look though the booklet each time the game is played. Pro Action Replay  The
Pro Action Replay is a cheat device by Datel Electronics which, like
the Game Genie, is inserted into the cartridge slot of the Game Gear; a
game cartridge is then inserted into the Pro Action Replay cartridge
before the Game Gear is turned on.When the Game Gear is turned on, a menu appears which allows you to enter codes in order to temporarily alter the binary code of a game, giving unlimited time, lives, energy, etc, during gameplay. . The Pro Action Replay cheat cartridge also has a built in Infinite Code Generator which allows gamers to easily find their own codes. More Action Replay Images
More Action Replay Information The Pro Action Replay will work with any Sega Game Genie and was manufactured by UK-based electronics and game console peripherals company, Datel, which is still going strong; more recent releases of the Action Replay device are available for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PSP and Wii (to name just a few). Originally, Datel had to defend its brand against the Codemaster's patent on cartridge cheat devices by demonstrating that they had been developing game cheat devices ever since the Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga. The Action Replay has improved on the functionality of the Game Genie by adding an enable/disable switch, along with more logical hexadecimal cheat codes which in turn, make it is easier for users to make their own game cheat codes with the help of the Infinite Code Generator. The Pro Action Replay cartridge for the Game Gear was never released in the United States while the Game Genie was released worldwide; as such, far fewer codes are available in magazines and on the internet for Game Gear games attached to a Pro Action Replay than for Game Gear games attached to a Game Genie, which is why Game Gear emulators and products like the GG-Pro Flash Cart have Game Genie code emulation rather than Pro Action Replay emulation. Nevertheless, ultimately Codemasters dropped out of the cheat device market leaving Datel to become the leading cheat device manufacturer in the world today. Innovative
Extras
a collection of accessory options which may well surprise you ! last updated: 12/07/09 Handy
Gear
 The
Handy Gear is part of the Joyplus range by STD and it is a very unique
accessory indeed.It is a water resistant, shock absorbent hard play-in case in which you tightly and completely seal your Game Gear to protect it from the elements. It also has a built in 2X magnifier with an adjustable screen protector to reduce glare. Finally, it includes a carrying strap and space inside for an extra game in its plastic case. To view a poster by STD advertising this accessory, click here Simple Start  The
Black and Decker Simple Start is a modern mini car battery which you
charge from the mains and then, by inserting the 12V DC adaptor found
in the the black side panel of the battery into a car cigarette lighter
socket, it can be used to give a booster to a low car
battery in order to get the car started without the need for a second
car and jump leads.Moreover, it also has a car adaptor socket in the top of the battery casing so that you can connect your own car adaptor to the battery and power any Game Gear directly from the battery - for endless hours! Solar Gear  The
solar charger for the Game Gear is a completely green way to power your
console. The Solar Gear 3 in 1 battery charger not
only contains contains rechargeable NiCd battery cells , but also
Crystal Solar Cells which power from the sun!It also boasts stereo sound enhancement and comes with a mains adaptor and car adaptor so that the Game Gear can be played anywhere - outside and inside, with or without a mains. As with other power packs for the Game Gear, the NiCd cells may well have degraded now, but the solar cells should still work fine! Time Gear  Believe
it or not, this LCD wrist-watch in the shape of a Game Gear is an
official Sega product made in 1992 by a company called Kokido.I would absolutely love to get my hands on one of these! To see a large scan of the front of this product, click here To see a large scan of the side of this product, click here To see a large scan of the back of the product, click here More Innovative Extras Information The Handy Gear is a product of pure imagination. The Game Gear sits tightly into the casing and then rubber under the control buttons on the case press the actual D-Pad and other buttons on the Game Gear - and it actually works. Rubber flaps open from the side of the casing to allow you to alter the volume, contrast, and to allow you access to the link cable, headphone and power out ports. The flip top shadows the Game Gear screen from the sun and because the Game Gear is tightly encased, the 2X magnifier works great as the sun does not distort the magnifying glass. The magnification is also 2X which I believe is greater than that of the Sega Wide Gear accessories. The Handy Gear is great for taking your Game Gear to the beach or into the elements in general; my only criticism is that there is no access to the cartridge slot, so in order to change a game, you need to prise the Game Gear back out again. I own a Simple Start from Black and Decker which is why I know about this product. As a vehicle jump start device, it is innovative but not useful for everyone since it will help start a car with a low battery, but not a flat battery. As a powerful portable 12V power source, it is very useful for powering any Game Gear at home or away as it gives you some portability and you are no longer limited by connection to a mains socket. More information available here The Solar Gear is an extremely rare accessory owned by Rig_veda, an individual Sega collector in Japan. More images of this cool device are available on his blog here The Time Gear is just brilliant and I want one. Technical
Devices
a collection of accessories which require an amount of tecnical know-how from you ! last updated: 14/07/09 GG-Pro Flash Cartridge  The
GG-Pro is a product which allows you to flash (copy) up to 31 Game Gear
or Master System roms onto the GG-Pro cartridge via your computer's
parallel port which can then be played directly on your Game Gear
console.
There is a switch on the cartridge to change between Game Gear and Master System mode, Game Genie codes can be entered, and there is also the option to save your position in a game. The GG-Pro is manufactured by Tototek and the product information can be viewed here More GG-Pro Images
More GG-Pro Information The GG-Pro will work on any Game Gear, but please note that it can only be programmed via parallel port. USB to parallel or PCI based expansion ports will not work with the supplied programming software. The USB port on the GG-Pro is only for power. The switch on the GG-Pro is required in order to play Game Gear and Master System games on the console in the correct mode. By switching the modes mid-game, interesting things can happen - the palette will often mess up, but Game Gear games will sometimes play as usual but with a wider field of view, and games that were only released for the SMS become easier to see on the Game Gear's portable screen because of the extreme close up. The GG-Pro is an amazing piece of kit created by a guy called Tomy at Tototek which can be bought here However, is not cheap, so before you consider buying one, the technically-minded may wish to consider purchasing an SMS-Pro below which will work on both the Game Gear and the Sega Master System, and also looks more aesthetically pleasing. Please also note that a rom legally should only be downloaded if you own a copy of the game, will delete it within 24 hours, or are using it only for testing and/or development purposes (such as for taking screenshots) A complete list of roms is available in the Games Section of my site here SMS-Pro Flash Cartridge  The
SMS-Pro allows you to flash (copy) up to 31 Master System roms
onto the
SMS-Pro cartridge via your computer's parallel port which can then be
played directly on your Master System, or on your Game Gear console by
way of a Master System Converter.There is no switch on the cartridge to change between Game Gear and Master System mode, but the technically-minded can add one so that Game Gear roms run properly. Game Genie codes can be entered, and there is also the option to save your position in a game. The SMS-Pro is manufactured by Tototek and the product information can be viewed here More SMS-Pro Images
More SMS-Pro Information The SMS-Pro will work on any Game Gear The SMS-Pro cart is connected to the green programmer board which is then programmed via parallel port. As with the GG-Pro above, USB to parallel or PCI based expansion ports will not work with the supplied programming software, and the USB port is only for power. The SMS-Pro cart is designed to run Master System roms, so Master System roms can also be played on the Game Gear by attaching the SMS-Pro to a Master System converter. Please note that you should use the Gear Master from Beeshu to do this as the Gear Master is the only converter at present which is confirmed to work with the SMS-Pro. So with the SMS-Pro plugged into a Beeshu Gear Master converter, you can now play Master System roms on the Game Gear. However, as with the GG-Pro, in order to play Game Gear roms on the Game Gear console, a switch is required so that the correct visual mode can be selected. The GG-Pro comes with its own switch but the SMS-Pro does not have one. Nevertheless, if you are feeling a little technically-minded, adding your own mode switch is a fairly easy thing to do. To make a Game Gear rom work correctly, you will need to solder a switch between two pins on the Gear Master itself, not the SMS-Pro. This is made simple thanks to Chris Covell's Gear Master hack page here The advantage of the SMS-Pro over the GG-Pro is that the SMS-Pro flash cart can be used to play roms on both the Sega Master System and the Sega Game Gear; the SMS-Pro can also be completely encased in a Master System game's casing which looks tidier. The SMS-Pro is an amazing piece of kit created by a guy called Tomy at Tototek which can be bought here However, it is not cheap, so before you consider buying one, I seriously suggest reading through the GG-Pro section above too, so that you buy the flash cart that suits you best. Please also note that a rom legally should only be downloaded if you own a copy of the game, will delete it within 24 hours, or are using it only for testing and/or development purposes (such as for taking screenshots) A complete list of roms is available in the Games Section of my site here GameGear-TV Blast I  The
GameGear-TV Blast I from Mash-Mods is a chip and 6 wires with
composite RCA jack which enables the Game
Gear to output a monochrome image on a TV which has its own video-in
port.
However, the Game Gear TV has come a long way since the technology of the GameGear-TV Blast I. More GG-TV Images
More GG-TV Information Back in the early 90s, Sega used official Game Gear development units with TV out to demonstrate new projects and take game screenshots. For some, owning their own Game Gear TV (GG-TV) was a dream that had to come true. At the beginning of the 21st century, two guys called Rob, aka rbudrick, and Victor Kemp started work on creating their own GG-TV. The Game Gear TV, or TV Gear, started out with a schematic drawn up by Victor Kemp et al for a simple decoder for the Game Gear's video output; this led to a method of displaying a black and white video out image on a TV screen. Chris Covell, aka ccovell, created a page describing his first steps at video out here On December 15th 2004, a post on the tech forum at SMS Power! - the Sega 8-bit preservation and fanaticism website - started a massive ball rolling which led to a guy called Xavier experimenting with extracting true colour RGB output from the Game Gear. The Game Gear-TV forum can be viewed here Gregor Simeonov, founder of Mash-Mods, took this knowledge to develop a monochrome GG-TV called the GameGear-TV Blast I which is for sale here In December 2004, Chris Covell used Xavier's design and the same diagram of a TV Gear by Sankicki (here) to develop an RGB (colour) decoder for the original version 1 Sega Game Gear which contains two ASIC Sega chips (here) Chris also took lots of photos of Game Gear game images as they appear on the TV screen. You can check out his photo gallery here Then in October 2006, Tim Worthington, aka viletim or eviltim, prepared a webpage showing how he put his GG-TV together - with a more compatible pixel clocker and more accurate video amplifier, Tim's method works fine on both the version 1 Game Gear, and the later version 2 Game Gear models which have only one ASIC. Tim also took some screenshots of his Game Gear linked to the TV here Tim's guide to making a TV Gear is available (here) As far as I know, Tim's webpage is the latest one to provide a guide for technically-minded people who want to attempt assembling their own circuit. For the rest of us, this is not a "first soldering iron project" as Tim puts it, and we will have to make do with the monochrome of the GameGear-TV Blast I, or hope that someone is ambitious enough to put some TV Gears together to be sold in my upcoming GG fan shop :-) The GameGear-TV Blast I deserves credit where it is due as it is relatively inexpensive to buy from Mash-Mods, and it is still the only GG-TV which is for sale as a ready-made product. However, it should be noted that the chip is only NTSC compatible, and it is also only compatible with the newer version 2 Game Gear model which has a single ASIC (Sega chip) inside. In order to find out if you have one of these later Game Gear models, insert a game cartridge and turn your Game Gear on; if a blue screen at start up states “PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD.” instead of going straight to the SEGA logo, you have a version 2 Game Gear with only one ASIC. The GameGear-TV Blast I can be purchased here And so there we have it - a complete summary of the GG-TV project. It should also be said that many other people at the SMS Power! forum worked really hard to make the TV Gear a reality. In July 2007, Zachary Karnazes, aka Segasonicfan, developed an all-inclusive GG-TV for Rob - the guy who worked with Victor Kemp to get those first schematics. Zach's all-inclusive TV Gear features S-Video, composite video out via yellow RCA video jack, red and black RCA stereo audio out, and Scart output via a DB9 to Scart cable. It also features a Game Gear mode to Master System mode switch which makes Game Gear games which are direct Master System ports, like Fantasy Zone etc, play on a TV in full screen; it should also make everything played via a Master System converter full screen too. Zach's all-inclusive TV Gear looks absolutely amazing, and it can be checked out here Game Gear Capacitor Fix  The
Game Gear Capacitor Refurbishment Pack from Console World includes all
the capacitor types that will allow
you to fix screen problems and the capacitor that will address sound
problems.It also includes a 10 page guide to help you through the process. Tools required are needle nose pliers, wire snips, a fine tip soldering iron, solder, a cross head screwdriver and an optional but helpful Gamebit tool to remove the screw located at the the cartridge slot. The fix is relatively easy and should take 30 mins for someone with experience and 1-2 hrs for someone without. More GG-Capacitor Images
More GG-Capacitor Information Years ago, a particular electronic component used in various parts of the internal circuitry - the SMD (surface mount) electrolytic capacitor - was a common cause of camcorder faults. Now, as the Game Gear ages, they too are suffering from this bad capacitor phenomenon. Many Sega manufactured Game Gears are now demonstrating sound and screen problems which include: *
no sound, low sound or crackly sound
* a dim screen unless viewed at an angle. * bright parts of the picture creating 'ghost lines' in the dark parts. * smudgy screen lacking in contrast. * power cutting out (in extreme cases) The refurbishment pack from Console World enables you to fix these problems yourself and is available here However, it is of course also possible to go out and purchase all the capacitors yourself at a much lower cost. Here are some very useful webpages to help you to do it alone: Ky Crout's sound fix guide is available here Neil's 8bitplus sound fix guide is available here Tim Worthington's screen fix guide is available here My own complete sound and screen refurbishment guide will be available on this site soon. acknowledgements
A big thank you to everyone
at SMS Power! who helped me with the finer
details of topic areas I was unsure about!
© Robert Chatwin, 2009 |
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share
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but do not reproduce any of its contents without acknowledgement of myself (Robert Chatwin) as the author, and this site (Rob's Game Gear Site) as the source. Thanks!
© Robert Chatwin, 2002-2009
The AC wall adaptor allows you to
connect your console to a mains socket - essential for game playing at
home!
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