Snega2Usb: Usb Reader For Snes And Genesis Carts

[neverused]

I found this one the OP forums and thought it might interest you guys:

http://www.snega2usb.com/wordpress/

Details from the site:

The snega2usb is an easy to use USB reader for *Super Nintendo / *Super Famicom and *SEGA Mega Drive / *Genesis game cartridges. Play your favorite 16-bit games – legally! – on your PC, smartphone, laptop, network router, or *Pandora. Hey, one could even try to use it with the *Wii. There is a huge number of emulators for virtually all existing systems, and the snega2usb is the link that enables them to load the ROM data straight from the cartridge. Of course, the savegame RAM on *SNES cartridges can also be read and written.

The snega2usb is for you if…

* you like playing legacy video games on your PC, and doing so legally
* you want to preserve your investment in these games, even after all hardware has expired
* you want to back up your game progress, e.g. before replacing the cartridge battery
* you like emulator cheats, but prefer to finish the boss on the real console
* you simply think it’s cool to plug huge game cartridges into a PDA or cell phone

The snega2usb is not for you if… you don’t see the difference between making private backup copies of games that you own, and downloading 10,000 ROMs from the internets.
Features

(as of October 14, 2009)

* Cartridge reader for *SNES and *SEGA *Genesis games. [1]
* USB 2.0 Full-Speed composite device (Mass Storage + HID)
* SRAM feature: Reading/writing of *SNES savegames
* Driverless operation under all halfway modern operating systems
* Extension pins for up to four *SNES/*NES gamepads. [2]
* Updateable firmware; source will be released.
* Aluminum enclosure with logo print. [3]
* Made in Germany. (As if anyone cares ;-))
* CE/FCC compliant.
* Dimensions (approx.): 145mm x 65mm x 25.5mm (5.7″ x 2.6″ x 1.2″)

 

[epicelite]

Maybe if it could do N64 too...

 

[hailrazer]

I love how he says you can use it to play the Roms legally because it extracts them from the original cart.

But extracting a rom is considered illegal. LOL

 

[J.D]

If I have heard correctly, if you buy a cartridge game and rip (extract) the ROM yourself, it's considered legal.

 

[hailrazer]

If I have heard correctly, if you buy a cartridge game and rip (extract) the ROM yourself, it's considered legal.

No what you have heard is Internet BS.

Copyright laws still apply. Of course you won't be prosecuted for it, but it is still illegal.

 

[J.D]

If so, wouldn't it depend on the game?

 

[XCVG]

The ROM ripping is useless because you can just get them off the internet at a significantly darker shade of grey. The save transfer feature is a lot more useful.

 

[hailrazer]

If so, wouldn't it depend on the game?

Well if the copyright has expired then it is legal to make a copy(backup) of it ... ie a rom. But the copyrights on Video games are 95 years from publication and 120 tears from creation. So most known games are still under copyright protection. Where people get confused is some of the Nes patents have expired. So some hardware can be reverse engineered. Also the DMCA changed some of their rules on emulators. And now emulators can legally be made for systems that are no longer manufactered OR no longer available to purchase.

But the games are still covered by Copyright laws and as such it is still illegal to "copy" them.

A nitpick yes cause like I said nobody will break down your door if you play them. But if this device gets popular I'm sure it will be shut down.

 

[J.D]

Oh, good, I don't need the police looking through my collection of 457 ROMs

 

[grossaffe]

I love how he says you can use it to play the Roms legally because it extracts them from the original cart.

But extracting a rom is considered illegal. LOL

I do believe that extracting it is legal. There's no encryption involved.

 

[hailrazer]

I love how he says you can use it to play the Roms legally because it extracts them from the original cart.

But extracting a rom is considered illegal. LOL

I do believe that extracting it is legal. There's no encryption involved.

Yea that may be a way around it. I don't know if it's considered copying when you extract the rom. i think I read that it is but i am not sure.

But in the FAQ the creator of this says "Making a backup copy of an original game, or playing it directly from a cartridge, may be okay" Which is partly WRONG.

So if this device in any way writes something to the chip before you play it , which it almost has to do, then it is illegal.

All this being said....Who Cares?

I would probably buy one if it gets released.

 

[J.D]

Extracting a ROM from, say, a SNES cart, is completely legal.

 

[PalmerTech]

Extracting the ROM from the cart does indeed constitute an act of bypassing copy protection measures. However, the DMCA specifically exempts obsolete formats, defined as formats in which the equiptment to read and write to the media is no longer for sale.

I have a folder on my laptop with all the relevant links to government and other sites, if you need them. I was researching it to see how legal Crimson Echoes for SNES was.

 

[hailrazer]

Boy is anyone listening?

Yes extracting a rom is legal on obsolete hardware.... HOWEVER it is still illegal to make a copy of it.

DMCA has NOTHING to do with Copyright laws. They are two entirely different things.

 

[PalmerTech]

Fair enough.

I think Hailrazer hit it on the head: Nobody cares.

 

[hailrazer]

Fair enough.

I think Hailrazer hit it on the head: Nobody cares.

Exactly.... Now I'm gonna go play some PS2 roms....LOL

 

[J.D]

Boy is anyone listening?

Yes extracting a rom is legal on obsolete hardware.... HOWEVER it is still illegal to make a copy of it.

DMCA has NOTHING to do with Copyright laws. They are two entirely different things.

Who said anything about copying? People can copy ROMs using these devices, but that would defeat the purpose of using these.

Therefore, that is very irrelevant.

(Yes, copying is illegal, I know that).

 

[hailrazer]

Who said anything about copying? People can copy ROMs using these devices, but that would defeat the purpose of using these.
(Yes, copying is illegal, I know that).

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here.

If a device extracts a rom it then usually has to make a copy of it somewhere. If this device stores that anywhere (even just temporarily to play) then it is illegally making a copy. That's all i was saying