Sega Game Gear (WIP)

Check the dumping hardware overview for a list of known preservation hardware.

If you need help, please come chat with us on the VGPC or No-Intro discord servers.

Dumping Game Gear games requires specialized hardware and currently has limited options. The methods listed below require soldering a Game Gear slot or buying a pre-built device.

Important Notes

• Unopened games should have their ROM and save data dumped before attempting to play them. This avoids inadvertent modification of the data and helps preserve the game in its unused/“factory” state. Note in your submission whether the physical media was sealed and include a photo of the cart/packaging in its sealed state, if possible.
• You should clean the physical media's electrical contacts before trying to dump it, and dump it twice, checking if both dumps match using a file comparison tool or calculating the SHA256 of each file and comparing those values.

1. JoeyGG
2. Open Source Cartridge Reader
3. SMSCPROGR

Using a JoeyGG is fairly straight-forward. Insert your game into the JoeyGG, connect the USB cable to your computer, and your computer should mount a USB drive containing the game's ROM and save data.

The Open Source Cartridge Reader (OSCR) requires building or purchasing an adapter to dump Game Gear cartridges. Visit the OSCR wiki for proper settings, and dumping instructions.

This Sega Master System/Mark-III cartridge reader/programmer can dump Game Gear games with a Sega Master System to Game Gear adapter.

If you're comfortable with it, you can communicate with the reader over XMODEM, otherwise, clone the project's repo and extract the dumpcart.py script. Connect the reader to your computer. On GNU/Linux, it should mount as a character device under /dev/ttyACM0, otherwise change the –device flag to the correct device.

./dumpcart.py --device /dev/ttyACM0 --read gamename.gg

Unscrew the back of the cartridge with a 3.8mm Gamebit or line head screw driver and lift up the top half of the cart's shell to unclip the shell and expose the PCB.

Once you've dumped your games, it's time to generate and submit metadata to a preservation project for validating and cataloging. See the dump submission instructions for more information.