USB SNES cartridge adapter will keep your PC clean

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 21st 2009 at 1:30PM }

We all know that emulation download sites are disease-riddled virtual cathouses, designed to inject your unassuming computer with any number of viruses, spywares and trojan horses -- that's why we can't help but be intrigued by this recently unveiled USB adapter for SNES game cartridges, which was lovingly crafted by modder matthias_h.

The adapter looks incredibly easy to use -- plug in a game cart, then boot or copy the SMC file found therein. Just like that, you're playing your favorite SNES titles -- and without contracting incurable cases of e-syphilis from "russian porn sites." Check out the video demo after the jump!

[Via Engadget]

Tags: emulation, hack, mod, nintendo, snes, super-nintendo

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Never @ Jun 21st 2009 12:26PM

Nice little hardware hack.
It should be noted that you can get Emu's and Rom's without contracting E-gonorrhea. You just need to use a condom. You may get crabs tho...

Vladeon @ Jun 22nd 2009 11:13AM

Remember:
The only way to be 100% sure that you won't get an E-TD is abstinence.

...and knowing is half the battle!

Ryan Hamilton @ Jun 21st 2009 12:29PM

Viruses? Ever hear of torrent?

smcn @ Jun 21st 2009 1:01PM

Seriously, this article is so 90's! No one pirates anything via http anymore.

Metayoshi @ Jun 21st 2009 8:12PM

@ smcn:

Actually, more companies are cracking down on torrents recently. I got caught for trying to pirate Bioshock, and my roommate got caught for trying to pirate a "crappy softcore hentai" called Queen's Blade. My roommate even said it was completely not worth it for getting caught. Both times, our internet was "temporarily disabled" and we had to call our ISP to turn it on again. I'm glad we weren't taken to court or anything.

Anyway, I think http is coming back for pirated software, thanks to sites like megaupload and rapidshare (no matter how much we hate them, we still use them). Most P2P protocols are getting less and less safe for those who want to illegally obtain software, especially Bittorrent where IP addresses are easily found in the tracker section and in the header of intercepted packets.

MattyG @ Jun 21st 2009 12:35PM

I quite like this, there should be more for other platforms

out of interest how did they make roms in the first place?

Evan @ Jun 21st 2009 12:54PM

The rom would be dumped via a serial connection over parallel port, usually by blindly copying the first set of data all the way to the last into a file.

XLM @ Jun 21st 2009 4:37PM

or dumped directly to floppy

Shmil @ Jun 21st 2009 7:30PM

Right, what he said, by magic.

Chris Miller @ Jun 21st 2009 1:39PM

Really? Did you have to take the same "russian porn sites" quote straight from Engadget? I mean, I know it's your sister site and all, but you can have your OWN unique sense of humor too :P

Thatoneguy64 @ Jun 21st 2009 2:32PM

Actually, both of them copied it straight from the video...

Did you even watch it?

Chris Miller @ Jun 21st 2009 2:40PM

Nope.

DWells55 @ Jun 21st 2009 1:42PM

This article is FUD. There's plenty of good sources for ROMs. Although ROMs are executable files, so long as you don't rename them to .exe and launch them, you're not going to get a virus.

Nice DIY job for the ROM collector who wants to have their own verified good dumps or has rare builds of games.

Freestyle Farfetchd @ Jun 21st 2009 6:22PM

+1

I'd probably be banned for recommending some sites, but there are plenty of legit sources.

Josh @ Jun 21st 2009 2:00PM

How were ROM images dumped before this?

RupeeClock @ Jun 21st 2009 2:46PM

Believe it or not, years ago whilst the SNES was still in action, by use of floppy discs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVorlCDOFhI

CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jun 21st 2009 2:47PM

See above.

Josh @ Jun 21st 2009 3:52PM

Well wait a minute, that doesn't explain how they copied the ROM images from the cartridges.

That video was only about playing the ROM images on the Super NES.

RupeeClock @ Jun 22nd 2009 6:39AM

Your attentive skills are lacking...

It says in the video the device lets you copy your games to your PC.

Josh @ Jun 22nd 2009 1:19PM

OH SHI

Well, how was... is! it done for NES?

Zexion_VI @ Jun 21st 2009 2:06PM

Wow, this is really cool. If only they would distribute it, cause my knowledge of emulators is only limited to DS games, lol.

manaman @ Jun 21st 2009 2:17PM

Hmm,

I wouldn't mind something like this that was made into a nice case and had slots for the multiple systems I own. Now, in theory, would it also be possible with this to copy over the save data on your cartridge to your PC? As an extension of that, would it be possible to copy a save file from your PC to a cartridge?

I know this isn't the place to ask, but I'm just musing,

manaman

Cosmo (formerly Chin-Poh) @ Jun 21st 2009 2:21PM

I do not think you can transfer the save state files emulators make back to a physical cartridge. However, if you used the game's own save feature which was built into the cartridge, then you just transfer the ROM back to the cartridge and you have the saves.

SoulBlade @ Jun 21st 2009 4:45PM

you could probably capture the save state - carts that saved use a battery to keep the state of some writeable memory. It would just be a matter of saving the state to a file that you can spit back out to the same location.

manaman @ Aug 8th 2009 7:47PM

Actually, I think what you guys are trying to say (the native saves could be transferred back and forth but emulator save states could not) was my suspicion, too.

deaftly @ Jun 21st 2009 2:39PM

Utterly pointless.

ducttapeBigSexy @ Jun 21st 2009 3:12PM

Agreed - if you already have the cartridge, why not just play it on an SNES? Seems a heck of a lot simpler to me...

DWells55 @ Jun 21st 2009 3:32PM

A lot of people like to build multiple game MAME cabinets, could be doing the same thing with SNES. Or there's the fact that games look better on emulators and if it's on a laptop you can easily take them anywhere.

offday @ Jun 21st 2009 5:03PM

I agree. And what's with all these mods that destroy my beloved SNES and games. It's breaking my heart.

Kokomadeta @ Jun 21st 2009 2:56PM

This is great! I love seeing new stuff like this! I've wanted to take my SRAM data from my SNES carts and my rom data from my GBC carts. Way to go, dude!

Josh @ Jun 21st 2009 3:53PM

Does this let you copy save data or not?

Jeffrey Haywood @ Jun 21st 2009 3:25PM

" you just gotta shift it a little bit to the left ".. thats what she said

Kokomadeta @ Jun 21st 2009 3:40PM

Oh, I really shouldn't laugh at that. But it was funny.

Hunnter @ Jun 21st 2009 3:36PM

JESUS, some of you guys are clueless.
Buy a new sarcasm detector, you sorely need one.
How can you seriously not see that it was sarcasm?

Also, nice little piece of hardware.
Saves damaging the SNES any more.
Combined with a USB adaptor for the controller and we are good to go.

Heavytoka @ Jun 21st 2009 3:43PM

Pretty cool

Crazylink @ Jun 21st 2009 3:45PM

Could you use a this with a Super GameBoy to play/copy GB games? Just curious.

Afrocass @ Jun 21st 2009 3:47PM

Joystiq is stupid... trying to use "virus" propaganda to discourage ROM use... I've been downloading roms for over 8 years now and have never had a virus from one or one of the sites i download from (which is just about every site there is)

sonicspike41 @ Jun 21st 2009 4:17PM

I think the worst I've ever heard of coming out of a rom site was the dreaded "click each vote link once, then click 'Click here to proceed'. Then, once you've voted on all three sites, you may download your game".

Even better are the sites that act all big and show up high on google's search results, but barely have anything and mostly just link to other similar sites.