Can you play Game Gear games on a TV?

[VideoGameCritic]

Is there a Sega device like the Super Game Boy (SNES) or the Game Boy Player (GameCube)?

[Atariboy]

Not 1st party, I'm afraid.

A cartridge adapter for the Retron 5 however was announced a while back. And another emulation based system that just released in Japan, called the Retro Freak, can play them although it will also require a cartridge adapter. Hasn't came West yet, but I imagine that will happen next year. Here's the recent import review where I first read about it.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/1 ... etro_freak

However an AtariAger user has developed a homebrew LCD replacement/tv-out modification for the Game Gear. Judging by his earlier Atari Lynx mod that offers similar enhancements, it will not only be economical, but it will also yield great results. Early reports over at AtariAge sound very promising.



Go to the more recent pages in the thread below to learn more about the Game Gear mod.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/233632 ... ill/page-1

[Shapur]

Not on a device you can buy. Even more frustrating because it's nearly identical to the Master System only with only a larger color palette.

The Game Gear does contain the hardware necessary to output a video signal, but you have to modify the system yourself.

https://nobitleftbehind.wordpress.com/2 ... d-upgrade/

This link runs down the necessary steps. I've found some old posts online of people offering to do the conversion for a reasonable payment but nothing current.

[VideoGameCritic]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the info.
I doubt I'll attempt the mod, but if I could buy one already modded I might be willing to spend the money.
Keep an eye out for me!

[scotland]

Not on a device you can buy. Even more frustrating because it's nearly identical to the Master System only with only a larger color palette.

This page has detailed pin mappings of the SMS and GG. It looks like you could(?) make a pin mapper as a snowy winter project. The diagram is the more familiar SMS => GG, but the note on the bottom refers to GG => SMS. Would this work?

http://www.smspower.org/maxim/Documents/Pinouts

pin~2.jpg (47.44 KiB) Viewed 1781 times

[Shapur]

Getting the cartridge to fit should work for the SMS to Game Gear but as far as I know Game Gear to SMS is impossible because of the wider color palette. There are patched GG roms that can be played on an SMS though. I suspect that final note is like it says "for dumping cartridges", not that they would be able to be displayed/played.

You know it doesn't look that hard. I'm tempted to actually give this a shot, but 57AUD is a lot for the GGTV board. Plus, anyone doing all of this should probably go in and replace all of the Game Gears notoriously bad capacitors to extend the life of the set up.

VideoGameCritic - You may be interested in a capacitor replacement also. Sound quality is usually the first symptom but poor, dim picture can also be a sign of bad caps.

[Atariboy]

I believe that I've seen folks offering their services to install McWill's excellent mod over at AtariAge. And if you make an inquiry in that thread and let it "slip" that you're the famous Critic, you'll surely get some talented hobbyist confident enough in their skills to take on the job for a modest fee.

Since I didn't stress this point earlier, I have to add that not only do you get a quality tv-out feature for your Game Gear with this particular mod, but the LCD screen is replaced as well.



Besides the tv-out functionality and the obvious picture quality enhancements that you gained by replacing a 20+ year old LCD screen with a modern model, his mod improved my battery life on my Lynx by a significant amount. This is completely unscientific, but I'd estimate that it doubled with the rechargeable batteries I'm using. So I'd expect the GG mod to offer a similar leap.

[Sut]

Another option if you have an Everdrive is the Game Gear patches so you can play them on your MegaDrive/Genesis:

http://www.smspower.org/Hacks/GameGearToMasterSystem

[Atariboy]

anyone doing all of this should probably go in and replace all of the Game Gears notoriously bad capacitors to extend the life of the set up.

Sound advice.

If they're not already bad, they will be relatively soon. So you may as well kill two birds with one stone and get all the work done simultaneously.

[Gentlegamer]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the info.
I doubt I'll attempt the mod, but if I could buy one already modded I might be willing to spend the money.
Keep an eye out for me!

One went for $300 on another forum, though it was modded to output VGA for computer monitor or lcd/plasma tvs.