Where can I buy a region free bios chip for the Sega Saturn?

[RemixDeluxe]

I tried asking in LameFAQs and got modded despite console modding being legal. Whatever.

I tried searching on my own and its legitimately hard to find a place that sells it, is it something that isnt made anymore?

Also what are my choices for region free on the Sega Dreamcast?

 

[RemixDeluxe]

Am I asking in the right section?

 

[Deleted User]

I believe you are asking in the right section. I'll go and look around for what you're looking for, and tell you if I find anything.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

I believe you are asking in the right section. I'll go and look around for what you're looking for, and tell you if I find anything.

I wouldn't ask if I could find myself. Thank you.

 

[Deleted User]

I'd also like to mention that you can play games from another region on the Sega Saturn with an Action Replay.

Edit: This is where I got that information from.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

I'd also like to mention that you can play games from another region on the Sega Saturn with an Action Replay.

Thats one of 3 ways to play region free however it presents two problems.

1. Overtime it will kill the cartridge slot due to the cart being too big for the slot.
2. You wont be able to use the cartridge slot for other expansion carts in case its needed for imported games.

So I rather just solder a region free chip and not have to think about disk swapping or putting in the right cart. Just put in any region game disk and play, done.

 

[Deleted User]

Thats one of 3 ways to play region free however it presents two problems.

1. Overtime it will kill the cartridge slot due to the cart being too big for the slot.
2. You wont be able to use the cartridge slot for other expansion carts in case its needed for imported games.

So I rather just solder a region free chip and not have to think about disk swapping or putting in the right cart. Just put in any region game disk and play, done.

Yeah. I found this, too:


I was just mentioning the action replay in case I couldn't find anything else.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

Yeah. I found this, too:


I was just mentioning the action replay in case I couldn't find anything else.

I just hope I'm not too late in purchasing a chip. If flashcarts for the DS can be made still I dont see why not bios chips for the Sega Saturn. Granted its older than the DS but if I read correctly this chip was just made a couple of years ago.

 

[Deleted User]

I just hope I'm not too late in purchasing a chip. If flashcarts for the DS can be made still I dont see why not bios chips for the Sega Saturn. Granted its older than the DS but if I read correctly this chip was just made a couple of years ago.

I'd think they'd stop making them only if there was a very small demand for them.

I'll look for the Dreamcast one now. I believe there was a thing you could do that didn't involve modding the console itself, but instead using a MIL-CD. (I think it was called) I'll go and look that up as well.

 

[Deleted User]

This site has a few methods for playing Dreamcast games region free.

 

[Heran Bago]

Make an account on assemblergames or segaage forum and ask in their buying/selling section.

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Oh yeah, Dreamcast. I'd say same there too. I know you can can buy them in some online shops like here:

http://www.otakus-store.net/en/dreamcast/19-bios-dreamcast-region-free.html

 

[Heran Bago]

If you're worried about the Dreamcast's disc drive wearing out when for swapping a boot disc or gameshark you should look into a USB backup situation.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

If you're worried about the Dreamcast's disc drive wearing out when for swapping a boot disc or gameshark you should look into a USB backup situation.

Doesnt the disk drive only wear out badly if your using burned disks as opposed to retail released game disks?

 

[Heran Bago]

No it always wears out because it's bad. Also it's loud. Games on CD-Rs are certainly worse for it though. When the drive starts to die you can adjust the strength of the laser to prolong it a little bit but it's just delaying the inevitable.

The IDE drive solution is functional but ugly. The SD card solution is too slow to be worthwhile for anything other than homebrew and is almost vaporware. USB all the way.

 

[TVL]

Thats one of 3 ways to play region free however it presents two problems.

1. Overtime it will kill the cartridge slot due to the cart being too big for the slot.
2. You wont be able to use the cartridge slot for other expansion carts in case its needed for imported games.

So I rather just solder a region free chip and not have to think about disk swapping or putting in the right cart. Just put in any region game disk and play, done.

1. What? It's a perfect fit, I don't understand the reasoning, either it would break the slot when trying to jam a too large cartridge in there the first time, or it will never happen. The latter is what's going on. My Saturn still works, had the AR+ for well over a decade. That machine is indestructible.

2. It's never needed, I think some version of KoF (96 I think) had a cart that included sprites on the cart, just don't play that one game and you'll be fine (or switch carts that one time). AR+ is both a 1Mb and 4Mb expansion. Metal Slug, Marvel Vs. etc all work.

As for DC I don't think there's a game out there that hasn't been made region free. Those boot discs run everything too if you want to play a legit copy (I'm pretty sure of that anyway, never tried it).

 

[Heran Bago]

Or you could just buy a whole shitload of Dreamcasts. They come in so many fun colors and boxes. They're really cheap used still.

 

[yaketyJack]

I got one modded by Sega Style a few years ago, good service, and it still works great! There's recent reviews in there, so still seems to be working. You'd also need the Action Replay cart to play imports.

Here you go:
http://www.segastyle.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=74

hope that helps!

 

[Smuff]

• Self-booting iso versions of almost if not all Dreamcast games are widely available on the internet, with no need for either modchips or boot discs

• The Action Replay cart is fine with the Saturn slot - some cheaper variants were damaging to the slot due to the board being slightly thicker than the slot. The slot itself will wear out with a lot of cart in-ing and out-ing, so just put the thing in there and leave it there

• The Action replay cart can now be reflashed to enable playing CD-Rs of Saturn games without the need for a modchip!

• Region free Saturn bios chips were available for sale from a user on Assemblergames last time I checked.

• If you can solder, it's really easy to fix the Saturn to play any region games and allow 50/60Hz selection. There are a few ways of doing this, from mods involving the fitting of 2 switches right up to a switchless mod (A PCB that sets the region depending on how long the reset button is held in for). The AR reflash can handle region patching also.

 

[Deleted User]

Or you could just buy a whole shitload of Dreamcasts. They come in so many fun colors and boxes. They're really cheap used still.
-snip-

Dammit, now I want to collect Dreamcasts.

 

[hippy dave]

The Action replay cart can now be reflashed to enable playing CD-Rs of Saturn games without the need for a modchip!
The AR reflash can handle region patching also.

Link please?