Revisiting the Genesis Game Factory cart....

[jerkov]

Rather than try to resurrect a long dead topic, I want to start out fresh to find out some info on a green labeled Game Factory cart I have for the Genesis. Information on these on the 'net is kind of scarce (besides DP's rarity guide), and I'm trying to find out if anyone knows specifically if any of these carts have games on them. My cart has "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" written in black marker on the label and the game is 100% playable on the cart (well, as far as I know, as I haven't actually played through much of the game).

Here is my original thread from about 5 months ago: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33127

I hope this is OK with the mods. From the old thread, portnoyd said that he had heard that Toe Jam & Earl was rumored to be on a Game Factory cart, but it was just hearsay. I had pictures posted in the thread, but the links no longer work. My brother had them on his site, so he must've taken the pictures off of his site. I can post new ones if anyone wants/needs to see them.

Basically, I just want to know if this is something diehard Genesis collectors would really be interested in or if I have only stumbled upon a mildly interesting oddity.

[The_Chosen_One]

Don't have any info for you, but it's definately something I'd be interested in. Can you put those pics up again?

[jerkov]

It'd have wait until sometime tomorrow, but I'll either find the original pics or I'll take new ones of the game in action.

[rbudrick]

My cart is blank....I've always wondered if anyone would ever figure out a way tp write to these things...
-Rob

[jerkov]

Which brings me to my inital question: is this a very unique cart, or are there others out there with games written on them.

I hope to have pictures up in the next couple of hours.

[digitalpress]

I'm glad to hear someone has tangible proof that there's a game on one of these.

I don't think it makes it any more rare or desireable, but we've been looking for one simply to help prove or disprove if the actual WRITER was ever created. The fact that you've got a written one is a good sign (though I suppose someone savvy enough could crack open a blank one and flash the cart with the game binary).

I haven't checked the other thread yet. Where did you get your cart (geography as well as actual location)?

[jerkov]

I got the cart at a Gamestop in Lansdale, PA back in April of this year.

Is it possible that someone just swapped in the guts of a Sonic 3 cart? I have no idea why someone would do this, but it's a possibility. I haven't opened the cart yet (I don't even have the security bit to do so), but do the Game Factory chipboards look different than the board of a standard Genesis cart? I want to know if you can actually tell if it is a real Game Factory cart just from the board or if it looks identical to a regular cart.

Still hunting for those pics, should have them up soon.

[max 330 mega]

when i went to ecgx, there was a guy who had some on his table , i asked him if any of them had an actual game still on them, he said yes but didnt remember which ones did or didnt so i passed them up.. :o i shoulda just bought them all i guess...

[rbudrick]

Hmmm, I've never actually doubted that these have games on them. Some pretty reputable people have said theirs has a game on it, but true...I've never personally seen one.

And if I remeber correctly, yes the board does look different. I opened mine once and I think I even took scans. If anyone wants them, I can dig them up. Send me an email to rbudrick at hotmail dot com.

-Rob

[Brian_Provinciano]

I've got two of these. They're blank, but I'll look into them and build a writer. I'll keep you all posted!

[Bratwurst]

I bet these wouldn't be very hard to write to at all, most Genesis games are just solitary chips on a PCB. Even concerning the differences of the Game Factory cart's circuit board, the card edge has to be wired to facilitate writing/erasing in the first place.

[Jasoco]

I got the cart at a Gamestop in Lansdale, PA back in April of this year....

@_@

WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THAT PLACE SOONER??

I was just in Lansdale the other day. I was just at the EB Games up there and that town must be some sort of unknown place because they still have tons of older stuff. Like a time warp. I found my KD there when no one else had it. I wonder where the GameStop is...

If I had known about it earlier this year, I probably would have gone sooner.

By the way... How much does.. or did GameStop charge for that cart?

[jerkov]

OK....found my original pics and uploaded them on the 'net. You'll have to copy and paste the link in your browser to get them to work:

http://www.geocities.com/hottle_iuliano_otoole/SegaGameS3_0309.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/hottle_iuliano_otoole/SegaGameS3_0310.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/hottle_iuliano_otoole/SegaGameS3_0311.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/hottle_iuliano_otoole/SegaGameS3_0312.JPG


WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THAT PLACE SOONER??

I was just in Lansdale the other day. I was just at the EB Games up there and that town must be some sort of unknown place because they still have tons of older stuff. Like a time warp. I found my KD there when no one else had it. I wonder where the GameStop is...

If I had known about it earlier this year, I probably would have gone sooner.

By the way... How much does.. or did GameStop charge for that cart?

Yeah, I was up at that EB a couple weeks back right before the buy one, get one free sale ended. It's the one past where Main Street ends, right? They did have a ton of older stuff, but only a couple of things I was actually interested in. The Gamestop is about 5 minutes from there, on Valley Forge Road in the North Penn Marketplace shopping center. I don't think I've been there since I got this game, so I doubt they have any NES/SNES/Genesis stuff left. To answer your question, I think they were charging $7.99, though I vaguely remember some kind of sale on 8 & 16-bit games that was going on (this is back when they were trying to clear this stuff out). In my old thread I said $7, so I guess it was somewhere around $7-8.

[dojosky]

hi there i have one green one and one blue cart i tried em out but nothing comes up on my genny 3 but i will test on my genny 1 and 2 whenever i have the time to do that LOL otherwise i might end up and selling them ... i bought em on ebay ...

[izret101]

I have the green one i got it at blockbuster 2 years ago. Like 12 of them showed up one day. The next day they were all gone when i went to get more. I payed 2.99 for it, got home and there was no game on it. O well it is cool at least to have it even if it doesnt work.

[portnoyd]

Jerkov,

Your cart is the first GF cart I've ever seen minus the Blockbuster label. Maybe that's the clue for there actually being a game on there.

Mike Etler and I opened a GF cart earlier in the year. They use flash RAM chips. Expeeeeeensive. Whoever ate the bill for these duds sure got raped.

Regarding the writer, the sheer boredom from being unemployed led me to track down a person involved with the project. Sadly, he was an executive, and at his new position, still an executive, so my mail, not surprisingly fell on deaf ears.

If anyone wants to pick up the trail, your first clue is on the chips. I cannot for the life of me remember now what specifically they say (We didn't take pics and my memory sucks), but that info plus google gave me a few links. You know you're on the right track when the bio of the guy I was talking about mentions an intiative to do what the GF carts were meant to do.

And yeah, TJ&E, don't remember who said, but it is completely hearsay. The guy from ECGX was Mike from Collector's House (http://www.collectorscardsandgames.com); the man must have a fuck ton of them.

dave

[Jasoco]

Try something. If you have the Sonic & Knuckles cart, try locking the Game Factory on top and see if it works.

Pretty please. I hope you have a copy of it. This would be a good experiment.

[rbudrick]

Yeah, and try it on a game genie too if you can. I'm very curious. Great idea, Jasoco!

-Rob

[Jasoco]

I am wondering, if a ROM uploaded to the Game Factory will still be detected by S&K as Sonic 3. Or if it'll be detected as a generic cart and cause S&K to show the bonus screen.

It's a fun experiment. And since you're the only one we know with a working copy, it should be tried at least once.

If you don't have a copy of S&K, find one and tell us the results. :D

[jerkov]

Jasoco, that was a great idea - can't believe I didn't think of trying that out. I borrowed Sonic & Knuckles off of my brother to try it out. S&K does not recognize the Sonic 3 cart at all; S&K just boots up normally. What is this bonus screen that you speak of? I tried plugging in another Genesis cart (Super SFII) and got the same result - S&K booting up normally.

There is nothing wrong with the S&K cart because I plugged in my copy of Sonic 2 and was able to play through Sonic 2 as Knuckles. So, to answer your question, S&K does NOT register the Sonic 3 on the Game Factory cart.

Sorry, rbudrick, I don't have a Game Genie, nor do I know anyone else that has one.

Portnoyd, interesting history. It'd be neat if anyone could get any info out of that guy, but I don't really have the time to do it. As to Mike from Collector's House, is there any truth that some of his GF carts have games on them, as max 330 mega said?

I'm fascinated by this cart...can't believe the lack of info out there about them![/quote]

[Jasoco]

There's my answer. Cool to know. So apparently, the Factory cart doesn't even register as a cart. If it were registered as a normal cart, it would show that "No Way!" screen where you can play "Blue Spheres". But not showing anything is totally different. Guess that rules out the cart being swapped insides.

Also, you have to get a Game Genie and try that too.

[jerkov]

Well, one thing.......I plugged in a Super SFII cart and didn't get that screen either. What Genesis games do you need to plug in to get that bonus screen?

[Jasoco]

Well, one thing.......I plugged in a Super SFII cart and didn't get that screen either. What Genesis games do you need to plug in to get that bonus screen?Well, ANY game is supposed to display the screen. Try every game you can. The S&K may be broken.

[jerkov]

How can the S&K be broken if it works fine with Sonic 2? Let me try some more games....

[Jasoco]

I dunno. It's strange because it's supposed to do the Bonus screen when you insert anything other than S2 and S3. What shows up when you put anything else in? Does S&K play normally or does it show nothing?

[jerkov]

Heh, just plugged in a Revenge of Shinobi cart and I'm getting the "No Way? No Way!" screen. Is "Blue Spheres" some kind of minigame? If so, I don't know how to start to play it.

[Jasoco]

You gotta press a certain combo. I think it's A+B+C. And maybe you have to press Start with them pressed. It's the bonus you get in Sonic 3 were you run around turning all the blue spheres red and collect the rings. There are thousands of combos as it's randomly generated based on a string of characters. Some say each game cart produces a different generated map. (Based on the serial number or CheckSum or something.)

[jerkov]

Well, with Super SF II or the Game Factory Sonic 3 inserted, Sonic & Knuckles just boots up normally. Maybe the cart just doesn't read certain games at all?

[Jasoco]

Well, with Super SF II or the Game Factory Sonic 3 inserted, Sonic & Knuckles just boots up normally. Maybe the cart just doesn't read certain games at all?I think so. Now that you mention it, I believe there are a certain select few games that won't generate a response when installed.

[jerkov]

Heroic bump after almost five and a half years.....

I was going through a couple of plastic bins of miscellaneous loose carts the other day that I hadn't looked through in a couple of years and ran across my Game Factory cart with Sonic 3 on it. Actually, it's kind of depressing to think about what has changed in five years and how much little time I can devote to gaming now compared to then, but I guess that's how life goes....

In any case, have there been any other of these carts uncovered that have a game written on them? Or is this still a "one of a kind" item? I did a Google search and it still doesn't seem as though there is a ton of info out there on these.

It'd be nice if my little cart would turn into the next Stadium Events as a highly sought after retro gaming collectible, but it is still pretty cool to have stumbled across something like this and have it in my collection. I probably haven't even tried it out or played it since this thread was originally started, so I should probably plug it in and make sure it still works, but definitely curious to hear if there have been any Game Factory developments over the past few years.

[Blitzwing256]

have you considered getting the contents of your cart dumped to see if the sonic3 data is identical to the regular release?


also can it save data at all (original has a save battery)

getting it dumped might help with figuring out how to write to em as well.

[Steve W]

Didn't someone fairly recently post about one of these, and with some kind of kid's game on it? It might have been in the "How Much Is It Worth?" section.

[Gameguy]

Well, one thing.......I plugged in a Super SFII cart and didn't get that screen either. What Genesis games do you need to plug in to get that bonus screen?
I know this is an old thread, but wasn't the Super SFII game for Genesis the largest Genesis game produced? Maybe that's why it can't register with Sonic and Knuckles, it takes up too much memory. I thought I read this somewhere but can't remember.

[swlovinist]

I would love to see the inside of this cart and see the board. Pics would be great. I am not saying it happened, but it would be pretty easy to swap out a sonic board in a game factory cart as well. For a legit game factory cart to have a game is not Stadium Events prices, but I could see easily going for a couple hundred.

[Goodwill Hunter]

Here's the PCB of a green Game Factory cart (no game on it):

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/521/gamefactorypcb.jpg

I googled "Fairway Technologies Game Factory" and got this article from the January 28, 1995 edition of Billboard magazine:

http://books.google.com/books?id=sgsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63&dq=fairway+technologies+game+factory&cd=1#v=onepage&q=fairway%20technologies%20game%20factory&f=false

It talks about a test of the game factory service at 10 Blockbusters in Columbia, SC starting in August of 1994. It stated that Fairway Technologies' parent company, NewLeaf Entertainment, was a joint venture between Blockbuster and IBM created in 1993. The article also talks about the service being displayed at a 1994 or 1995 National Association of Recording Merchandisers technology conference (I bet that was a party!). It names Robert Carberry as the acting CEO of NewLeaf at that time.

Anybody here from Columbia, SC that was renting Genesis games at the end of 1994? :D Hope the above info is helpful...

Rich

[jerkov]

You know, I think the next step really should be opening this thing up.....do you need some kind of special security bit to crack open a Genesis cart?

I will have to double check whether it can save data or not.....good question. I'll drag it out later this afternoon or tonight and play it for a bit and see if saving is possible.

I would not be opposed to having it dumped, but as I am not especially tech savvy, what is the best way to have it done? Would I be at risk in damaging the game at all? I'm guessing the answer is "no" and this is a stupid question, but figured I'd ask anyway.

[portnoyd]

jerkov,

You'll definitely want to see this.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137359&highlight=new+leaf

[jerkov]

Very interesting find with that New Leaf cart....has to be quite a rare item for sure. I'm also impressed with the archived LA Times article going back to 1994 that sheds some more light on it. Wonder if that guy ended up keeping the cart or getting rid of it - didn't seem like he had much interest in it at the end of the day, but how do you value something like that?

I did not end up getting any time today like I thought I would to dick around with the Sonic 3 cart, but I'll make sure to post some kind of update tomorrow night. I should also scrounge around on eBay for a Genesis security bit so I can open this baby up and post pics for everyone to see.

[rbudrick]

Well, this sure makes it a pain for complete Genesis collection owners! You missed one, guys! ;)

-Rob