Are Saturn memory cards region locked?

[Kitsune Sniper]

I recently hooked up my US Saturn and it works fine, and I had a couple of Japanese Memory Carts in storage so I took 'em out and played them in the system... and they weren't recognized. Which was odd because they do work on my Japanese Saturn (which I got with those two memory cards, as well as a first-party S-Video cable).

So I'm wondering if the cards are region locked or not. Or if the connector on my system is screwed. Any thoughts?

[Kitsune Sniper]

... And why did I post this on off-topic? Ugh. Sorry.

[ubikuberalles]

Shimmy to classic gaming...

[MASTERWEEDO]

I never thought that the memory carts would be region locked. Wonder if its cuz the games are region coded and its needed like that for certain games?

[aclbandit]

I never thought that the memory carts would be region locked. Wonder if its cuz the games are region coded and its needed like that for certain games?

Well, my action replay (which does have memory cart capability) works on my US saturn, and lets me put Japanese game saves on it, so my guess is that they shouldn't be region locked.

There's also the possibility that I just accidentally picked an awesome one and yours just happen to be region-specific.

But I'm leaning dead card slot, or one at least in need of a good cleanin'.

[Flashback2012]

AFAIK the memory cards or RAM cards are NOT region locked like the game discs. I imagine it's more a faulty cartridge slot than anything. I'll never understand why the cart port was universally horrible and never fixed with later hardware revisions. What I also don't understand is how Sega, a company with a few cartridge based systems under their belt, built such a flimsy feeling cartridge port to begin with.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Dammit. That explains why the Action Replay I got didn't work either.

The system works fine otherwise, but I wanted to back up my save games just in case.

[vrikkgwj]

Since this is relevant to the topic now, is there a way to get replacement cartridge slots on the Saturn? I'm worrying about mine going sometime in the future since I use the RAM cart for all my saving since my internal battery has been dead for awhile and I hear that they only last a year or two.

[Kitsune Sniper]

You can swap the battery yourself.

I just want the RAM cart so I can swap it out without worry of the data being lost.

[Flashback2012]

Since this is relevant to the topic now, is there a way to get replacement cartridge slots on the Saturn? I'm worrying about mine going sometime in the future since I use the RAM cart for all my saving since my internal battery has been dead for awhile and I hear that they only last a year or two.

The Saturn uses a CR2032 battery which you can find at Wal-Mart, Lowes, or the like. It's easy to replace the battery as the compartment containing it is easily accessible (it's in the compartment used to house the DV card). Simply flip the old battery out and pop the new one in and viola...you're all done.

[Flashback2012]

Dammit. That explains why the Action Replay I got didn't work either.

The system works fine otherwise, but I wanted to back up my save games just in case.

I have three Saturns in the house, the Oval button version, the Round button version, and a Hitachi Hi-Saturn. All three machines all have trouble with a memory cart or a RAM cart. I don't even bother with a Game Shark or Pro Action Replay as the pinout sticks out further than the cart does and it feels like I have to apply more force to get those to work over mem/RAM carts.

[MrRoboto19XX]

My advice, strange as it seems is to get the cheapest brand-x memory cart/action replay you can. They have thicker boards, which would normally be terrible for a Saturn's card slot, but on one that's worn out they seem to do the trick.

I bought mine from Lik-Sang years ago for like $10 shipped, doesn't even have a label, but works all the same.

[Kitsune Sniper]

See, I tried my Action Replay and it wouldn't work.

*weeps*

[nebrazca78]

Since this is relevant to the topic now, is there a way to get replacement cartridge slots on the Saturn? I'm worrying about mine going sometime in the future since I use the RAM cart for all my saving since my internal battery has been dead for awhile and I hear that they only last a year or two.

I am selling a bunch of parts Saturns on eBay right now that could be harvested of their memory slots. The link is in my sig. And as far as I know the memory carts are not locked, I use a Euro memory cart with my Saturn.

[fahlim003]

I am selling a bunch of parts Saturns on eBay right now that could be harvested of their memory slots. The link is in my sig. And as far as I know the memory carts are not locked, I use a Euro memory cart with my Saturn.

Same here. I got an official Sega memory cartridge from the UK some years ago as it was much cheaper than buying one here in North America. $15 shipped I believe. Works great and works on all regions of Saturn. Your slot is likely toast, Kitsune_Sniper.