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▲The Super Nintendo Cartridges (2024) (fabiensanglard.netself.__VINEXT_RSC_CHUNKS__=self.__VINEXT_RSC_CHUNKS__||[];self.__VINEXT_RSC_CHUNKS__.push("2:I[\"aadde9aaef29\",[],\"default\",1]\n3:I[\"6e873226e03b\",[],\"Children\",1]\n5:I[\"bc2946a341c8\",[],\"LayoutSegmentProvider\",1]\n6:I[\"6e873226e03b\",[],\"Slot\",1]\n7:I[\"3506b3d116f7\",[],\"ErrorBoundary\",1]\n8:I[\"a9bbde40cf2d\",[],\"default\",1]\n9:I[\"3506b3d116f7\",[],\"NotFoundBoundary\",1]\na:\"$Sreact.suspense\"\n:HL[\"/assets/index-BLEkI_5r.css\",\"style\"]\n")>)
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My personal favorite was the hack on some NES carts that would use a "stun gun" approach to the 10NES lockout chip for loading unlicensed carts onto the console. They'd literally charge up a capacitor to spike a shock to the chip to "stun" it long enough to boot the rom. Classic stuff.
The 2600's Pitfall II cart even added their own co-processor (Display Processor Chip/DCP) providing advanced music generation, improved graphics handling, and increased data storage.
I truly love the ingenuity involved in enhancing and prolonging the life of game systems and the bypassing of inherent limitations. True hacks in the literal sense. Some beautiful, some funny (in retrospect like the stun chip I mentioned.)
NEC made some good looking console hardware for the Japanese market too.
R.I.P. Dreamcast, R.I.P. 32x, R.I.P. Mega CD, R.I.P. Saturn...
A technical demo like Bleemcast doesn’t demonstrate how far ahead something is, it has to be seen relative to the hardware of a similar generation. Having said that the PS2 which had some early programming hiccups would go on to eat DC’s lunch.