Backup Devices/Copiers

Welcome to the console Backup Units section! I decided to do this page because I can't find a single site with all the copiers ever made, which is what I'm aiming to do here. I'm including comments from all the sites I could find with info. If you have info that's not here, please e-mail me using the link above, thanks.

All consoles ranging from a Game Gear or SNES, to a PC Engine or Neo Geo have had backup units designed for them. Backup units (or "copiers") are mainly used to transfer a console game's program onto another format, like diskette or hard drive. Once backed up, the game file can be ran on a specific copier to play the game via the console, without the original cartridge. This program extraction routine is the basic purpose of copiers. Many copiers are more advanced though, with features like auto protection disablement, cheat code entering, SRAM transfers, and more. The great thing about these things is that you can uses trainers on games to get infinite amo, lives, access to all areas etc. Goldeneye is a real BLAST using these trainers, you can also access parts of the game that the gamer should not be able to like the Mario World hidden area. Just a few years after the 16bit console scene had died down quite dramatically, it seemed likely that copiers would become pretty much extinct with the advent of new consoles relying on a CD format rather than cartridges. This seems not to be the case now though, as a whole range of new copiers seem to be starting to surface for the Nintendo 64 in particular!

Note: I do not supply commercial ROMs! This site is not about illegal copied software, if it was I'd be including 'mod-chips', links to ROM sites and links to CDR sites!! I do not intend to harm anyone in the video game software or hardware industry, as you can see from the rest of the site I'm a collector and I'm including this part of the site because the history of these devices are interesting to me and other people. If you represent a company that has a problem with the contents of this area of the site and intend to act, please contact me so we can work something out first.

The most famous backup device maker is the oddly named Bung Enterprises. They have been in the game the longest, with their first device, the Game Doctor, being designed to work with the Nintendo's old 8-bit FamiCom, the Japanese NES. Bung went on to make many more Backup Units for for use with all the cart based consoles from the Famicom to the N64. Bung is believed to have closed down in the lte 90's after a US court ordered Bung to pay Nintendo damages of US$18 million.

Here's (what I think is) the complete list :

• Game Doctor.
• Mini Doctor.
• Game Master
• Multi-Game Doctor - Works with the, Mega Drive, SNES, GB, GG and PC-E
• Multi-Game Doctor 2 - Works with loads of consoles with the use of adapters and SRAM/DRAM cards.
• Game Doctor SF1 - Early Super FamiCom copier
• Game Doctor SF2 - Early Super FamiCom copier but with more utilities.
• Game Doctor SF3 - Super FamiCom copier
• Game Doctor SF6 - For the SNES/SFC.
• Game Doctor SF7 - Again, for the SNES/SFC, but slightly better.
• Doctor PCjr - A FamiCom clone with a backup unit and a PC built in - it even has a mouse!
• Gameboy Exchanger - A simple backup unit for the GB.
• Doctor V64 - The first N64 backup unit.
• V64jr - A more basic backup unit for the N64.
• Multi Exchanger - Lets you load GB and N64 games from the PSX to GB flash cards and to V64jr via a cable.
• NeoGeo Pocket Exchanger - A simple backup unit for the NGP.

Full listing of all copiers known to me

Please note: I only own a few copiers, not everything on the list below! Info about the copiers below cannot be guaranteed. Thanks to Kyuusaku for his help with this!