Game Console Hacking: Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Game Boy, Atari, & Sega

593 Pages·2005·18.65 MB·English

by  Joe Grand

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GAME CONSOLE
HACKING
H a v e Fu n W h i l e
Vo i d i n g Yo u r Wa r ra n t y
Joe Grand
Frank Thornton
Albert Yarusso
Special Foreword by
Ralph H. Baer
“The Father of Video Games”
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KEY SERIAL NUMBER
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Game Console Hacking:Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Atari, & Gamepark 32
Copyright © 2004 by Syngress Publishing,Inc.All rights reserved.Printed in the United States of America.Except as per-
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Acknowledgments
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Technical Editor & Contributor
Joe Grand;Grand Idea Studio,Inc.Joe Grand is the President of Grand Idea Studio,a San Diego-
based product development and intellectual property licensing firm,where he specializes in the inven-
tion and design of consumer electronics,medical devices,video games,and toys.His latest creations
include the Stelladaptor Atari 2600 Controller-to-USB Interface and the Emic Text-to-Speech
Module.
A recognized figure in computer security,Joe has testified before the United States Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee and is a former member of the legendary hacker collective L0pht
Heavy Industries.Joe’s research on mobile devices and embedded security has been published in var-
ious periodicals,including Circuit Cellar and the Digital Investigation Journal.He is the author of many
security-related software tools,including pdd,the first forensic acquisition application for Palm devices.
Joe currently has a patent pending on a hardware-based computer memory imaging concept and appa-
ratus (U.S.Patent Serial No.10/325,506).
Joe has presented his work at numerous academic,industry,and private forums,including the
United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations,the Naval Postgraduate School,the IBM
Thomas J.Watson Research Center,the Embedded Systems Conference,the Black Hat Briefings,and
DEFCON.He has appeared in documentaries and news for television,airplane in-flight programming,
and print media outlets.He has also authored Hardware Hacking:Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty
(Syngress Publishing,ISBN:1-932266-83-6),contributed to Stealing The Network:How to Own A
Continent (Syngress,ISBN:1-931836-05-1),and is a frequent contributor to other texts.Joe holds a
Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Boston University.
Joe is the author of Chapter 1 “Tools of the Warranty Voiding Trade,”Chapter 2 “Case Modifications:
Building an Atari 2600PC,”Chapter 5 “Nintendo GBA,”Chapter 6 “GP32,”Chapter 7
“NES,”and the Appendices.
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Contributors
Frank (Thorn) Thornton runs his own technology-consulting firm,Blackthorn Systems,
which specializes in wireless networks.His specialties include wireless network architecture,
design,and implementation,as well as network troubleshooting and optimization.An interest
in amateur radio has also helped him bridge the gap between computers and wireless net-
works.Frank’s experience with computers goes back to the 1970’s when he started program-
ming mainframes.Over the last 30 years,he has used dozens of different operating systems and
programming languages.Having learned at a young age which end of the soldering iron was
hot,he has even been known to repair hardware on occasion.In addition to his computer and
wireless interests,Frank was a law enforcement officer for many years.As a detective and
forensics expert he has investigated approximately one hundred homicides and thousands of
other crime scenes.Combining both professional interests,he was a member of the workgroup
that established ANSI Standard ANSI/NIST-CSL 1-1993 Data Format for the Interchange of
Fingerprint Information. He has co-authored WarDriving:Drive,Detect,and Defend:A Guide to
Wireless Security (Syngress Publishing,ISBN:1-93183-60-3),as well as contributed to IT Ethics
Handbook:Right and Wrong for IT Professionals (Syngress,ISBN:1-931836-14-0).He resides in
Vermont with his wife.
Frank is the author of Chapter 3 “Xbox.”
Albert Yarusso is a principle of Austin Systems (www.austinsystems.com),an Austin,Texas-
based firm that specializes in web design programming and hosting services.Albert’s back-
ground consists of a wide range of projects as a software developer,with his most recent
experience focused in the game industry.Albert previously worked for Looking Glass
Technologies and more recently for Ion Storm Austin,where he helped create the highly
acclaimed PC game Deus Ex.
Albert co-founded AtariAge (www.atariage.com) in 2001,a comprehensive website
devoted to preserving the history of Atari’s rich legacy of video game consoles and computers,
which has become one of the busiest destinations on the web for classic gaming fans.In 2003,
Albert helped bring the first annual Austin Gaming Expo (www.austingamingexpo.com) to
Austin,an extremely successful event that drew over 2,000 visitors in its first year.Albert is also
a contributor to Hardware Hacking:Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty (Syngress Publishing,
ISBN:1-932266-83-6).
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Albert is the author of Chapter 8 “Atari 2600,”Chapter 9 “Atari 5200 SuperSystem,”and
Chapter 10 “Atari 7800.”
Jonathan S. Harbour has been an avid hacker for many years,having started with early sys-
tems like the Commodore PET,Apple II,and Tandy 1000.He holds a degree in computer
information systems,enjoys writing code in C,C++,and several other languages,and has
experience with many platforms,including Windows,Linux,Pocket PC,and Game Boy
Advance.Jonathan has written several books on the subject of game programming,and may be
contacted via his Web site at www.jharbour.com.
Jonathan is a contributor to Chapter 5 “Nintendo GBA.”
Marcus R. Brown is a software engineer at Budcat Creations.His work includes writing
low-level drivers and system-level programming such as resource management,file loading,
and audio streaming.He is currently working on an unannounced title for the PlayStation 2
and Xbox.Marcus lives in Las Vegas,Nevada.
Marcus is the author of Chapter 4 “PlayStation 2.”
Christopher Dolberg is a full-time student,and an avid player of console and PC games.
When not gaming,he can be found modifying his hardware in an attempt to push it to the
very limits of its function.Occasionally he takes time off from both these activities to actually
attend classes.He resides in Vermont.
Chris is a contributor to Chapter 3 “Xbox.”
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