Can't wait to see speedruns of this

It would be hard for a technician to lose the cartridge when it is that large. If the testing equipment was the size of a standard GB cart, it could easily walk out the door with the customer.

The Japanese says "Controller Testing Cartridge". ;)

The first set of katakana is "Controller" while the kanji translates to "inspection" and the last set of katakana is "Cartridge" "Controller Inspection Cartridge"

I think the size it there to prevent techs from losing track of the device, or (less likely) stop people from stealing it.

It's the most expensive and shortest rhythm game I've ever seen.

I actually love your sponsor sections almost as much as your content!!! So brilliant man! Keep it up!

5:50 It's probably a 'standard' shell they use for developer carts, meant to accommodate _several_ large EPROMs. So, probably wanting to keep the software updateable, it was too large for a normal Game Pak, but only using the single ROM chip, it leaves the majority of this cart empty. 6:30 They don't 'do' anything, they're just vias, passing the signals from one side of the PCB to the other, for routing purposes. The extent of the cartridge's 'diagnostic' capabilities is a very simple piece of Game Boy software that graphically shows when a button is being pressed, and that's all. Nice and straightforward.

I have a theory of why the case is so oversized, they might of had a lot os similar shells for development carts or something similar and just used the same shell to cut costs

It's 6.40am, and I've already seen more of Elliot's legs today than I ever intended.

My guess is the size is for a couple of reasons, one they probably just used a similar design to prototypes to allow for updating as needbe in terms of chip space, another possibility is so it would be easier for people in test centers to keep track of it.

7:07 I'd never enjoyed an ad so much! xD Very creative man 10/10

I guess the size was so it would not be forgotten in units when returning to customers

"not only are words small there are also a lot of them" :-D

Hey Elliott. Please read my response to you in Kevin’s video yesterday. I would never accuse you of shilling. You are a great man and always up when someone send something for review. I’m so sorry for the confusion. Please let me know you read it. Thanks man. I love your channel man.

that was a pretty dang adorable ad spot, well done. The test cartridge is fascinating! Very cool find!

That dimple is absolutely from the injection molding process. They are known as a "gate" because they are formed where the mold and the nozzle that injects the molten plastic meet.

Hey man just wanted to say that you inspired me to repairing and swapping parts from gameboys, I actually purchased a new gbc shell and buttons and used your videos for reference and help. Keep up the good work !

For those of you that don't know Audible, it was pretty much the Raid Shadow Legends of the 2010's.

"I will not be retrobrighting such a rare item" *disassembles it*

Great video man. Very handy to use that as a tester, even in any future videos! Really enjoyed the ad segment aswell 😂😂

Long time viewer, first time commenter. WHAT WAS THAT AD FOR AUDIBLE 😂

I would imagine that the size of the cart is due to exactly the same reason that the Dig Dug prototype is the size it is. It's easier to produce a single sized mould and die than it is to make a custom one that exactly fits the PCB and EPROM chip even if it happens to be smaller than the full case.

The oversized case for the cart was also used for the Intelligent Systems dev carts. Great video!

That board is actually pretty handy for testing/making your own ROM images on a standard size EEPROM chip. Kinda neat. Wish someone would create Repro's of just that board.

6:45 You should call it by it's name, it's an EPROM = Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, today rather EEPROMs are in use, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, so you can easily update your BIOS for example.

I love this excotic hardware, great video and thank for showing it to us.

I love your vids it gives me joy every time I watch you I even watch you on my own Nintendo switch sometimes

For anyone wondering about the Japanese text on the button-pressing screen: "指示に従って押してください" (シジニ　シタガッテ　オシテクダサイ, shiji ni shitagatte oshitekudasai) translates to "Please press as instructed"! I suspect they wrote it in the Katakana writing system simply because it would be easier to program and read than a complicated kanji, like "指" (シ, shi) for example.

The golden points on the board are so called VIAs, they are there to get the signals (which ran on traces on the board) to the opposite (other) side of the board. Near the EPROM there are two jumper pads (those bigger round looking ones, a bit H shaped like golden contacts on bottom left corner of the chip), probably to set the ROM (EPROM) size. You can cut those blobs in the middle, or solder them together later to connect them again. The ROM itself is an EPROM, it can be burned (and also re-written or deleted) with special equipment. So you can update the software. Its also used for smaller production runs, as a real ROM chip would require a "mask" to produce it - using a standard EPROM is cheaper in small production, while it is harder to handle in huge production runs where you typically use non-universal, non-rewriteable ROMs (Read Only Memory vs. EPROM = Earaseable Programable ROM). The print A-G-I-N-G on it probably just mean what it says: The English Word AGING: For testing of aging contact pads. But that is just my assumption.

Love the videos man! Been watching you for a while, love from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Oh man, that's gotta be the best audible sponsor spot I've ever seen 😋

Making a custom injection mold is so expensive that they simply decided to use the same for development and repair ! Also they definitely can't be confused with actual product ! Neat cartridge !

2:10 I know someone who has one of these. Oddly enough, the tech has not increased in value all that much. The value of these is in the 80-150 USD range, but initially, the cost of manufacturing would of been about 200 USD. 4:20 That particular test cartridge is the one that actually has a value range of 300-500 USD. 6:48 That is called an EEPROM. 8:12 You two are so kyuute together, trying to skate, hold one another and pose for the cam. lolz Seriously though, that controller testing cartridge (that's what it says in Japanese), it is really cool to have, and it would of been nice for Nintendo to of resold it to the public for self-repairs/diagnostics later on.

2:13 is that a sonic screwdriver? LOL a Whovian gamer. My man. ✊🏾

Probably the best audible ad I have ever seen:)

Love the sonic screwdriver

Well this has been the earliest I’ve been to one of your videos... ah whatever your videos are really interesting and I like them a lot. Keep it up!

The reason its so big - It was to prevent technicians accidently leaving the cartridge in the Game Boy. In addition it prevented them getting lost in the repair facility.

I love that very cartoony Mario on the graphic at the end.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but loved the ad. Funny vid, and "words are small, and lots of them" lol.

The sponser ad 😂 Great work dude!

I almost spat my tea 🍵 out when i saw your audible advert 😂 that's hilarious. I love how 80s/90s that was 😂

Great Content man never thought I would see a test cartridge, let alone game boy. Keep up the good work

2:16 uh, why do I see 10s sonic screwdriver 😂

"im not a big fan of reading, not only the words are small, theres also alot of them." xD.

Just a FYI but back in the day, especially with electronics, if the device felt light or was small in size people largely wouldn't buy it as they assumed it was cheap/unreliable. They used to put dummy weights via large steel bars inside various electronic devices just to add perceived value. Some still do this. Crazy times.

The reason for a case like that makes me think that the ones with the larger board came first, then smaller version came out, but it didn't make sense to build a new injection mold so they kept using the larger one.

Hahahaha!!!! Video? Great! Interesting! But, the gem was absolutely, you and Emily in the sponsor portion. Audible should double, whatever their sponsoring entails. 🤣🤣

It's the Mario of Alleyway, when you finished all the levels.

I wonder if there are speedrun records for this cart?! 🤣

AGDQ is going to come up with a speed run for this.

The casing was probably massive due to being in a workspace. Workers would lose it within minutes. Having a nice brick to look for is likely much easier.

The next video should be you in a fishing vest full of tools going to boot sales testing gameboys!

What a cool product,glad you made a vid on ot ive never heard of it!:)

コントローラ検査カートリッジ Controller Inspection Cartridge

Very nice cartridge! Although it is just a test cartridge, Mario smiles to me. We can feel that how Nintendo's engineer enjoys their work. Good history and it makes me smile. (And the advertise is nice too!)

Not only are words small, but there are a lot of them!

The size is just for ease of access if your testing multiple devices a day you want your tool to be easily accessible to insert and remove aswell as just not losing track of it

I don't think anyone posted the text on the screen and its translation. It reads: KEY TEST シジニ　シタガッテオシテクダサイ Kanji: 指示に従って押してください Romanized: shiji-ni shitagatte oshite-kudasai Literally: As instructed, accordingly press, please Naturally: Please press according to the instructions

That's a *T H I C C* ROM chip.

those "presumed buttons" are just the PCB traces switching sides through vias (metal plated holes) to reorder them because the pins on the chip are in a different order than the pins on the cartridge header.

All I can imagine is it’s so you don’t accidentally leave it in the customer’s console thinking it’s a game

One assumes Nintendo used a single type of housing for these, special cartridges, one that could house a large development board like the one shown. Just easier to manufacture lots of these, then plop whatever is needed inside. Side benefit, doesn't get lost easily. :) Can also confirm, words are small. Nice 4:3 aspect ratio on the bit. :)

Most likely manufacturing costs are why they put such a small board in that large case. They figured they would have something that needed all that empty space and then just mass produced it because it's cheaper than having to create new dies to make different sized cartridges for different types of boards. Then they just create the board based on the space they have. You find shoes do the same thing, they'll fit a box to the largest shoes and then keep that size for all the sizes before it (except for Nike...).

Love the screwdriver set with the orange case and detachable heads. Does anyone know the brand/model of this kit? Thank you.

The enclosure was probably used for other more chip-heavy things as well.

Those dots you saw on the board are just vias. They connect a trace on the bottom of the PCB to the top. They're there to change the pinout of the EPROM to match a Gameboy cartridge's pinout. Also, that UV LED used in the picture you showed *will not* erase a UV EPROM, no matter how long it's exposed. The UV wavelength needed to erase them is in the UVC range (about 270nm) and the pictured LED has that purple colour of UV around 400nm. You'd be better off exposing it to sunlight on a window sill for a few days to weeks. A sterilization UV bulb (for aquariums or water treatment) will do it in a few minutes though. There are UVC LEDs, but they cost a couple of hundred dollars _each_ last I checked. Edit: Turns out prices for UVC LEDs have dropped dramatically since I last checked.

"hang about!" new favorite phrase

Your videos are relaxing :)

As if you got your hands on one of those, I'm very envious 👀. Loving the content as always!

i have a normal cart-size repro of a test cartridge using a dump of an official ROM someone must have dumped (wasn’t me, i dont own a real one of these, sadly) i bought when i modded DMGs more actively. it’s just a burnt rom chip on a board and its ugly-looking, but it’s function over form. it’s the one with the menu. edit: i got to the part where you mention it! mines a very simple one from kitsch-bent but at the time it was under $10, so i don’t have any complaints. i recognised the cart art on the second one. that looks like it was by ASM (apeshit mods), and he hasn’t been super active in the GB hardware community for a while now, as far as i remember (Retro Modding carries stuff he developed now I think). he made these gorgeous daughterboards to replace the headphone amp with one that had a second audio out for a line-out mod (prosound). you would just have to carefully dremel a hole in a case (usually there were spares around, like 10 years ago there weren’t too many replacement shells being made and they definitely weren’t just something you could just get on aliexpress back then), and the mod would look pretty much stock, as good as the stock headphone jack. nobody would notice you’d modded it very quickly unless they were in the modding/chiptune scene. he’s a really cool guy. he put a backlight in one of my extreme green game boy pockets that has a pixel art chikorita painted on it (dont worry, that gb wasn’t near mint like my other 2 extreme greens, and collecting was a lot easier/cheaper even just 10-12 years ago. i mostly collected earlier than that, and got a lot of hardware and games out of curbside trash during spring cleaning. i would probably get an aftermarket shell if i wanted another extreme green game boy pocket, and i’m pretty sure the repros made in china glow under blacklights, so bonus!) and did an awesome job. im just starting to get back into this stuff (i have a lot of similar interests to eliot but my main focus interest will often shift slightly for a while) and it’s nice to have these memories.

LOL cutest audible AD I've ever seen XD

this was the best clip of a sponsoring i ever saw

I have a theory of why it’s so big. I think it is this way so it is harder for employees to try and sneak it out and steal it.

I would guess its larger so that you could wiggle it in the cartridge slot to test the pins for contact and perhaps a solder joint if that's what it uses, I've never had one apart.

The reason for the cartridge size compared to the actual PCB inside is that injection moulds cost A LOT of money to develop, so it makes no sense to design and create a new one for this test cartridge. So they just used the one already created for prototype games. Ta da.

Technology definitely evolved with sizes of test cartridges

That advert you did had me rolling

You do a very good job with your sponsorships!

Probably just a universal case for all early development of games. If one development cartridge needs that much space, they all do. It’s cheaper to produce 1000 large ones than 1000 individual sizes.

you KNOW there are gonna be speed runs of this

The size is so big, so you could never lose it.. And you could use it as a wapen.

Love this video man. Next up Odroid-Go Advanced?

Hold-up, 0:45, is that a sonic screwdriver?!

Interesting how similar the design is to the Gameboy Game Genie 🤔 The creators of the Game Genie must’ve seen/had one of these and took inspiration from its design

As far as I know those giant cartridges were just generic shells used for game developers. Development cartridges usually fill the whole shell as they often have multiple roms on 1 board.

I can imagine a speedrun about this

„other than the virtual boy“ 😂😂😂

I'm pretty sure you are THE most adorable couple I've ever seen. When do you plan on linking Mighty Morphin Matrimonial rings to create some weird singularity of eight-limbed cuteness?

I like how all the comments about the ad gets liked from the creator, so I’m just gonna say. I was Vibin pretty hard during that ad, Ngl was playing Xbox with the homies.

I gave it a like for the ad alone

That ad was worth it!

That baby blue Gameboy is so nice ☺

So my thoughts on the design of that cartridge. I think you answered the size reasoning with that pic you found. Regarding the added ribs and the Nintendo logo, to add those features to the mold is not that hard, so it is not a big deal from the manufacturing side. However, what the added ribs and logos do is make it difficult to knock off by another company, it adds a layer of identification if that sticker wore off, and lastly if someone made a cartridge that looked just like it, logo and all, they would be infringing on the trademarked Nintendo and Gameboy logo. So a copy would clearly be a fake with no logo and Nintendo would have a way to immediately shut down someone who is trying to copy it. Or the designer of the plastic case is a big a nerd as the rest of us and he just thought it would be cool.

Curious to know where you got that “Big Face Cat” pad? The there Chinese words also caught my attention. 😂

youve done it. youre sponsored by audible. thats kinda like getting a youtube award

Haha, that's amazing! thought that test cartridge can't be bigger than a 32k rom and sure enough the PCB looks like this.

Maybe to prevent theft and to make handling easier if you are testing a ton of gameboys in a tow. That's why I'd imagine making it big like that makes sense. Imagine inserting the smaller cartridge hundreds of times a day. It would get annoying.

Fun fact: In the data of this cartridge there is a bald mario sprite from mario land and some raccon marios from super mario bros. 3