EXTension Port
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Extension Port is what Nintendo names the ports placed on their consoles allowing for connectivity to either other systems, or peripherals that were released after the fact.
EXT named ports can be found on many Nintendo consoles, such as the Game Boy, the Super Nintendo, the Virtual Boy, the Nintendo 64, and even the GameCube.
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[edit] Game Boy line Extension Port
The Extension Port on the Game Boy line is on every incarnation of the Game Boy system, from the original Game Boy to the Game Boy Micro. The port went through several revisions with each upgrade but the general idea stayed the same.
[edit] Cable Link
The primary use for the Extensions port on Game Boys was to hook up two Game Boys up together in certain multiplayer games. Every Game Boy had this feature, and the Game Boy Advance eventually received a wireless version for certain multiplayer games.
[edit] 3rd Party lights
Many lights were made for the Game Boy that ran off of the EXT port such as a product called the Wormlight for the Game Boy Color.
[edit] Game Boy Printer
The Game Boy Printer used the EXT port to transfer information to be printed by the printer. This feature was only used in select games.
[edit] Super Famicom\SNES EXTension Port
[edit] Satellaview
Main article: Satellaview
This only saw a release in Japan. The Satellaview was the main user of the port for the Super Famicom. It essentially connected the Super Famicom to a sever where one could download online games.
[edit] Virtual Boy
When the system was designed, an extension port was put in for multiplayer functionality. The system was dropped before the cable could be released and therefore there is not multiplayer support for it. At Planet VB there is a tutorial on how to make a multiplayer cable for the Virtual Boy by modifying a couple of standard Nintendo Composite cables. [1]
[edit] Nintendo 64 Extension Port
The EXTension port on the Nintendo 64 game console, is found on its bottom side. It reads "EXT." and stands for extension. It is a cartridge drive but with a slightly different interface than the one above on the main deck. It has the same number of pins as the main cartridge slot and the same data transfer speed. The special Pokémon Nintendo 64 lacked this extension port, probably because at that point Nintendo knew there was no use for it. While the most popular of uses was the 64DD, other companies found uses for the Extension port, primarily for piracy, though the hardware was originally intended for, and used by some companies, as an inexpensive N64 development device, or even just to quickly develop a product demo.
When not in use, it is covered by a plastic cap, which one has to remove before installing the 64DD under it.
[edit] 64DD
Main article: Nintendo 64DD
The 64DD is a unit that was used for expanding games for the N64 unit.
[edit] Doctor V64
Main article: Doctor V64
The Doctor V64 is a unit that attaches to the bottom of the N64, that loads Nintendo 64 ROMs via an attached CD-ROM drive.
[edit] CD64
Main article: CD64
The CD64 also attaches to the bottom of the N64 and runs ROM files via a CD-ROM. It had the ability to manage games a save files via PC connectivity (parallel port). The CD64 also had the added feature of having a GameShark-like program that could be used to cheat.
