EZ Games Video Game System
From Sega Retro
| ||||||||||
| EZ Games Video Game System | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer: Sega | ||||||||||
|
The EZ Games Video Game System is a Mega Drive unit that was available in some hotel rooms in the United States. Its unique feature was a built-in credit card slot for payment for usage.
Known examples
One example unit of the system appeared on an eBay auction in June 2014, with the following text from the eBay listing giving some insight into how the unit works:
| “ | So here is the story on this item... My mother got it at a garage sale when I was a kid. The way it seems to work is whatever company made the arcade version allows you to select the game you wish to play, and you get some "free play" time every so often. After that free play runs out you have to "pay" with a credit card. My workaround for this as a kid was to stick an expired credit card in there and suddenly I could play all I wanted. The clock on the system was not up to date at the time so it took whatever I gave it past the date it thought it was. I have not done this for about a decade now, so I can't recall how recent it has to be to work, and don't want to put anything in it right now for privacy reasons. It does have what appears to be a phone line connection and I think that is how it charges credit cards, so I theorize that if you don't plug that in, you never get charged no matter the expiration date on your card. | „ |
— eBay listing, June 2014 | ||
Photo gallery
EZ Games Video Game System
Game selection choice panel
Carts in system
Carts close-up
RF switch
RF switch and cable end
