Bung Enterprises Ltd
Encyclopedia
Bung Enterprises Ltd. was an electronics company based in Hong Kong
. Its products were controversial backup and development units
for videogame consoles, which could allow the user to play a game without owning the original cartridge. Backup units for NES
, SNES
, Neo-Geo
, Neo Geo Pocket
, Sega Genesis
, Game Boy
and N64
were developed and produced by Bung.
"Bung" is the approximate pronunciation of the company's Chinese name 邦谷. Both written forms were used in product packaging and marketing literature, and the somewhat crude connotation of the English word appears to have been an unintended coincidence. Although in business for more than a decade, the company was relatively unknown in the West until the late 1990s. In 1997 it began selling the Doctor V64
, the first commercially available copier for the Nintendo 64
, which quickly gained popularity in the
United States and Europe. The following year, it released the V64 Jr, a lower cost model without a CD-ROM drive. The company also began selling rewritable flash memory
cards for the Game Boy
, and a programming interface called the GB Xchanger.
During this time period, Nintendo
became increasingly aggressive at trying to stop Bung and the sale of its products. Nintendo first filed lawsuits in the United States against retailers Carl Industries and Upstate Games, accusing them of contributory copyright infringement
for selling Bung products. This was initially a somewhat difficult case for Nintendo, as under the
Betamax
precedent, copying devices were legal in the United States if they
had non-infringing uses. It turned out that due to a severe shortage of official development hardware from Nintendo, many game developers had been buying from Bung instead. When Bung became aware of this, they began promoting their products for this purpose, and even sponsored a coding competition for amateur game developers.http://defaced.co.uk/bung/GBCodingCompetition/1stGBCodingCompetition/1st_results.htm The US lawsuits were eventually settled, with the retailers agreeing to stop selling the copying devices.
Nintendo tried a different tactic to stop sales in Europe by reporting Bung products as not being CE mark
certified. This resulted in Bung having their power adapters certified, and sales continued. Nintendo next filed a lawsuit against Bung in Hong Kong. The owners of Bung Enterprises responded by dissolving the corporation in March 2000. A few months later they formed a new company under the name First Union Technology, and began selling the same products with different labeling, using the brand name Mr. Flash. The V64 Jr. was sold as the E64, and the GB Xchanger became the Flash Linker.
After Nintendo succeeded in having shipments of the new "Mr. Flash" products confiscated by US Customs
, the company stopped selling directly to US residents, but sales through third parties continued. Nintendo next focused on Hong Kong retailer Lik Sang
, which Microsoft
and Sony
were also targeting due to sales of modchips. This led to a slightly embarrassing incident in February 2002 in which US Customs intercepted a rather innocuous package containing a serial cable
.http://www.kuro5hin.org/?op=displaystory;sid=2002/2/13/235853/482 Package seizures apparently ceased after this incident. In October 2002, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft jointly filed suit against Lik-Sanghttp://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/03/1623204, resulting in the company shutting down for two weeks, and then reopening sans the disputed products.http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/15/1558215
games.
and Game Boy Color
games. It was also used to write said backups onto a flash cartridge for use on the consoles in question. The unit was designed with a Game Boy-specific slot on the top of the unit and took 6 AAA batteries or a 9V adapter for power, and it connected to a PC via a parallel port.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Its products were controversial backup and development units
Game backup device
A game backup device, formerly usually called a copier and more recently a flash cartridge, is a device for backing up ROM information from a video game cartridge to a computer file called a ROM image and playing them back on the real hardware...
for videogame consoles, which could allow the user to play a game without owning the original cartridge. Backup units for NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Neo-Geo
Neo Geo (console)
The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
, Neo Geo Pocket
Neo Geo Pocket
The Neo Geo Pocket was SNK's first hand held video game system, released in Japan in late 1998; however, lower than expected sales resulted in its discontinuation in 1999, and was immediately succeeded by the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The system only had a retail release within the Japan and Hong Kong...
, Sega Genesis
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and N64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
were developed and produced by Bung.
"Bung" is the approximate pronunciation of the company's Chinese name 邦谷. Both written forms were used in product packaging and marketing literature, and the somewhat crude connotation of the English word appears to have been an unintended coincidence. Although in business for more than a decade, the company was relatively unknown in the West until the late 1990s. In 1997 it began selling the Doctor V64
Doctor V64
The Doctor V64 is a development and backup device made by Bung Enterprises Ltd that is used in conjunction with the Nintendo 64. The Doctor V64 also had the ability to play Video CDs, audio CDs and had an option for applying stereo 3D effects to the audio.- History :The Doctor V64 came out in 1996...
, the first commercially available copier for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, which quickly gained popularity in the
United States and Europe. The following year, it released the V64 Jr, a lower cost model without a CD-ROM drive. The company also began selling rewritable flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
cards for the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, and a programming interface called the GB Xchanger.
During this time period, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
became increasingly aggressive at trying to stop Bung and the sale of its products. Nintendo first filed lawsuits in the United States against retailers Carl Industries and Upstate Games, accusing them of contributory copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
for selling Bung products. This was initially a somewhat difficult case for Nintendo, as under the
Betamax
Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 , also known as the "Betamax case", is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled that the making of individual copies of complete television shows for purposes of time-shifting does not constitute copyright...
precedent, copying devices were legal in the United States if they
had non-infringing uses. It turned out that due to a severe shortage of official development hardware from Nintendo, many game developers had been buying from Bung instead. When Bung became aware of this, they began promoting their products for this purpose, and even sponsored a coding competition for amateur game developers.http://defaced.co.uk/bung/GBCodingCompetition/1stGBCodingCompetition/1st_results.htm The US lawsuits were eventually settled, with the retailers agreeing to stop selling the copying devices.
Nintendo tried a different tactic to stop sales in Europe by reporting Bung products as not being CE mark
CE mark
CE marking is a mandatory conformity mark for products placed on the market in the European Economic Area . With the CE marking on a product the manufacturer ensures that the product conforms with the essential requirements of the applicable EC directives...
certified. This resulted in Bung having their power adapters certified, and sales continued. Nintendo next filed a lawsuit against Bung in Hong Kong. The owners of Bung Enterprises responded by dissolving the corporation in March 2000. A few months later they formed a new company under the name First Union Technology, and began selling the same products with different labeling, using the brand name Mr. Flash. The V64 Jr. was sold as the E64, and the GB Xchanger became the Flash Linker.
After Nintendo succeeded in having shipments of the new "Mr. Flash" products confiscated by US Customs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
, the company stopped selling directly to US residents, but sales through third parties continued. Nintendo next focused on Hong Kong retailer Lik Sang
Lik Sang
Lik Sang was a popular distributor of Asian electronics. The company sold import games, toys, figures, anime-related items, and obscure adapters and controllers for various game platforms. Lik Sang closed as of October 24, 2006, as a result of multiple lawsuits filed against them by...
, which Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
were also targeting due to sales of modchips. This led to a slightly embarrassing incident in February 2002 in which US Customs intercepted a rather innocuous package containing a serial cable
Serial cable
A serial cable is a cable that can be used to transfer information between two devices using serial communication. The form of connectors depends on the particular PHY used...
.http://www.kuro5hin.org/?op=displaystory;sid=2002/2/13/235853/482 Package seizures apparently ceased after this incident. In October 2002, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft jointly filed suit against Lik-Sanghttp://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/03/1623204, resulting in the company shutting down for two weeks, and then reopening sans the disputed products.http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/15/1558215
Game Doctor SF
Known in Hong Kong as "超任博士" (literally means Super Nintendo Doctor), this unit was designed for the backing up of SNES/SFCSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
games.
GB Xchanger
This unit was designed for the backing up of Game BoyGame Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
games. It was also used to write said backups onto a flash cartridge for use on the consoles in question. The unit was designed with a Game Boy-specific slot on the top of the unit and took 6 AAA batteries or a 9V adapter for power, and it connected to a PC via a parallel port.