Game Bit Screwdriver Review: 3.8mm and 4.5mm Bits

If you want to open Nintendo or Sega game cartridges (or most of the consoles they plug into), you need a pair of security bits: 3.8mm and 4.5mm. I picked up a handled set from Amazon for about five pounds posted, and this quick review covers what you get, why I chose drivers with handles rather than loose bits, and how they held up on real carts.

What are game bit screwdrivers?

Game bits are the security drivers made for the screws Nintendo and Sega used to keep people out of their hardware. The set I bought is sold as a security bit set for Nintendo devices, with a 3.8mm driver and a 4.5mm driver. Between them, those two sizes cover most consoles and cartridges, if you leave aside the Torx and tri-wing screws you also need for some Nintendo kit.

Packet of a 3.8mm and 4.5mm game bit security screwdriver set for opening Nintendo and Sega cartridges — The 3.8mm and 4.5mm security bit set, about five pounds posted

Why I chose game bits with handles

You can buy these as loose bits, but loose bits have to go into a holder, and the holder is usually thicker than the shaft of a proper screwdriver. That matters because cartridge and console screws often sit at the bottom of deep, narrow holes. A chunky bit holder simply won’t reach, so you end up unable to open the thing you bought the bit for.

These have fixed handles with slim shafts, and even the 3.8mm driver is chamfered down at the tip so it fits inside recessed holes. For five pounds delivered I don’t think I could have got better quality tools for less money.

Two handled game bit screwdrivers out of the packet, showing the slim shafts — Fixed handles and slim shafts reach screws that a bit holder can’t

Close up of the chamfered tip of the 3.8mm game bit screwdriver — The 3.8mm tip is chamfered down so it fits recessed cartridge holes

If you also need a tri-wing driver for Nintendo hardware, those are about a pound. I’ve got a couple, but they really don’t need a review video of their own.

Did they hold up?

I’ve used them on a couple of cartridges now. My worry with cheap security bits is that the metal will be soft and the tips will round off or slip out of the screw head. These held up well: no slipping and no sign of wear so far.

Using the game bit screwdriver to undo the security screw on a game cartridge — Putting the game bit to work on a cartridge

Verdict: recommended. At around five pounds delivered from Amazon UK they’re worth the money, and they’re one of those tools you’ll reach for every time a cartridge needs a clean or a new save battery. If you want the same set, here’s my affiliate link.

One job where these bits earn their keep is changing the save battery in a Mega Drive cartridge. For the rest of my bench kit, see my top 13 tools for fixing stuff.