Cartridge Gaming

[E-Day]

Not to mention that not everyone has, wants, or can even get a superfast internet connection. What are they supposed to do? I don't think it's in the best interest of any console maker to make their games download only. They neglect a large enough number of people that a console maker that still puts out tangible copies of their games will trounce the download-only competition. Downloads are good for Wiiware and XBLA type games, but not full-fledged titles like Metal Gear Solid 4.

[MaverickHunter40245]

For traditional consoles that hook up to the TV, I think think that optical media should be used, because the discs are cheaper to manufacture than cartridges, and they can hold more data.

However, for handheld systems like the DS, I say stick with cartridges. They have no moving parts and are thus less likely to malfunction, especially if the system is dropped or shaken around. Furthermore, cartridges use less energy, due to not having to spin a disc, so the battery lasts longer. These are important considerations for a handheld system.

Edited July 28, 2008 by MaverickHunter40245

[Spongeman56]

I like it better, because when you move the system with the game in there, it doesnt break or scratch or anything. But when I move my Xbox, the game gets scratched and ruined. And if I play with the disc, it gets ruined and if I play with the cartridge its fine. So yeah, cartridges are better because, they hold up longer.

[perudon]

Man, cartridges have their benefits but I think there are so many things about them that make them completely impractical in this day and age with the exception of mobile gaming. The price of solid state memory *is* coming down, but it is still too expensive at the sizes you would need for current generation consoles. Now just imagine the games that are going to actually take up a decent amount of the capacity of a Blu-ray disc (or multiple DVD's for the XBox 360) and you're talking about a lot of memory. Discs are so much cheaper to produce and I think profit margins speak louder to console and game manufacturers than do the complaints about loading times.

Also, if the price of solid state memory did come down to a level where carts were feasible we would probably get little cards a la Turbografx 16 rather than chunky carts. Big, fat Neo-Geo sized carts would be really awesome, though.

One thing that really could appeal to the console & game manufacturers, though, is that with solid state carts you can make proprietary soft-/hardware that makes pirating harder (although the modding community has gotten pretty sophisticated). Carts could contain dongles like a lot of upscale computer programs require... That would be interesting.

[runehero123]

I voted CD-ROM. Actually, it was Nintendo64 vs the Playstation back in the day. Supposedly, using cartridges is the only mistake that Nintendo had made with the N64.

1) Because they had a small capacity

&

2) Because they are more expensive to produce.

[BoOYa]

I prefer Cartridges, yeah i know optical is way better but come on, i just wanna ram my game in the console and start playing.

I dont wanna be carefull with a cd and gently place it in the console, then to wait 3minutes loading and then start playing.

And how cool is it to watch which game is plugged in your SNES or N64

[farmdoggg]

I remember waiting for games to load on the Playstation and that was annoying. So no loading shouldn't be part of a game. Games should be created so well that cut scenes are a seamless transition into the next level of the game.

[Rayman]

CD's for me. Because it's cheaper and more practical. And you can write to them.

[MathUser]

I'd only want carts if they could be created cheaply and have size comparable to DVD's or Blu-rays. That probably won't be possible so I'll stick with optical media. I'm used to load times.

[dhowerter]

I love carts / chips. SO simple, durable, long-lasting and you don't have to worry about them not working when they get scratched

Well, except for the save batteries that die in them.

But nothing's perfect.

.

[Crazylightsaber]

I would love to see the cart make a come back. I grew up on the NES so I have a soft spot for carts in my heart. But i would not want to buy Fallout 3 on a cart at this time. I don't think that I have 'that' much money.

If it would be affordable, then yes they should return. Money is one of the main reasons why discs have become the norm now. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[DPsx7]

Tough call really. Carts have a few advantages such as durability and less moving parts in the console. Plus more room for artwork as many are visible when the console is in use. CD's are nice because they come with sturdy cases instead of cardboard boxes and are easier to store safely in less space. Dust or moisture won't affect them.

But as was said with the sizes of games these days I can't see them coming back outside the handheld market. Load times haven't bothered me enough to complain. The only thing I hope for is that games stay on physical media. I hate DL's as you don't really get anything with it. I collect games and a drive full of files means nothing compared to a shelf full of colorful games. Not that I refuse all DL's as Megaman 9 and a few others were excellent. I just don't want that to be the ONLY choice.

[Hidinger]

Tough call really. Carts have a few advantages such as durability and less moving parts in the console. Plus more room for artwork as many are visible when the console is in use. CD's are nice because they come with sturdy cases instead of cardboard boxes and are easier to store safely in less space. Dust or moisture won't affect them.

But as was said with the sizes of games these days I can't see them coming back outside the handheld market. Load times haven't bothered me enough to complain. The only thing I hope for is that games stay on physical media. I hate DL's as you don't really get anything with it. I collect games and a drive full of files means nothing compared to a shelf full of colorful games. Not that I refuse all DL's as Megaman 9 and a few others were excellent. I just don't want that to be the ONLY choice.

As a person who has done a lot of both physical and DL games, I must say I too like the physical game. I like the artwork that comes with it, the nice manual I can read when I stop and get something to eat on the way home from the store. Heck, I even like the hunt to get the game...especially when I know it is going to be hard to find. None of these things happen when you just hit "buy it now" and "download in background". Yeah, it is nice to have access to the game by just going online. I also don't want to really have ANOTHER copy of a Street Fighter II manual, but still...physical is the way to go...at least at the end of the day I can look at my collection and know it is mine. It just doesn't feel that way with DLC.

[DPsx7]

Absolutely. In addition to the 'fun of the search' part, DLC will have no resale value down the road. If I ever am forced to sell games I know I got several that are worth more than I paid at the time. I still have complete (and in great shape) copies of FF3 and Chrono Trigger on SNES plus a copy of Earthbound with no box, and Mario RPG 7 stars, FF2, Secret of Mana, etc. Complete FF7, 8, and 9 black-label on PS1 plus other hard to find games like Einhander and Intelligent Qube (no artwork though, stupid Ebay), Brave Fencer Musashi, FF Tactics, both Lunar titles, Castlevania SOTN (unfortunately the GH version) and more. I also hear my Saturn copies of Guardian Heroes and Panzer Dragoon 1&2 are worth a bit. What else... Got all 3 Mario, all 6 Megaman, both gold Zelda, and several more NES games with manuals.

I really have to revise my site and post it. I got a LOT of stuff.

[akator]

I prefer optical media. Optical media cam be buffed and resurfaced if needed, and only a handful of the used games I've bought have required that.

I have had many more problems with cartridges. Cleaning contacts, replacing connectors, etc, resolve the issues but are much more of a pain compared to the number of CDs that work perfectly.

I completely dislike network content and distribution. While companies love it, it means I don't have a physical copy for me to play years later. Of course, that's why the industry is moving that way...

[Hidinger]

I prefer optical media. Optical media cam be buffed and resurfaced if needed, and only a handful of the used games I've bought have required that.

I have had many more problems with cartridges. Cleaning contacts, replacing connectors, etc, resolve the issues but are much more of a pain compared to the number of CDs that work perfectly.

I completely dislike network content and distribution. While companies love it, it means I don't have a physical copy for me to play years later. Of course, that's why the industry is moving that way...

The biggest problem I have with optical media is that a small surface scratch can cause the thing to just quit at some point. I could drop a cartridge down a flight of stairs and have it bitten by my dog without causing it to mess up. Some of these discs (especially the blue ray ones) can get a scratch INSIDE their case.

Either way, DLC is horrible as it is later impossible to prove what you "Own" as possession is 9/10th of the law.

[franc]

Cartridges is the best media for me, because the best consoles for me are snes and neo geo

[HitmanDJS]

Cartridges suffer from limited storage space and poor audio quality.

[triverse]

Cartridges suffer from limited storage space and poor audio quality.

To be honest, for most games I play, I simply turn the background music off and just have sound effects and listen to music on a stereo, if at all.

[Gnash]

Darn I voted I wrong. I meant to vote for carts. Carts last longer and do not scratch like optical media.

[Vega]

The publishers want to wipe out the 2nd hand market, so I think downloads will replace everything else, but since downloaded files tend to be much smaller than DVDs or Blurays, game developers will have to use cartrige-like development techniques if they want to fill those tiny files with lots of content. For example, I wouldn't be surprised if MIDI music makes a comeback on the next gen of consoles. I've played around with music emulators and was happy to see that the entire Final Fantasy 6 soundtrack in its cartrige form took only about 370K.

[triverse]

The publishers want to wipe out the 2nd hand market, so I think downloads will replace everything else, but since downloaded files tend to be much smaller than DVDs or Blurays, game developers will have to use cartrige-like development techniques if they want to fill those tiny files with lots of content. For example, I wouldn't be surprised if MIDI music makes a comeback on the next gen of consoles. I've played around with music emulators and was happy to see that the entire Final Fantasy 6 soundtrack in its cartrige form took only about 370K.

Eh, with the penetration of high-speed/broadband I don't think they will have to go as small as cartridge games for the next gen/whatever gen ends up being the download only/prevailant one. I think by the time it happens they will be able to get away with at least CD/700 or possibly GD-ROM/1 gig or so size games, but certainly not 30+ gig games.

[PS_Mania]

I still have genesis carts for the kids to play with and I swear, they never work. I have to blow on them, wipe them, and pray to God that it works when I turn the genesis on. It's like a ritual. Forget carts.

[EarthPhantomTS]

Although I'm a retrogamer to the core (although I have a Wii, the only games I play now, pretty much, are my old SNES and PS1 games, or ports of them. Or emulated copies. Although now that I think about it, I play quite a few newer DS games, but that's about it, pretty much. And sometimes I take my Wii, Gamecube, or PS2 game disks out !), I honestly don't care all that much about load times. Unless it's something really ridiculous (like 2 minutes), I don't even notice them half the time! Besides, cartridges are quite impractical for today's console games; heck, they were impractical when the N64 came out! I mean, guess who didn't get Final Fantasy VII!

(Wait, that's not entirely true...it was less about technology and more about politics IIRC...this is what you get for telling Ted Woolsey to change Celes's suicide attempt into a "leap of joy", Nintendo ...)

In all seriousness, though, I kinda don't care either way, but carts are for the most part obsolete. Of course, as SHADOVV said, actual software on our end may be going the way of the dinosaur, too, at least for consoles; I wouldn't be surprised if the PS5 did work exactly like he said. I would be surprised, though, if Sony's last console is the PS5 due not to the fact that the company crashed and burned but instead to the fact that Sony automatically updated their servers giving everyone who owned a PS5 plugin the upgrade for free. Though, I guess most of the money for 1st party companies comes from software revenues, as I just remembered it's industry standard for console manufacturers to deliberately take a loss on hardware sales in order to make more money from software sales. Well, I think it is, anyway. In any case, we'll have to see what happens, I guess.

[Rave92]

You know that's not possible. I don't think that you can put today's games on cartridge as for size of games. Is it even possible? Well I liked cartridge, but honestly don't have anything against CD/DVD/BR etc.... I think you are just too much nostalgic .