What happened to game cartridges? #Shorts
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Description
- Whatever happened to those old game cartridges that we all liked to (blowing) blow into when we were kids? Well, there were two big reasons that they mostly disappeared in favor of discs. First was that they couldn't hold very much data. The Nintendo 64 Game Pak, for example, appropriately maxed out at just 64 megabytes. Even a standard CD can hold roughly 10 times that amount, which became necessary as games became more complex. Second, discs are much cheaper to produce. In fact, Nintendo spent around 30 times as much on N64 cartridges compared to what Sony spent on discs for the PlayStation One. Despite digital distribution being extremely popular now, discs are still cheap enough for console makers to sell while fat ROM cartridges have been relegated to history, except on the Switch.
The short explains why game cartridges disappeared in favor of discs, highlighting two main factors. First, cartridges could not hold as much data as discs as games grew more complex, with the Nintendo 64 Game Pak capping at 64 megabytes and even a standard CD offering roughly ten times that capacity. Second, disc production was cheaper for manufacturers, which helped drive the shift away from cartridges across major consoles like the PlayStation One. The narration notes that although digital distribution is widespread today, discs remain inexpensive enough for console makers to continue using them in many scenarios. It also points out that ROM cartridges have largely faded from use, with the Switch being a notable exception that still supports physical cartridges. The overall takeaway is that data capacity and production costs dominated the cartridge-to-disc transition, while digital formats grew to prominence, leaving traditional cartridges mostly historical except for certain modern devices.
Topics · gaming history · hardware and storage · console history · physical media · digital distribution
Questions answered
- Waarom zijn cartridges in de meeste systemen vervangen door discs en digitale distributie?
- Cartridges boden beperkte opslagcapaciteit en waren duurder om te produceren, terwijl discs meer data konden bevatten en goedkoper in massaproductie waren, wat game-ontwikkelaars en fabrikanten motiveerde over te stappen naar discs en digitale distributie.