Many gamers and collectors trust physical game cartridges as the best way to own and preserve their games.
Cartridges give you a physical piece of gaming history that you can hold and play anytime, unlike digital copies locked to accounts or servers.
But recent insights have revealed that these cartridges, especially for Nintendo Switch, 3DS, and PlayStation Vita, aren’t as indestructible as many believed.
Modern game cartridges store data using flash memory, which works like USB drives and SSDs by holding electrical charges inside small cells. Over long periods without use, these charges naturally leak away.
When that happens, the cartridge’s stored data can become corrupted or lost entirely, making the game unreadable or impossible to play.
Unlike older game cartridges from the 90s and early 2000s that used mask ROM (which encoded data directly into hardware and lasted essentially forever), these newer flash-based cartridges are more vulnerable to data degradation.
How Long Does It Take for Cartridge Data to Degrade?
It’s not clear exactly when degradation becomes visible, but data suggests that cartridges unused for roughly five to ten years are more likely to lose data.
A number of players and collectors have experienced problems with certain 3DS games, such as Fire Emblem Echoes and Persona Q, where cartridges won’t load or crash after being stored for a long time.
These problems are sometimes serious enough that special software tools have been developed to “refresh” the cartridge memory, but once the data is lost, recovery isn’t guaranteed.
What Can I Do to Protect My Cartridges?
To help prevent this from happening, the recommended best practice is to insert your cartridges into their respective consoles every few years and leave them powered on long enough for the system to refresh the data.
This “exercising” of the cartridge’s memory helps maintain the integrity of the stored information by recharging those electrical cells before the charges fade too far. It may be annoying, but it’s a minor action to keep your games playable far into the future.
What About Sealed Copies? Are They Safer?
Unopened cartridges can gradually lose data while trapped inside their packaging.
If you collect sealed copies, hoping to preserve them untouched, this information may be a bitter pill to swallow.
Some collectors may eventually have to choose between maintaining the sealed status of the game or opening it to prevent irreversible cartridge failure.
Is the Situation Different for the PlayStation Vita?
With the PlayStation Vita, the story is less straightforward due to its different cartridge and memory card format.
Even so, the same risks hold, and since Vita memory cards aren’t made anymore, keeping data intact is less reliable.
It’s becoming more important for Vita owners to back up saves and game data when allowed by law.
Are the Consoles Themselves Also at Risk?
It’s also worth noting that the consoles themselves aren’t immune to aging.
The lithium-ion batteries in Switch and 3DS devices gradually degrade, swelling or losing charge-holding ability, which impacts how well the devices work.
Powering on and charging your devices on a regular basis keeps them working longer. Physical cartridges remain popular with gamers and collectors but call for regular attention.
Games aren’t eternal archives, so take care by using them, storing well, and backing up to keep access long-term.
Physical copies are real but breakable, so preserving gaming history means handling them carefully and understanding their fragility.
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