Any chance carts could make a comeback?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

@Mon_Man

So you're basically saying 'use it or lose it'?

Sometimes I wish I was more tech savvy. Wrapping my head around concepts like flash memory or degradation is not an easy thing.

You've got it.

It took me a while to get it too. Basically flash memory is NonVolatile AKA, it doesn't go bad in storage. But it's also very finicky to just about anything around it and eventually it'll go bad if unused for long periods of time.

[Rurouni_Fencer]

Same concept with saved games on cartridges..
Those saved games on our Zelda's and Final Fantasy's should last about 18 to 22 years without constant use. This is because of some degree of magnets being used inside the batteries, and because the Earth's rotation switches after 20 some odd years of orbiting the sun, thereby affecting magnetic properties on Earth, especially in hard drives and battery-backed memory. So if memory isn't moved around once every few months or so, it lays dormant and could disappear after so many years. (Mod_man, is this right in so many words..?) I would imagine Flash memory works in kind of the same way as a Hard Drive, the exception of course being the lack of a platter and an actuator arm.

My 200th post here on Racketboy - Hey! I had to make it a nerdy one!!

[Hatta]

A little googling yielded this research paper that quotes Flash data retention at around 100 years, even longer than standard EEPROMs. Here is a data sheet from TI with some nice graphs showing how they get these numbers.

I suspect your USB key corruption is due not to aging of the flash, but possibly a flaky controller or an electrically noisy environment. Pockets are staticy places. The quality of flash memory is probably highly variable too. If designed well however, a flash based cartridge should be every bit as reliable as the EPROM cartridges we all love.

I am not sure what to say about the post immediately preceding this one. I'll just point out that battery backed save RAM is volatile and nonmagnetic, hard disks are non-volatile and magnetic. Flash memory is nonvolatile and nonmagnetic. They are all going to suffer from distinct failure modes.

[ujnhunter]

No. Game companies are going to do their best to make sure you don't even get their files. The future is logging into a server to play the files on their drives.

[SwooshBear]

Same concept with saved games on cartridges..
Those saved games on our Zelda's and Final Fantasy's should last about 18 to 22 years without constant use. This is because of some degree of magnets being used inside the batteries, and because the Earth's rotation switches after 20 some odd years of orbiting the sun, thereby affecting magnetic properties on Earth, especially in hard drives and battery-backed memory. So if memory isn't moved around once every few months or so, it lays dormant and could disappear after so many years.

My dad has the first zelda and it hasnt been played in about 20 years, then i go to play it, get to the 5th dungeon, then my save files gone

[Flake]

My dad has the first zelda and it hasnt been played in about 20 years, then i go to play it, get to the 5th dungeon, then my save files gone

I blame Nintendo of America circa 1986. They should have just brought over the damn disc system.

[slowslow325]

With the death of HD-DVD, the only other options are blu-ray or download only.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Were you on some drugs while posting that? What are you thinking? Things are constantly being invented. Saying that is as stupid as closing the patent office now because everything that could possibly be invented has been, or that HD is as perfect as it gets. There will be a new form of media after blu-ray. It will probably be on a disc similar in shape, but might be completely different.

Someone could come out tomorrow with a new cartridge that can be produced for under 10 cents, holds 1 terabyte, and never corrupts.

[SwooshBear]

Someone could come out tomorrow with a new cartridge that can be produced for under 10 cents, holds 1 terabyte, and never corrupts.

That is amazing

[slowslow325]

Someone could come out tomorrow with a new cartridge that can be produced for under 10 cents, holds 1 terabyte, and never corrupts.

That is amazing

I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrow is the day.

[Hobie-wan]

My dad has the first zelda and it hasnt been played in about 20 years, then i go to play it, get to the 5th dungeon, then my save files gone

Just need a new battery in it. The projected lifespan of those batteries was only about 5 years anyway. Most seem to have lasted 10+ as long as the cart didn't get wet or too hot or too cold. Amusingly the Zelda cart I have was still saving last time I played it. All of my SNES games that I've had since back in the day still save too including my Super Metroid purchased at launch.