Talk:ROM cartridge

Comparison of storage capacity
Someone should make an article comparing the storage capacity of the different cartridges of video game system and computers (that can be measure in bytes) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.229.239.48 (talk) 19:05, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree, that's what I came here looking for. Its ridiculous they don't show any actual numbers.   D r e a m Focus  21:03, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

Disadvantages?
It seems to me like the 'malfunctions when dirty' and 'no standardization' console implications here are shared even with CDs and DVDs. So how is this a disadvantage endemic to the cartridge and not the console format? Darthveda (talk) 14:08, 20 August 2008 (UTC)


 * For the no standardization, it's the form factor. CD/DVD games are still on CDs and DVDs- same size, same packaging. Cartridges for the Magnavox Odyssey, Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo were very different in shape and size. As for the dirtiness, in my experience, they tend to malfunction a lot worse. Some cartridge systems are very finicky about malfunctioning when the cartridges are dirty. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 17:27, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Comparisson with pendrives?
Perhaps it would be interesting to compare cartridges with modern USB flash drives and alike. --TiagoTiago (talk) 05:58, 4 October 2009 (UTC)


 * That's a good idea - I will add that in the next day or so, when I upload a couple of pics.  a_man_alone (talk) 15:30, 4 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Not sure about "comparison" but I've uploaded and inserted a picture of various ROM carts with a USB stick. a_man_alone (talk) 14:11, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

GamesRadar article
perfect for sourcing/adding things in this article. Blake (Talk·Edits) 20:52, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

Hardware enhanced carts
"Another advantage is the possibility of including memory expansion or other external hardware. Examples of this is the inclusion of the Super FX chip in some Super Nintendo Entertainment System games, and the voice and chess modules in the Magnavox Odyssey². However, this increased the cost of the cartridge and so was rarely attempted." Rarely attempted? The later NES cartridges almost always included memory controller chips, extra RAM etc... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.226.132.59 (talk) 12:01, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

downloads???
"Cartridges are still used today with handheld gaming consoles such as the Nintendo DS and available as downloads in the Nintendo eShop for systems in the Nintendo 3DS family."

The way this is written it sounds like cartridges are available for download, whatever that means. Is it supposed to be referring to the fact that many games originally released in cartridge format are now available for download? Or that downloaded games can be saved to cartridges for storage on some consoles? As is, it is incoherent. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.218.24.11 (talk) 13:00, 22 March 2016 (UTC)

Cartridge
Again, someone is actively misinterpretting the history and trying to delele all tge information in cartridge and the first game console released with cartridges - Magnavox Odyssey. Strange at very least. It seems someone is actively trying to raise Fairchild prices through free people encyclopedia. Allstone (talk) 15:59, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
 * The title of this article is "ROM cartridge". The topic of the article is defined from the title. You can't just pretend that the title is "game cartridge". If you want to change the topic by redefine the title, then bring that up in talk. And if there is consensus to change the title then we can redefine the title and then you can write whatever you want. -Thibbs (talk) 04:52, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Even if you took the word ROM out of it and made it more general, the Magnavox cards would still not be cartridges. A "cartridge" is a housing for something.  Interchangeable ROM memory is not what made the Channel F a cartridge-based system, it was the plastic housing (derived from 8-track cartridges) that made it a cartridge-based system. The Odyssey has circuit cards, not cartridges. Indrian (talk) 14:59, 19 December 2021 (UTC)

DS, 3DS, Switch are not cartridges
They are read-only flash memory, like SD cards. The game is loaded into the system and ran. With cartridges, the games are run directly on the cartridge, there is local memory and processing. The cartridge is essentially an extension of the console, instead of dumb storage. 2600:1700:7F:8580:21BD:6906:2DCC:152A (talk) 08:53, 13 April 2024 (UTC)


 * The same is true for N-Gage and the PS Vita. 2600:1700:7F:8580:21BD:6906:2DCC:152A (talk) 08:56, 13 April 2024 (UTC)


 * You are both correct. I've modified the list, and added an internal note for future editors. Brian Reading (talk) 16:51, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

in a PC, not standalone??
The article states "ROM cartridges allow users to rapidly load and access programs and data alongside a floppy drive in a home computer; in a video game console, the cartridges are standalone." This would mean that ROM cartridges cannot fuction without a floppy drive in a PC - not from that era, but find it hard to believe. Setenzatsu.2 (talk) 02:43, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

Memory track cartridge
Atari Jaguar's Memory track cartridge for saving game data and high scores. Special, something to write about or a common thing? Setenzatsu.2 (talk) 04:23, 6 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Old tech, not notable, and unneeded to be mentioned here. oknazevad (talk) 08:48, 6 June 2024 (UTC)