| TheBardsSong said: If anything cartridges are the most durable format out there. So, I really don't know what you're talking about. |
I will be glad to explain it to you, and any others that are confused. Cartridges become brittle over time for the same reason that concrete becomes brittle over the coarse of time. It has everything to do with thermal expansion. Every time a cart is played the board inside heats up, and when the game is not being played the board obviously cools down. This causes the material in the board to expand and contract. Over time this cycle of heating and cooling will undermine the integrity of the material. Microscopic cracks will form, and eventually just like a chipped windshield one small jar will cause those small cracks to connect, and then you have a crack that runs across the card.
Optical disc formats last longer, because the material being used is actually more flexible. A disc format can last for half a century easily even with constant use. All that is needed is proper storage. No cart will ever last that long period end of story. It isn't a question of if, but actually a question of when the cracking will finally occur. Current formats unless they are abused will outlive their console, and the next three generations on top of that. A sizable number of carts will not survive their console. Think of it this way would you bet on your current game outliving your current console.
We read about current consoles dying on these forums all of the time, but you never read someone saying they took good care of their media, but they started playing, and it just shattered on them. It just simply doesn't happen. Sure a console malfunction might destroy a game on a rare occasion, but that is not the games fault. Usually it is someone doing something like not storing them properly, or just plain mistreating them. The point I am making is carts are hardware, and not fundamentally all that different from consoles themselves. The same warping that takes place in consoles, and ultimately destroys them takes place in a game cart.
It is basic engineering really in line with the kiss philosophy. You know keep it simple stupid. A disc only has two parts, and a cart has dozens. It doesn't really take a degree in rocket science to see that one is going to be far more reliable then the other.
