https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/05/does_your_copy_of_pokemon_omega_ruby_and_alpha_sapphire_still_work

The game came out in November 2014 on 3DS. Just 6 years and 5 months later PAL carts are starting to die? IMO Nintendo should give everybody with a failing cartridge a free digital copy of the game on their 3DS. I'm sure 3DS carts will all eventually die, but any physical media should last at least 10 years. Anything less shows neglect on Nintendo's quality control.

Do your 3DS carts still work? I'll test mine and report my findings for both my 3DS and DS games. My last massive 3DS/DS cart test was 2 years ago and everything worked fine.

Edit: Apparently this is the result of a bad batch of carts, and no indication that 3DS games in general will start dying soon.

Mine still work. Or at least they did last october, when I last used my 3Ds.
The left joystick is worn out tho. The gum is coming off.

Yeah, I meant that 10 years should be the absolute bare minimum that Nintendo should aim for. Like if the president of Nintendo asked the suppliers how long these carts would last, the answer should be "I don't know, but the first ones won't start to die until at least ten years from now."

Tested mine just in case. It's working just fine 

Still not enough motivated to finally beat the game though 

Not as fearful as me at first glance I thought the Weapons from FFVII were dying. 

1. This is isolated.
2. Still, they should get eShop store credit. This will also prevent a class action lawsuit.
3. If you want to avoid this problem or disc scratches, or someone stealing or borrowing your game and never returning it, or your toddler taking a bite out of your game, go digital. I don't regret embracing the digital only life. It's more convenient and creates a much cleaner and minimalist gaming space. I used to be physical only, but I can't even comprehend that perspective anymore since microSD cards are so cheap now.

20 since I have NES and SNES games that all work. Newer tech should be better than that.

Welcome to the wonderful world of retro-gaming! 50% games, 50% fixing stuff...

In this case it's a bad batch, but the principles apply. To last more than 10 years or so, you need to store it properly. To last 40 years, you'll need soldering iron skills to replace failed components...

Not sure of how it works elsewhere but in Australia if there's a genuine defect it's replaced or money back no timeline and the acceptance or decline of in store credit is in the hands of the customer we have strong consumer law. products must fulfill a fit for purpose criteria