Random Thought: Nintendo never ditched cartridges!
2 years ago
Subs take it up the butt
Nintendo had always stuck by cartridges since their first foray into video games. The NES, SNES, and N64 used cartridges before Nintendo switched over to discs and then going back to cartridges with the Switch. But wait, you say. If Nintendo stopped using cartridges after the N64, how were they still using them?
The answer? Their handhelds.
Nintendo always used cartridges for every handheld line: The Game Boy, The Game Boy Advance, and the DS lines. By the time the Gamecube was launched, Nintendo used mini-DVD for it. Meanwhile, the GBA, which was launched around the same time as the Gamecube, used cartridges and Nintendo's handheld consoles had never deviated from this. Whether by console or handhelds, Nintendo never ditched their cartridges for their games. Time will tell if Nintendo will break the trend, but it is interesting to know that the cartridge format never died with them
The answer? Their handhelds.
Nintendo always used cartridges for every handheld line: The Game Boy, The Game Boy Advance, and the DS lines. By the time the Gamecube was launched, Nintendo used mini-DVD for it. Meanwhile, the GBA, which was launched around the same time as the Gamecube, used cartridges and Nintendo's handheld consoles had never deviated from this. Whether by console or handhelds, Nintendo never ditched their cartridges for their games. Time will tell if Nintendo will break the trend, but it is interesting to know that the cartridge format never died with them

Dialganite
~leonidas4life
Yeah, they've been using them for a while despite saying they quit. They just made them better.


The irony is that cartridges have proven superior because the tech that you can put in them can hold more space. Even bluray disc's have a set limit and games these days are hitting hundred gigabyte file sizes super often these days.

Nekrahn
~a25
OP
Nah, the true irony was during the N64 vs PS1 era where the PS1 discs held more data than N64 carts. Other than the Switch, I don't know any other device that use cartridges for its format nor do I think they can hold more space unless they were specifically designed to hold a ton of stuff. Blu ray discs can go up to 100 GB and that's still pretty meaty.


I had to download a 100 gig update for Mortal Kombat 1 on PS5 and I had the disc. Not so much with most Switch games. I mean, you look at what the switch can do with that tiny thing, image an NES cartridge sized thing with the same tech. Could probably put 5 Smash Ultimates on that.