SRL Archive - Discussions & Debates

What would you prefer over another?
I came up with this after I was browsing through my Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis and Playstation 2 games. Then I was like, "Why can't we use cartridges now? You can't scratch them, they're durable, and they last quite a while. Hmm, maybe the forums should decide."

I prefer cartridges. I can still play Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the N64 and I can't play Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey for the PlayStation 1 anymore :(

Discuss.

Low storage amount, high cost to produce.

The way I look at it is if they can make 100 gb flash memory sticks that are the size on my pinkie then they should be able to pack the same amount of data that's on a blu-ray into a cartridge. I guess it all comes down to profit. It's probably cheaper to mass-produce cd's than it is cartridges.

So for this debate I'm going to have to go with cartridges. You can't scratch them, and they are durible. Not like Blu-ray's where if you get one scratch your screwed and have to shell out another $20-70 to get another movie/game.

do you want to blow your games before you play them? It is so degrading…

lol brain.

I prefer cartridges. I had the little SD cards that the nintendo DS uses. I lose all of them!

Personally, I think new generation games should stick to CD. The old generations are best remembered as the generations of nostalgia.

I like cartridges more than CD's, they're durable and they remind me of the very first FF games. Oh gg @ FF fans.

Far more expensive than CD or DVD media.

Cost of a dual layer dvd (8.5gb)- $1 ea, retail.

Cost of 8gb flash memory- $10 ea, production volume. Requires additional development, production, and testing procedures.

Would you pay $30 extra per game so your they could be on cartridges?

I was having a debate recently about this topic. Well somewhat about this topic. We were discussing that a couple of years ago (around 5) that the newest prediction was that computers were going to be without mechanical moving parts. Meaning no CDs, DVDs, HDDs, or disks or any sort. It would be solid non moving memory.

Back then that idea just blew me away, because almost every media so far had been a moving media. Now with SSDs, flash drive, and flash memory the idea is becoming more and more at hand. Now currently it still takes much more $$$ to produce things on flash memory, but it is possible. I mean moving everything to non moving parts takes way less power, way more durable, produces much less noise, and less heat. We haven't significantly been able to test the longevity of flash memory but it seems like it should be able to last much longer than most CDs. I mean most burnt CDs or DVDs go corrupt after as little time as 2 years. I think what happened to CDs and DVDs will soon happen to Flash memory. Blu-ray seems like a temporary fix flash growing so quickly, and dropping substantially in price. Imagine a computer with no moving parts, less fans if its air cooled. Substantial drop in noise, power consumption, and heat. It's a future I am looking forward to.

Cartridges are more robust, however, you can modify their data more readily than a CD. That's probably another reason they don't want them.

Personally, cartridges. They'll last longer than CDs.

Personally, I prefer cartridges, for the same reasons as everyone else.

But unfortunately, the economy will always prefer CDs. That is, until we refuse to buy them 0_o

I'm just waiting for holographic data storage, myself.

Distribution companies also love the fact that you have to buy the same game/album twice if you scratch the CD. I'm sure in two years or so Flash memory will barely cost more than laser disc memory, although as R0b0t1 said you can pirate games easier with them since it's hard to make only the spot in the flash where the save files go writable.

Also, the N64 is a beast. It weighs like nothing and you can throw it at people with the cartridge inside it :D (now if only that reset button wouldn't get stuck considering the rest of it is indestructible).

I do hate CD/DVDs due to scratching. Have to handle them like a piece of uranium just to keep them in decent shape for a long time.

I still have my old NES games sitting in a drawer. They still work :p

Finally tho Sony is going in the right direction with the PSP-go. You just download the games onto it. Yes there is a system like that on the XBox360 but it doesn't work for all the games.

It seems like downloading is a peculiar option considering that blu-ray games can be 8GB and that's a lot to download using a standard connection.

8-track all the way…

~Camo

Have many of you handled Blu-Ray disks? They are pretty difficult to scratch, I worked at a movie/game/book store that rented movies and games as well, and occasionally we would play some Frisbee with blu ray movies and games because they were so tough to scratch.

Cart all the way.

Cart is just too expensive and environment-unfriendly, so disc it is. Especially Blu-ray with it's rock solid coating.

Blu-ray is a proprietary, restricted, piece-of-shit.

I never said blu ray were good, I just said they are tough to scratch

Within five years, its all going to be downloadable.