Do cassette games last long

[Jim Pez]

I was watching YouTube video and this guy sad if you buy old cassette games they may not work because there magnetic and don't last long. Is this true ?

[Retro-Z]

Yes, it's true. Just like any magnetic-based information storage media. The longevity of the tape largely depends on storage conditions, initial quality of the coatings on the tape, etc. While the tapes CAN retain their data for a surprising length of time, it isn't uncommon to come across one that is no longer any good, or the data on the tape isn't readable.

[CatPix]

As said above.

Tho, cassettes tapes having their magnetic surface not exposed and being in a sturdy case helps alot over preservation.

I have yet to buy an used cassette game that doesn't work at all, but dead floppies, both 5"1/1 and 3"1/2 are common. Even worse, many floppies are physically damaged, meaning that you cannot even reformat them and rewrite them. Tapes are more rugged and will usually be re-recorded with no fuss.

 

When getting an emulation isn't possible or expensive, I prefer tapes over floppies : easier to read (with few exceptions, computers use a standard DIN audio plug) easier to write on a tape; and simply, easier to send from any sound device to the computer. Wherehas today, writing floppies require more work, managing to get the Omnitool driver working, and hope that your floppy drive is up to the task, AND that the drive of the computer can still read floppies.

[Rick Dangerous]

Dead floppies, both 5"1/1 and 3"1/2 are common. Even worse, many floppies are physically damaged, meaning that you cannot even reformat them and rewrite them.

 

Dead or damaged 5 1/4" floppies are so common, half the games I get for my Atari XEGS don't work. Thinking of selling my 1050 drive and just sticking to cartridge games it is such a problem....

 

The up side is they are often cheap and more readily available than some games on cart for those systems. Still, have had real problems with them. Staying away from tapes for similar reasons. Better to get the roms and some sort of flash or SD cart solution.

[Airshack]

Every TI cassette program I've picked up on eBay has loaded without a hitch. It may be possible, because of the hard shell case and the spool of the tape, that the cassette may have protected these programs in a way more favorable than floppy disks? I suspect so. Interesting question. Personally, I wouldn't shy away from cassettes.

[eightbit]

As an audio tape collector for many years (I have around 800 of them) and using computer tapes for many many years for saving data, I can say that they are pretty reliable provided they have been kept under good environmental conditions and have been stored in tape cases. I have VERY few that do not work.

 

But still, they are magnetic media and they will not last "forever". I like collecting the real thing, but also like the new gadgets that use SD media to load tape and disk images (and more importantly allow backing them up)

[Airshack]

You can buy boxed never used TI cassette drives on eBay for less than $40. I have one which works perfectly. Also, it's kind of cool to open a box with 1980s air inside and "unboxing" something produced 35 years ago.

[BassGuitari]

FWIW, I've generally had good luck with old tapes. I have dozens, across several platforms, and I can only think of two or three that refuse to load anything. Like others have said, as long as they've been stored properly (in cases, in a dry and static-free environment, out of direct sunlight, away from strong sources of magnetism), they seem pretty reliable.

Most of mine are TRS-80 Model I tapes, if that makes any difference (it shouldn't).