Carts stay in great shape

[Gregory DG]

I wonder why it is that Atari's 5200 carts more often are perfect condition compared to 2600 (or other system) carts? Is it because the 5200 didn't sell that well so there are fewer carts? Or is it because of the design of the cart where the label is recessed?

 

Anyway, Atari's 5200 carts are the coolest ever.

[Miqorz]

I think they're big, clunky and hard to store.

[Room 34]

Not as big, clunky or hard to store as NES carts!

 

Speaking of which, NES carts seem to survive better than 2600 carts too... I think they were made with more durable plastic and higher-quality labels.

 

(Sorry... I haven't seen a 5200 or any 5200 carts in person in 20 years.)

[Miqorz]

Atleast the NES had labels in the end so you can easily stack the games.

 

And they have those little thumb tabs to get them out of a shelf.

 

Too bad they wasted so much plastic makeing those cases though.

[candiru]

Yeah, I always kind of thought that the NES carts were a waste of solder and plastic....j/k. It did always seem strange to me that they were so big though. I wonder what the reasoning was.

 

I haven't seen many 5200 carts in the wild but the ones I have seen are usually in better shape than the average 2600 wild find.

[Room 34]

Well, at least the PCBs in the NES carts were big enough to warrant a case that big. (That WIDE at least... I've never opened one to see how deep the board goes.)

 

We should really ask why 2600 carts were as big as they were... they could've been the size of matchbooks considering the PCB's size. (I also have always found it interesting that Intellivision carts are smaller, even though the boards inside are bigger than those of a 2600.)

[MrRetroGamer]

If the package is bigger, you can justify it costing more, right?

[MegaManFan]

The early NES ones don't go anywhere near that deep (half or less). Only the late releases that really cranked up the limits of the Nintendo with MMC's and RAM (think Kirby's Adventure) pushed it to the edge.

[Bryan]

Well, at least the PCBs in the NES carts were big enough to warrant a case that big.  (That WIDE at least... I've never opened one to see how deep the board goes.)

 

The ones I've seen only go back far enough to hold a couple sideways ROM's.

 

We should really ask why 2600 carts were as big as they were... they could've been the size of matchbooks considering the PCB's size.  (I also have always found it interesting that Intellivision carts are smaller, even though the boards inside are bigger than those of a 2600.)

 

Atari was compensating for something. I think it just came down to something like, smaller than an 8-track, but bigger than the cartridges for anyone else's system.

 

-Bry

[JB]

I think they're big, clunky and hard to store.  

 

Well, yes.

But can you do THIS with a VCS cart?

*strikes Miqorz with a 5200 cart, stunning him momentarilly*

 

The early NES ones don't go anywhere near that deep (half or less).  Only the late releases that really cranked up the limits of the Nintendo with MMC's and RAM (think Kirby's Adventure) pushed it to the edge.

And FamiCom versions were still the same depth through to the end.

 

It's not that they HAD to make a bigger PCB, but it was easy enough given all the sapre space they'd designed into the NES cart.

[Room 34]

I think they're big, clunky and hard to store.  

 

Well, yes.

But can you do THIS with a VCS cart?

*strikes Miqorz with a 5200 cart, stunning him momentarilly*

 

C'mon, if you think that's all they're good for... I have a bunch of VHS tapes gathering dust that you can use instead.

[JB]

I think they're big, clunky and hard to store.  

 

Well, yes.

But can you do THIS with a VCS cart?

*strikes Miqorz with a 5200 cart, stunning him momentarilly*

 

C'mon, if you think that's all they're good for... I have a bunch of VHS tapes gathering dust that you can use instead.

Oh, no.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 5200(when the sticks are working, anyways).

 

 

But really, who needs Kangaroo?

 

And VHS tapes don't have that grip groove on the back like 5200 carts do.

[+RangerG]

NES games and Atari 5200 seem to be in much better shape on average whenever I find them. Colecovision carts, on the other hand, seem to take a beating with those black labels that always are rubbed. Odyssey2 carts seem to hold up well as do INTV carts. Just my observations . . .

[Brad2600]

Most of my 2600 games are in tip top shape so I disagree with the 5200 carts being sturdier. They're about equal in my opinion.

 

Gotta love the 5200 though.