Favorite Cart Designs

[chrisbid]

I havent seen this topic come up in its own thread, so what are your favorite cart designs? After sifting through all of my games last month, i took some extra time to pay attention to some of the little details on carts of various systems, and i would have to say that I think i like the look and style of NES carts the most. It was a new age of gaming, and while most carts up to that point in time had the relative shape and size of audio cassette tapes, NES carts took the shape and size of CD Jewel cases, which in the late 80's was also the pinnacle of comsumer technology. Whether or not this was deliberate on the part of Nintendo of America well never know, but i also like the large glossy label, the highly legible top label (one trait i find very important), and the off center faux venting and area for depressing the cart into the spring loaded NES. On the practical side, again the top label is key, along with their easy stackability and size (easily fits on shelving made for CD storage). They may be a little on the bulky side, and the front loading NES is one of the most problematic consoles ever released, but the carts themselves are sight to behold.

 

Smack dab in the middle of the pack would be standard first party Atari 2600 carts. There isnt much to them design wise, but separate labels on the top and side keep the labels from peeling off as easily as say Activision carts, and the dust cover system does an admirable job of keeping more first party carts clean while sitting on a dirty shelf in a thrift store.

 

as for some fair - poor cart designs:

 

Game Boy Advance - The lip on the top was designed to make removing the cart easier, but stacking and storing these games is a major pain in the ass. It also hurts that they do not come in any sort of plastic case like the original game boy, game gear, and neo geo pocket carts

 

Sega Master System & Intellivision (1st party) - just way too plain

 

N64 & Atari 5200 - No top labels, what were they thinking? How can you pull a game out of a collection with any ease when they do not label the top? At least the 5200 didnt leave a smooth surface on the top, as Ive seen a lot of N64 games that have had the name handwritten on top of the carts, quite sad.

 

My vote for all time worst cart design has to go the Jagaur. The curved shape makes stacking a nightmare, and that faux rounded handle on top doesnt allow for any kindof label on top to allow a person to identify a game. If they were going for uniqueness in the design, they certainly succeeded, but on the practical/useful side they created a monster.

[Raijin Z]

Only in the order I think of them....

 

NES: It's the definitive eighties cartridge. Angular and clean. Matches the system pretty well, with a decent amount of label room. The tab on the left side (facing) makes it much easier to remove one game from a shelf or container without having to get other games out of the way first,

 

GBA: I don't care much about the outside, but the way the cartridges fit together is awesome. Undo the screw, and the faceplate slides down then lifts off. No wasted space, either.

 

Tengen NES: For some of the same reasons as regular NES carts, but the Tengen carts are black, and have much larger labels.

 

Genesis/Master system: Well, they're compact, but more to the point, they fit perfectly in audiocassette containers.

[chrisbid]

i like ths size and shape of genny carts, and the labels are nice and large, but since its one wraparound label, they can peel off a little too easily, same with the SNES, though they are a little too thick, and once they got rid of the tab lock, they had that strange sunken-in area on the front

[Raijin Z]

...which deformed the end caps that they were shipped with for some time.

[chrisbid]

didnt they eventually get rid of those? i always thought those were kindof weird, the NES cart sleeves still allowed you to stack them without any hassle, the SNES cart caps could only lay flat and werent practical if you wanted to store your carts like books

[Raijin Z]

They got rid of them pretty quickly, but I didn't buy games terribly frequently back then.

[SteveW]

Atari Lynx's curved lip cartridges were nice. Small and compact, and with the curve, easy to remove. Turbo/PC Engine HUcards are credit card sized, which is great whether you're stacking them next to your TurboGraphx-16, or carrying around a pocketload to use with your TurboExpress. Intellivision carts are nice, they stack well, don't take up much room, and look cool. I've always liked the style of Atari XEGS carts, except that they don't have end labels. Atari Jaguar carts look nice sticking out of the console, but they obviously weren't designed for easy storage.

 

I've never liked NES cartridges. Too big and bulky. The same for the Atari 5200's carts. The Nintendo 64's carts are just unlikeable. Odyssey2's carts have a nice handle to take them out of the console, but they don't have end labels.

 

My personal favorite would have to be Texas Instruments computer cartridges. Nice shape, giving you a little leverage to pull it out of the machine, and it gives you a satisfying tactile feel inserting them. Sweet.

[Atariboy]

Atari's own 2600 cart design was my favorite.

[Shannon]

Cart? What's a cart?

 

Oh you mean mario kart?

 

Great game!

 

[liveinabin]

I liked the original Gameboy cartridges, they were a nice size, and there was something quite satisfying about the (euro and Japanese) SNES carts.

NES carts were just WAY too big, and just look like the rest of the system in that they're pretending not to be videogames but videos.

 

Isn't it nice that we've lost that stigma about videogames, just as they're getting irredeemably sad again

[Raijin Z]

A few NES games filled up most of the space, and Kirby took it ALL.

[Adrian M]

Good topic. Here's my take:

 

1. NES carts - as was mentioned, clean, angular, and well designed.

2. Neo Geo MVS carts - basically big, sturdy rectanguar carts with a simple end label. No frills, but that's part of the appeal

3. PC Engine HUcards - technically not a "cart", but I love these little cards. Great art, very durable, and ultra compact!

4. Sega 32X carts - Yeah, the system was nothing to write home about, but I much preferred the 32X cart design over the standard Genesis carts.

5. Atari 2600 - I just love these little carts. Small and compact, yet clean and well designed. Very durable and they look great on a shelf.

[Gregory DG]

Except for the fact that there are no top labels, the 5200 gets my vote for the coolest looking cart.

[goatdan]

Again, except for there being no top label, the Jaguar gets my vote. I really love how those look. Honorable mentions go to the NES and 5200.

[Raijin Z]

Woo!

 

[candiru]

I suppose they lose points for not having end lables, but the Super Famicom carts look great with the console.

[jeepnut24]

Not really a cart, but I love XD media and Smart Media. I wish games were on those.

 

As for actual carts, I have to say my favorites are the beveled US Games carts.

 

The genesis is second

 

The GBA has nice carts, but they are sometimes a pain to take out.

[Tempest]

I'm a fan of the TG-16 and Sega Master System card.

 

Tempest

[Adrian M]

Not really a cart, but I love XD media and Smart Media. I wish games were on those.

 

 

You're in luck (kind of).

N-Gage games and some Palm OS games/apps are distributed on this type of media!

[Jasoco]

On the subject of SNES carts. Anyone know why they did remove the Tab Lock section? I remember when I got my first cart with this removed and I was like "What the heck? What's up with that?"

 

Guess it's good now because my Eject button doesn't always work. But weird.

 

I like the GBA games for the size they are. I like the classic NES and even the simplistic Master System. The SNES carts are nice, but I like the look of the Super Famicom versions.

[chrisbid]

knowing kids, more than one person probably broke the top half of the cart off while trying to remove it while the machine was turned on. Of course this is Nintendo's fault and to avoid further trouble, they modified the design. But this is just a guess

[HawgWyld]

Activision carts for 2600 are my favorites. Those are the first ones I can recall being built for stacking.

[Stingray]

The plain Atari 2600 carts, that's just what a game cart is supposed to look like IMO.

 

-S

[chrisbid]

Activision carts for 2600 are my favorites. Those are the first ones I can recall being built for stacking.

 

I like Activision too, but those dam cheap-ass labels...

[jeepnut24]

Activision carts for 2600 are my favorites. Those are the first ones I can recall being built for stacking.

 

I like Activision too, but those dam cheap-ass labels...

 

Isn't it the glue that is the problem? Either way Atari's labels were better IMHO. Imagic had some nice labels too.