Cartridge, or CDs?

Dragon

Dragon

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    Remember video games used to come in cartridges, rather than CD-ROMs?

    [PokeCommunity.com] Cartridge, or CDs?


    Mostly this thread is directed towards video gaming systems, but, did you used to enjoy, and prefered the fact that video games came in cartridges, or do you prefer that nowadays, they've came in CD-ROMs? What do you think were the advantages, or disadvantages of both? Feel free to discuss!
     
    I do of course remember when games came in cartridges instead of CDs! I would have to say i enjoyed both, the CD a little bit more though. Advantages of the Cartridge: Harder to lose and almost impossible to scratch/damage. Advantages of CDs: sleeker and not so bulky, can hold more data than cartridges
     
    I'm going to go with CDs just for the reason that the cases they came in were of higher quality. N64 cartridge cases were horrible as the cardboard boxes surrounding them would break so easily. But that's just a minor detail. Personally, I like any kind of physical entity than a digital copy of a game; I like the ability to actually hold a game.
     
    Carts all the way, with the exception of the save batteries, carts will last a lot longer than CD's and they also contain some of the best games of all time. Carts will also always retain higher collector values than cd's because of less being made and come on who dosen't love the artwork and feel of the carts.

    CARTS FTW
     
    Carts have faster loading times but carts were also the reason Nintendo lost the lead to PlayStation so I think CDs are better. The loading times in PSX games sure were annoying though.
     
    I have to go with cartridges. One of the main reason why I like carts better is that they don't feel as fragile as discs since they're essentially a durable shell. Every time I hold disc, I just fear that if I put a little bit more pressure on it, I'll be snapping the disc into two. This by no mean is correct though, as I'm pretty sure that the disc is way more durable than what I just describe, it's just me being all paranoid.

    Also, the loading times on carts being non-existent is a great perk as well. I remember a good amount of PSX games having abysmally slow loading times.

    All in all. I'm a cartridge man myself.
     
    I love my cartridges, but dang man...even I have to admit it. There are probably countless hours of my life spent blowing into a NES/N64 cartridge and putting it back in over and over until the game started. Of course it wasn't always like that, but with cartridges it has to be placed *juuuuuus* right or it won't work >,<
     
    I like cartridges better, because I'm always afraid I'll break my disc. The only downside to cartridges is that because they're sturdy, the boxes tend to get thrown away. I never kept my N64 boxes because there was no need (I was 7 and stupid ughhh) since the cartridge kind of protects itself for the most part. Discs are more exposed and tend to come in a plastic or jewel case, so you're inclined to keep it, much like you would for a CD. The cases are also more stylized and clearly made to be kept now, like for storing.

    Still prefer cartridges though. Even blowing into them for old time's sake.
     
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    I think Cartridges are easier to handle with care. CD's are a pain because you can't leave them anywhere. You're going to scratch them anywhere you put them. They're also easy to break too. So yeah. Cartridges all da way.
     
    So at first I didn't realize CD applied to all kinds of disks and I thought we were going to discuss only fifth generation consoles. I'm slightly disappointed. Isnt the format DVD/Blu-ray now?

    I'm gonna have to say that the amount of quality and data that can be added to any disk format outweighs the downside of load times given they're handled in a proper way. A game can be ruined by loading in the wrong place.
     
    CDs are very hard to handle. If you don't treat them careful enough, they could wind up getting scratched, and even stop working all together. Cartridges, on the other hand, aren't like that at all. They are damageable, but it's not so simple, though. d:
     
    The N64 was notoriously annoying when it came to the cartridges, or maybe it was just mine XD But often times I would have to continuous blow into the bottom portion for the game to work properly so I'm happy with the cartridge to disc movement. Though like others have mentioned, they are significantly sturdier than the CDs we are getting nowadays so that's an advantage.
     
    Cartridges had many advantages, namely they can't be scratched and they save directly to the cartridge and the sound when you shuffle through them, oh lawd. CD-Roms, ugh, I've had to replace so many games because of them being overplayed and getting scratched. I would be okay with it if they reverted back to cartridges, even though I know they won't.
     
    Sure when I was only born during the console war between the N64 and the PSX but I grew up playing games on Cartridges. But honestly I kinda like Cartridges better, they were sturdier and honestly they could be more memorable. (You know the gold cartridges from the Legend of Zelda games?) but then they could be a real ♥♥♥♥♥ to play when they just wouldn't work no matter how many times you tried to get it to play. And then there are Cds. While not so sturdy and easily scratched, they could hold far more data even though some games suffered from long load times.

    At the end of the day I could go side with either cartridges or CDs, each have their own merits and shortcomings. But I may be more inclined to Cartriges, if only out of nostalgia, but CDs are really nice too.
     
    It's funny that, a couple of generations ago, I was paranoid about scratching my CDs and rendering the game unusable. NOW I'm worried that I'll lose my bloody cartridges instead because of how ridiculously small they've gotten. It's very easy to put a DS game down for a moment and then forget all about it, then frantically search the furniture to try and find it before someone (probably you) sits on it.

    It's weird, but I do miss blowing into my cartridges to get them to work; there was something oddly satisfying about it...
     
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