NES cart has bumps all over it...

[HappehLemons]

Just got a cart offline that has bumps all over the front side of the plastic. How does this even happen? I've seen carts like this before too.


They look a lot worse in person.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/757/img0522z.jpg
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4595/img0523r.jpg

Item was listed as "very good" of course. Time to file for a return!

[thom_m]

That's weird, I've never seen anything like that. Maybe it was stored in a very, VERY hot place?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Heat or chemical reaction.

I'd guess heat. Possibly left on top of or under a radiant heat source. (radiator, desk lamp, etc.)

[Cornelius]

I'm guessing splattered with acetone?

[allyourblood]

For whatever reason, that looks absolutely repulsive. Stuff like that makes my skin crawl. Return indeed!

[MarioMania]

Wow, people are so picky....

If it plays..it doesn't matter...

[Parodius Duh!]

Wow, people are so picky....

If it plays..it doesn't matter...

Unless you collect games.

That sucks, definite heat damage. My buddy had his NES and games on his back porch with the sun beaming directly on it for months and months, the exact same thing happened. Warned him about it too, but he follows MarioMania's gaming logic.

I would be furious, "very good" MY ASS....that cart is totaled. return ASAP!

[megasdkirby]

I'm guessing splattered with acetone?

Thought that too when I saw the white specks. Also, the "bubbles" on the cartridge look like heat, surely exposed to some extreme heat nearby, perhaps a radiator?

[Emperor Megas]

Wow, people are so picky....

If it plays..it doesn't matter...Clearly it does to a lot of people who collect games. I'm not arguing whether I consider the cart to be in very good condition or not, that's relative, but it's silly to suggest that someone should completely ignore cosmetic damage to a game if the appearance of the game is a factor to them.

[InsaneDavid]

It's mold damage. The carts were in an area where it got wet and then dried out and was humid. I bought a bunch of boxed NES games from a long time dealer friend years ago. He found them in one of his storage sheds that wasn't exactly well protected from the elements. The carts that got damaged were exactly like what you have. If it doesn't smell now it will soon and the smell will spread to any other cartridges you have it next too.

I ended up buying what wasn't damaged (and a few I had to throw out, boxed copies of great games, sealed games that had mold growing beneath the shrinkwrap, etc.) but another asshole reseller bought everything else. When he realized the carts were no good he traded them back as loose, which promptly caused the entire loose inventory to wreak like sour milk.

[MarioMania]

It's mold damage. The carts were in an area where it got wet and then dried out and was humid. I bought a bunch of boxed NES games from a long time dealer friend years ago. He found them in one of his storage sheds that wasn't exactly well protected from the elements. The carts that got damaged were exactly like what you have. If it doesn't smell now it will soon and the smell will spread to any other cartridges you have it next too.

I ended up buying what wasn't damaged (and a few I had to throw out, boxed copies of great games, sealed games that had mold growing beneath the shrinkwrap, etc.) but another asshole reseller bought everything else. When he realized the carts were no good he traded them back as loose, which promptly caused the entire loose inventory to wreak like sour milk.

I didn't know that..Can you just replace the shell, Will the board be ok??

[Doonzmore]

I bought a loose copy of Sword Master from a gamestore recently for 5 bucks that had bubbles between the ridges of the cart. I was wondering how they materialized.

Shatterhand - Good taste my man.

[Parodius Duh!]

on the front of the cart where it looks rippled I have seen be caused by extreme heat damage, but the actual bubbles are pretty weird, now that InsaneDavid mentioned it, it definitely looks like this was in someones musty old basement for a decade or so...

[HappehLemons]

He offered me a $4 refund (since the game was $8, but $11.94 after shipping) and told me that this was normal NES cart wear and I shouldn't be alarmed.

At first I told him this was acceptable but I'd rather have a replacement.
He didn't have one so he said I have to settle with the $4.. I figured it would be okay since I still have the game..

But after reading this and knowing this this isn't "normal" for a NES game to look like this after a while and finding out that it will get worse, start to smell and could harm my other games I'm going to actually throw the game out (Or ship it back to him if he wants), and I sent the seller a link to this thread (who I wont name unless he completely wrongs me) asking for a full refund because the circumstances have changed knowing this this is in fact not normal wear and could get worse.

Thanks everyone for your help.

[jammajup]

Heat or mold its strange the label looks fine?,well at least from the pics it does

[MarioMania]

Ask for a full Refund

Or will the PCB Board be ok??..If so, Just replace the shell

[Zebbe]

"Very good" means "boots on first and only try". Aestetical look doesn't matter at all.

[InsaneDavid]

Heat or mold its strange the label looks fine?,well at least from the pics it does

On the ones I had most of the labels were fine, the games worked fine, but the plastic was bubbled like that inside and out.

[Xexyz]

It's mold damage. The carts were in an area where it got wet and then dried out and was humid. I bought a bunch of boxed NES games from a long time dealer friend years ago. He found them in one of his storage sheds that wasn't exactly well protected from the elements. The carts that got damaged were exactly like what you have. If it doesn't smell now it will soon and the smell will spread to any other cartridges you have it next too.

I ended up buying what wasn't damaged (and a few I had to throw out, boxed copies of great games, sealed games that had mold growing beneath the shrinkwrap, etc.) but another asshole reseller bought everything else. When he realized the carts were no good he traded them back as loose, which promptly caused the entire loose inventory to wreak like sour milk.

Good to know. Four years ago I got around 40 boxed/complete NES games from a flea market vendor. Some of the game boxes were tatterd and looked to have been wet at one point. Out of what I bought, most of the games were fine, but there were 3 or 4 that looked to have been exposed to water at one point. Sure enough, the carts had a similar bubbling effect going on.

[Seaquest]

I suppose the only explanation would be a defective cart or extreme heat.:?

[Gameguy]

The cart caught an STD from a dirty system. Possibly plastic Herpes.

[SpaceHarrier]

The cart caught an STD from a dirty system. Possibly plastic Herpes.

d..damn. Beat me to it!

[jammajup]

The cart caught an STD from a dirty system. Possibly plastic Herpes.

Hopefully Humans cannot catch it lol

[PapaStu]

Ask for a full Refund

Or will the PCB Board be ok??..If so, Just replace the shell

Because it's worth hunting down a SECOND copy of the game (thats working no less, because you know that its very very uncommon for dead NES carts) and doing a case swap. Way to waste monies!

[Videogamerdaryll]

I've seen cart like this at Flea Markets..(marked rare)

[megasdkirby]

Because it's worth hunting down a SECOND copy of the game (thats working no less, because you know that its very very uncommon for dead NES carts) and doing a case swap. Way to waste monies!

I've done this only to games in which the bottm portion of the case is damaged. If the front part is in great shape but the bottom part is damaged, I just take it from an existing duplicate, make sure it's identical, and replace. In most cases, the game then looks in much better condition, and quite acceptable.

Of course, this is only recommended if one has a replacement case, and not worth it if one has to buy the same game twice.

[theclaw]

If I encountered this bad enough I might consider taking the shells from sports games nobody'll play. Not much sense chucking a working PCB.

[dnehthend]

nothing penicillin won't take care of

[Necrosaro420]

Ive had a few carts like that, one the entire surface had bubbles. No idea what it is

[Xevious]

I've also got a couple of carts who has got the NES plague...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Jomba07/Nintendo/John914.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Jomba07/Nintendo/John913.jpg

[Drixxel]

Poor 'To The Earth' ... it really does look infectious.

[maxlords]

This is actually where "Rage" came from in 20 Days Later.....

[Necrosaro420]

Its the NES Pox

[Carey85]

In my experience, bubbling/blisters on NES cartridges has been most prevalent on Acclaim/LJN carts manufactured by Acclaim themselves starting with Smash T.V. It is also no coincidence that Acclaim-manufactured cartridges are also fairly notorious for labels with glue spotting as well as laminate peel.