important snes questions! help!

[jukefek]

1.can i change a game save battery ?
2.if i buy a snes game NEW will the battery have expired?
3.anyone know a good website were i can get snes games at really good price (i prefer new games but its ok if theyare used)
4.please help!!!

[IHatedSega]

Yeah most likely the batteries are bad or starting to go bad now. Get the same type of battery they used to replace the mwith. Look on ebay of course, or the Japanese ebay equivalent.

[Rickstilwell1]

Yeah its gotten so bad lately I'm beginning to think it's a good idea to put a disclaimer in my ebay auctions stating that I cannot physically guarantee batteries not deciding to die during transit and that changing your own batteries is now the responsibility of every retro gamer. Reselling and rebuying games just to get one that still saves is becoming no longer acceptable as they'll all be like that soon. I'm sick of people trying to get partial refunds because they didn't know games took batteries they needed special tools to get to.

[wiggyx]

1.can i change a game save battery ?
2.if i buy a snes game NEW will the battery have expired?
3.anyone know a good website were i can get snes games at really good price (i prefer new games but its ok if theyare used)
4.please help!!!

1. Most definitely. Do you have the ability to solder and desolder? Thats what it will take to change a battery.
2. Not likely. Of the 170+ games I own only one has ever drained the batter to the point where it no longer saves (Sim City). That's not to say that 99 percent of all games will have intact batteries, but they do generally tend to last beyond 10 years or so.
3. If new, no, that's not going to happen. We're talking 10+ year old games for a console who's collectibility is only continuing to grow. Good prices at all are getting difficult. Check local stores if possible. That's your best bet.
4. If you want games on the cheap, then check lot auctions and such. Buying many games at once will very often save you a good chunk of change. Since you're new to the scene, you won't have to worry about being stuck with tons of duplicates.

If you do need new batteries installed and aren't able, then there are people whole will do it for you. I am actually one of those people. I would suggest doing many at once to save on shipping costs.

Good luck!

[Aussie2B]

Refer to this topic:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?144415-How-are-your-games-with-batteries-in-them-holding-up

Dead batteries in games are extremely uncommon at this point and not something you really need to worry about at all. Yes, you should know how to replace a dead battery since if you get big on collecting, you'll likely encounter one eventually, but it's an easy and cheap process, nothing to be afraid of, and it's something you'll likely very rarely have to do anyway.

Buying new games to avoid potential dead batteries is just silly because you'll be paying a HUGE premium, and the batteries will be just as old as in used games. If you're really worried, then only buy from sellers who state that the battery has been tested and stills holds saves okay. That doesn't mean it can't theoretically die later on after you buy it, but the same goes for a new game. I'd recommend just buying used, clean the games well, and forget about the battery until a problem presents itself. If you want to buy your games online, just about everyone uses eBay, but you could also try Marketplace forums like on here.

[wiggyx]

^^^ and if you wanna be really careful, it's extremely easy to test the charge left in a battery with a multimeter. No sense in guessing when finding out or sure takes about 30 seconds ;)

[Jack7]

I had bought some games from a guy a while back all snes and there must have been kept in a dank basement cost the labels and carts looked rough (but hey dkc 2 for two dollars? Count me in) all the battery saved games were wiped and didn't save. So I bought a bunch of cheap sports games and ganked their battery. Desolder switch solder. Now it's working fine.

[wiggyx]

You can get tabbed batteries for next to nothing online. No need to scavenge old sports games.

On a side note, what did you do with the spots titles?

[Jack7]

i had no idea they sold em so cheap, just looked it up. and the old sports carts? i reprinted labels of smw and megaman x and the sort, fixed in the guts of some clocks, and made everyone christmas presents

[jb143]

^^^ and if you wanna be really careful, it's extremely easy to test the charge left in a battery with a multimeter. No sense in guessing when finding out or sure takes about 30 seconds ;)

This isn't too accurate with lithium cells though. For an alkaline battery, the loss in capacity is pretty linear and this works really well but a lithium's voltage levels off over most of it's life with a sudden drop at the end.

[BlastProcessing402]

The battery in my original Zelda cart (original version w/5 screws and no "hold reset" warning) still worked last time I checked it. Admittedly that was around a year ago, but still. None of my NES games I checked seemed to have died, including both Zeldas, Dragon Warrior 1-4, and FF1. I'm the original owner of the carts, and never changed any batteries.

I know the topic here was SNES batteries, not NES batteries, but I just wanted to show how long these things can potentially last.

[wiggyx]

This isn't too accurate with lithium cells though. For an alkaline battery, the loss in capacity is pretty linear and this works really well but a lithium's voltage levels off over most of it's life with a sudden drop at the end.

Ah, good to know. No wonder I've never read much in between when checking them LOL!

Thanks!


The battery in my original Zelda cart (original version w/5 screws and no "hold reset" warning) still worked last time I checked it. Admittedly that was around a year ago, but still. None of my NES games I checked seemed to have died, including both Zeldas, Dragon Warrior 1-4, and FF1. I'm the original owner of the carts, and never changed any batteries.

I know the topic here was SNES batteries, not NES batteries, but I just wanted to show how long these things can potentially last.

Yup, same here! :D

[brainerdrainer]

Yeah I have a dead battery in just 1 of my snes games. It's my Donkey Kong Country 3 game

[Tanooki]

1.can i change a game save battery ?
2.if i buy a snes game NEW will the battery have expired?
3.anyone know a good website were i can get snes games at really good price (i prefer new games but its ok if theyare used)
4.please help!!!

1) If you can buy a replacement and know how to solder it in there, go for it.
2) Perhaps, it never was used so who knows.
3) ebay still probably sadly the best with the most, fan boards like this one here or nintendoage has good prices better than ebay often enough, jjgames works too from what I'm told
4) There's a self help book you can find at amazon. :)

[jb143]

Generally speaking, how you store a game will greatly influence how long the battery will last. Keeping them in a garage, attic, storage unit, etc where the temperature changes from freezing to 100+degrees throughout the year can greatly shorten their life. Also, letting them freeze can temporarily stop them from working which will wipe your save, but after they warm back up they should be good to go again(though with a potentially shorter lifespan).

[Greg2600]

Generally speaking, how you store a game will greatly influence how long the battery will last. Keeping them in a garage, attic, storage unit, etc where the temperature changes from freezing to 100+degrees throughout the year can greatly shorten their life. Also, letting them freeze can temporarily stop them from working which will wipe your save, but after they warm back up they should be good to go again(though with a potentially shorter lifespan).
Couldn't agree more.