Is it good to...

[tuxedojoe]

I was looking through the pictures in the "Game Room" section and noticed that almost every cartridge-based system shown in the pictures had a cartridge inserted in it. Is this good? Does it help to prolong the life of the system? Or is it just for show?

Thanks!

[Promophile]

Actually I believe that the belief is that you should never leave games in the systems for extended periods, as it causes the slot connector to stretch or something silly like that.

[slip81]

I thnk in most cases it's just for show, though I don't think leaving a cartridge in a system all the time would damage it. I think it would actually be better to keep the game in for as long as you plan on playing it, because putting it in and pulling it out constantly I would imagine can wear off the finnish on the game contacts causing deterioration.

the only thing I can imagine being harmed by leaving a cart in would be the system connectors because they might stretch out over time causing them to have a loose hold on the carts, but I'm not sure if that''s even an issue.

[DigitalSpace]

It's probably just for show. It's not good to keep a cart in the system when you're not playing it for a prolonged period of time. If I was snapping a few pictures of my gameroom I'd stick a cart in my SNES, Genesis and N64. It looks cooler than just the console.

[qbertandernie]

i typically leave the game in but pull it loose from the pins. cant hurt..

[imanerd0011]

I have heard it is bad to leave a cartridge in the system for long periods of time, but then again Slip81 has a good point there. You would think that taking a cart in and out of a system all the time would be worse than just putting it in once and leaving it in until you are done with it.

By the way, I never leave a cart in any of my systems, incase if you care.

[Flack]

I think it might just be because a lot of us play games a lot and are lazy and don't put them up before taking pictures.

[Gapporin]

Heh heh, this topic reminds of something.

In the Game Boy precaution booklet (I'm sure everyone has one of these laying around), it says to keep the cart inside of the Game Boy so that dust doesn't enter the pin connector. However, it also says to keep to cart inside of it's own case when not in use.

Of course, this is a moot point with the GBA, since none of them came with any cases.

[MikeBoh8]

I've always had a game in my snes since I got it in 1992 and it works fine. same with my N64.

[Videogamerdaryll]

I never leave anything in anything,besides the Arcade machines.......I'm too picky..

[maxlords]

I've always left games in my systems constantly. I did it to keep dust out of the connectors but it's also because of out and out laziness

I tend to believe that it doesn't do any harm, as I've never had a system go bad on me ever. My SNES, Genesis, and N64 were all bought new and have had carts continually left in them since I bought them. Never a problem.

[TRM]

I've always left games in my systems constantly. I did it to keep dust out of the connectors but it's also because of out and out laziness

I tend to believe that it doesn't do any harm, as I've never had a system go bad on me ever. My SNES, Genesis, and N64 were all bought new and have had carts continually left in them since I bought them. Never a problem.

I used to do this myself. Now I just take them out when I am done, but I never had a problem either way.

[leorange]

this is why i always flip open the toaster NESes i see out there. haven't found the one with the nwc cart left in there yet...

[Cauterize]

this is why i always flip open the toaster NESes i see out there.

Likewise! Proven a good method to me! Kung Fu was my last Nes-flip-n-see find!

[Ed Oscuro]

Hehe, yup, open them Toasters on up!

Myself, I leave games in the system, especially if it's a cartridge based system (dust I *don't* like, because you've gotta clean it eventually). What's gonna happen, the springs on the door rust in place? OH NOES!

[-hellvin-]

Mine aren't for show. Living on the edge of the desert, the systems are constantly covered in dust every day so systems like the jaguar I don't want to leave the cart slot exposed. I don't know if leaving them in there is good or bad or what not....blackthorne has been in my 32x for months and so far the console hasn't melted or anything.

[rbudrick]

I made the mistake of leaving my carts in my NES and Atari 2600 and the pins did indeed stretch out. My 2600 slot is so loose now it is unuseable. Trust me: In time, your cart slots will stretch out if you leave carts in there, especially on the NES if you are using a game genie.

It takes years for this to happen, but you will see it on the older systems first.

If you just want to protect from dust, do what qbertandernie says and pull the cart out, but leave it in loose That's what I usually do.

-Rob

[mizarkgram]

The best thing to do to prolong the life of both the game and system is to NEVER open either, and keep them in their original factory sealed state.



Now, for those of us who are gamers as well as collectors.... there aint much to do... if you wanna play a game... then play it... systems and games can be replaced.... how many "enjoyable" games do people own that are actually rare / worth cash.... not very many... so it really shounldnt be a problem

[unbroken]

actually, one thing i have noticed about leaving snes games in an snes, is that ones that i left in there for awhile developed a slight yellow on top of the game itself, and the snes games that have been stored for awhile do not have the yellow color.