on cartridge battery life

[guyjin]

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/193374-battery-life-of-old-game-cartridges/

So this guy over at Atariage is claiming that, according to his calculations (which he doesn't 'show his work' for), NES carts' battery backup should last 60-80 years (so they'd start dying around, say, 2047) but that certain Gameboy carts will start losing saves in the next few years.

The conventional wisdom, back in the day, was that they'd last 12 years. It's been twice that now, depending on the game, and I've yet to see a cart with a dead battery.

So I thought I should point this out to our more electronically savvy people, and see what they think. How long do you think it will be before people have to start replacing batteries in old game carts?

[Bernie]

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/193374-battery-life-of-old-game-cartridges/

So this guy over at Atariage is claiming that, according to his calculations (which he doesn't 'show his work' for), NES carts' battery backup should last 60-80 years (so they'd start dying around, say, 2047) but that certain Gameboy carts will start losing saves in the next few years.

The conventional wisdom, back in the day, was that they'd last 12 years. It's been twice that now, depending on the game, and I've yet to see a cart with a dead battery.

So I thought I should point this out to our more electronically savvy people, and see what they think. How long do you think it will be before people have to start replacing batteries in old game carts?

Im not so sure on his NES battery calculations.  But, Im also not an expert, so maybe someone else will weigh in.

[futureman2000]

The only dead battery I've encountered was with Warriors of the Eternal Sun for the Genesis. I've seen others online who have had problems with the same cart, too. Aside from that I've been surprised by the longevity of cart batteries.

[SuperDeadite]

I'd be more worried about those damn Sega carts with FRAM then batteries, way bigger pain to replace.

[vestcoat]

Strange.  I had an Actraiser battery die ten years ago and a Zelda 1 battery die eight years ago, but I wasn't the original owner of those games.  All of my original purchases are doing fine, except Super Mario Kart died last year.

[Arkhan]

Considering I have 2 copies of LoZ for NES that won't save, a GBA game that won't save, and replaced the save in two SNES games, I'd say that guy is a retard and should  be ignored.

They fail when they fail.  Replace when they do.  Durp.

[Shrapnoid]

Strange.  I had an Actraiser battery die ten years ago and a Zelda 1 battery die eight years ago, but I wasn't the original owner of those games.  All of my original purchases are doing fine, except Super Mario Kart died last year.

I've had that happen with a second hand Super Punch-Out which really sucked because, it's so much fun to play whether for sport or just because you feel like pounding someone.

It seems like their was a lot of talk back in the NES days that suggested that battery life in the carts were rated at about 5 years.

That's rough when you have to deal with those detestable external line-head screws that you have to order those specialty bit screwdriver kits for.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't really collect NES, but I was under the assumption the batteries had been dying for years and years now. I have a Starfox cart with a dead battery.

[Arkhan]

I don't really collect NES, but I was under the assumption the batteries had been dying for years and years now. I have a Starfox cart with a dead battery.

These are Atarians making these claims.  They don't do anything right.

I mean look, CMOS batteries fail, watch batteries fail, Saturn save batteries fail.

They're not immortal.  They run out of juice and then you replace them.  lol.

the guy probably owns a 2600 and doesn't actually own anything with battery backed saves.  

EDIT: oh , it says hes 19 on Atari Age.

That means he's some goober that just got ahold of Electrical Engineering 101 and thinks he just learned everything ever about hardware.

[SignOfZeta]

My first Saturn battery lasted 8 or 9 years. Now I replace them with cheap shit multi-pack batteries from eBay and those last about a year and a half.

I do worry about the one in the Power Memory cart though. Those things are prone to corruption as it is.

[Arkhan]

My first saturn battery lasted about that long too.  It sucked though, the battery died right after I'd finished Magic Knight Rayearth and got all the gems.

[esteban]

I have encountered many carts where the battery was suspect/failed. This holds true across platforms/media.

SuperFamicom carts have burned me a few times (frustrating!).

[TheClash603]

My Saturn battery died, but worse than that was that my Gameshark (where I had all of my saves) won't read in my Saturn anymore.

I have never had a game with a battery in it that doesn't save though, guess I've been lucky so far.

[Tatsujin]

I wouldn't count more than 10 years for those basterds. Sure if you're a lucky one, it may last 20 years+ (used a very new batch of battieries at time of production, excellent manufacturer, good storage temperature/weather/humidity condition etc.).

But kids shouldn't play with the fire? Right?

Batteries are like humains, some die early some get very old.

[RegalSin]

It really depends.

1. The cart battery was damaged even before you opened the package. You will never know this, especially for new games.

2. The cart was damaged due to transport or inhuman conditions. Like some of my carts saves stopped working and began working.

3. The cart has a save but the save is not reading. This has happen tons of times. It could be the game was not  properly inserted, a dirty contact. It even happens with newer save devices.

4. The battery was cheap to begin with. Take pokemon.
Red and Blue games are still functioning but Gold and Sliver games are all erased. They say it is because of the storage trick that people used to cheat, and all the names positions. Long names + stats + item. Also the game also got data from all kinds of devices. Pokemon data had all kinds of data, on it. Nintendo had all kinds of things planned.

You know what, who really cares. To me they are just bricks of plastic gold, covered by cardboard, and drapped in durlar. They will stay that way because I am not taking them out for a very long time.