ROM cartridge
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A ROM cartridge is a removable cartridge containing ROM circuitry. ROM cartridges often contain flash memory, allowing some read-write action.
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[edit] Uses of ROM cartridges
- Video games (Atari systems, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy series, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, SNK Neo Geo); the first system to use them was the Fairchild Channel F.[1]
- Personal computer programs (including IBM PCjr,[2] Commodore 64[3])
[edit] Benefits and disadvantages
The cartridge is a hardware device in the form of a printed circuit board that contains the software. Because most cartridge formats allow significant random access and no need to copy data off an external media like a CD to use, they tend to be significantly faster and require little to no load time. They are also more expensive to manufacture. This factor became an issue in modern video game consoles—newer consoles began using CDs or similar form-factor discs, which required waiting for data to load, but gave the publisher cheaper production costs, as well as higher capacity.[4]
ROM cartridges could also be affected by dirt in the contacts of the cartridge or receptacle (as it was often practice to blow into video game cartridges before inserting them, to clear out dust).[5]
Additionally, there was no standardization across cartridge form factors. While the PlayStation series and Xbox series are different formats (how the data is encoded on the media), they still use the CD/DVD disc, allowing for identical storage cases, booklets, etc. ROM cartridge designs varied widely, and cartridges designed for one system could rarely be used in another—the sale of a game in one package for multiple systems is rare, regardless.
[edit] References
- ^ Fairchild Channel F Videogame System from 1976
- ^ IBM PCjr
- ^ Chronology of the Commodore 64 Computer
- ^ The Snes Cd-Rom
- ^ IGN: IGN Classics: N-Retrospect Vol. 1
- History of Home Video Games
- Isbister, Katherine (2006). Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach p. 99.
- Microsoft Corporation Staff (1997), Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary.
[edit] See also
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