In or out? Leaving cartridges in consoles.

[fahlim003]

I guess I've been thinking about this more lately and presently I am under the idea that leaving a game cartridge in a console cartridge slot for an extended period of time is bad for the slot as it bends the pins out faster than normally.

I'd like to have some evidence to support or deny my claim and essentially have others share their stories on cartridge slots alike.

I would like to leave a game in a my SNES or Genesis, thinking it's a better stop-measure to prevent dust than the covers themselves but somehow long-term deterioration I feel is sped up due to the extended cartridge insertion. Saturn too is a tricky situation, what with the stories I've heard and encountered with the expansion slot.

Feel free to add.

[goldenegg]

I personally tend to leaves carts in the slot most of the time. I haven't experienced any issues because of it, even with my Saturn. I'd think the force of constantly inserting and removing carts would be more troublesome to the systems, but it would probably take a lot of cart changes to have any adverse effects.

I've actually started to use flash carts for my NES, SNES, Genesis and PC-Engine systems. That way I keep my originals on the shelf and place ROM files for each of those games on the flash cart. The flash carts constantly stay in the system, unless being transported somewhere. It's nice to boot up the system and get a list of all the games you own.

[Matt-El]

I leave them in. Unless it's an NES (where you experience it most, but it's an easy fix anyway) or a 32x (as I NEVER leave a cartridge in that flimsy thing, and where after use i completely disassemble and put into storage) I always keep em in. Easy to keep the console clean IMO.

[Icarus Moonsight]

It's just a daughterboard. I didn't/don't yank my out modem, video and other controller cards from the slots in my PCs after every use...

Frequent ins and outs is surely worse on the slot than leaving one connected for extended periods. I don't think either is really bad on console slots though, on the average. The toaster NES is probably best for plug and leave. But that's not the fault of the user or their behavior.

[buzz_n64]

I leave them in mainly to keep the dust out, save shelf space, and have something to instantly play. It also helps stop the constant wear from removing carts all the time.

[SPAZ-12]

In terms of bending the pins out faster, metal fatigue sets in as a result of frequently bending the metal, not by keeping it under stress. So, in theory, it's better to leave the game in (assuming you're going to go back and play the same game later).

Personally, I usually take the game out, because it's likely that I'll want to play a different game once I turn the system on next time. Plus I like to keep all my games on the shelf where I can see them.

[RP2A03]

With the exception of my portables I always remove the game from the console when done playing and return it back to its plastic sleeve. Never once had I have a problem with any systems that were bought new, even the old toaster NES still works perfectly on the first try. I never even had to clean it or any of the games that were bought new.

As long as you take care of your stuff it probably doesn't matter either way unless it doesn't have a dust cover, like portables, then it's best to leave something in.

[Flippy8490]

Leave em' in for me. Its a dust repellant and dosen't wear as hard on the cart slot.

[scooterb23]

In or out? That's what she said.

I leave 'em in. Been doing it for 30 years, ain't gonna stop now.

[Snappaccino]

For handheld systems I like to keep a game in there to keep the dust out. With disc based systems I always take the disc out. For cart systems I tend to take them out when I'm done playing cause chances are next time I'm gonna play a different game. But when I know I'm gonna play the same game again later, I keep it in. So it all depends on if I want to keep playing the game later or if I want to play a different one.