Lifespan of CD vs. Cartridge consoles

I know for sure that cartridge consoles generally have lengthy lifespans. If the fact that so many Atari 2600s are still alive and kicking isn't enough to convince you to become a believer, you'll also see how modern elaborate consoles like the 360 have such high failure rates. I'm a new owner of a 360 of course, but I honestly feel that my DS will outlast it. My PS2 no longer reads discs, and my PS3 has already gone kaputz (probably just the power supply, but still) and I wouldn't be surprised if the PSP was certainly less ardent than the DS, too. My N64 is still kicking it. I do feel some CD consoles can be made to last, as Nintendo has shown with Gamecube and Wii systems having the lowest failure rates of their generation. But, would you say there are any cartridge-based consoles that have high failure rates, or is it just as simple as replacing a few parts? I continue to put my faith in cartridge for reliability until proven wrong.

NES because of the weird design choice to have the user press down the cartridge inside it. That problem can be fixed with new parts though, I think. Game Gear, because of bad caps. Can also be fixed, unless it's too late.

Colecovisions are pretty crappily built. A lot of the old 80s computers have power supplies that are glorified grenades these days.

Aging power supplies are that, period. If they don't go out in flames they'll slowly decay until failing completely (and if you're unlucky it may have been slowly killing the rest of the hardware away with it as well).

With disc drives the bigger problem is that they need mechanical parts for the drive, while cartridge slots just need the cartridge to remain in place which you can easily just do by bruteforce (the NES is the exception to the rule, and the reason why its slot is so prone to failure). By general rule, the more mechanical parts are needed, the more likely that it'll die early. That discs can become unreadable much more easily than cartridges isn't helping matters either (discs can be scratched and become unusable or outright crack easily, a cartridge needs to take some heavy beating instead).

If you think that's bad, consider that electromechanical arcades needed to be repaired at least once a week.

2600s are reliable because they are simple. Believe it or not, tape drives and later hard drives from that era are just as reliable if not more so. The biggest factor isn't age, it's complexity and repairability.

CD drives will also last very long, contrary to popular belief. They just need occasional maintenance.

The media itself will almost last forever if not for manufacturing defects (such as rot affecting certain pressings of CDs and LaserDiscs).

FWIW my launch PS1 and PS2 (and PS3) still work fine. The PS1 is supposed to have failed years ago.

I need to stop buying Playstations at launch.

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Originally Posted by Blades

2600s are reliable because they are simple. Believe it or not, tape drives and later hard drives from that era are just as reliable if not more so. The biggest factor isn't age, it's complexity and repairability.

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I've often thought the same thing. The ones that are the most inconvenient to repair are the ones with obscure or unconventional parts. The Atari 7800 AC is pretty unusual and for a while, was hard to find a replacement for. Not sure about now.

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Originally Posted by Blades

2600s are reliable because they are simple. Believe it or not, tape drives and later hard drives from that era are just as reliable if not more so. The biggest factor isn't age, it's complexity and repairability.

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This is correct. In particular, I'd say disc systems are susceptible to failure because they have more delicate components and moving parts that you just don't see in a cartridge based system. I blame laser assemblies for all of my systems' failures. Between the delicate lens and the motorized tray and/or spindle, disc systems are just introducing more points of failure into a console via the hardware required to spin and read discs.

I'd still say projecting reliability is a bit of a crapshoot though. My launch Saturn is a tank, and I was running Virtua Fighter 2 and SimCity 2000 literally 24/7 on those for a stretch. Meanwhile, I just found out my X'Eye no longer wants to read discs, and my Japanese PS2 inexplicably died after hooking it up after some years in storage. All of my problem consoles are disc-based consoles, and they're all due to the laser assembly except for the PS3, which I attribute to being terribly designed.

If I had to pick a new-gen console for reliability, it'd either be the Switch or the New 2DS XL. Nintendo has made fairly durable consoles even when they were not number one on the market. And they still seem to value the cartridge format, aside from Sony and the Vita cards.

^Wrong, both use rechargeable batteries which will fail without question and soon.

I don't know what battery they put in the GBA SP, but I can leave that thing sitting around for 6 months and the battery will still have a solid charge.

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Originally Posted by Blades

^Wrong, both use rechargeable batteries which will fail without question and soon.

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Batteries, while not easy to replace, are much easier to source in some cases than replacement lasers. Finding certain replacement lasers for stuff like specific versions of the SegaCD or Saturn is like pulling teeth.

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Originally Posted by xelement5x

Batteries, while not easy to replace, are much easier to source in some cases than replacement lasers. Finding certain replacement lasers for stuff like specific versions of the SegaCD or Saturn is like pulling teeth.

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I suppose that's true.

I've said this a million times though, I've never seen a laser fail over how many years and devices. Sure, they require maintenance but never replacement.

My Sega CDX and Saturn are still OK and they're both over 20 years old. I used to have the humongous Model 1 Sega CD that was 100% too (which I sold for a nice sum).

I have two 3DS XLs, which honestly have not been deliberately powered off in... I dunno... about three years. At this point, even in sleep mode, neither one will stay alive for more than 24 hours.

Nintendo seems to have always their handheld systems’ batteries readily available, I just can’t yet be bothered to do it.

As for the other systems, I haven’t really had one truly die, yet. I’ve had a couple GameCubes with DRE, but I’ve been able to fix half of them by just cleaning the laser lens. My old PS2 slim sounds like shoes in the dryer, but still works fine.

Dead batteries on the GBA SP are super common at this point but they are quick to fix. I used to find them all the time for like 50c as "broken" with no power and a dead battery. A replacement online for like $3 from China seemed to work fine if you could wait the 2 weeks for it to arrive.

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Originally Posted by Blades

I suppose that's true.

I've said this a million times though, I've never seen a laser fail over how many years and devices. Sure, they require maintenance but never replacement.

My Sega CDX and Saturn are still OK and they're both over 20 years old. I used to have the humongous Model 1 Sega CD that was 100% too (which I sold for a nice sum).

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My launch Saturn is starting to have laser issues. I cleaned the disc and the lens and still had to crack it open to adjust the laser pot. My copy of Vampire Savior still has issues, but appears to load fine with SSF.

What kills the laser is turning up the gain. I guess I won't believe it until it happens to me. My Saturn is a model 2 with the JVC drive FWIW.

I'm turning down the resistance to increase the current. I only turned it very slightly, because I don't want to burn it up.

I'm putting it away after I get a replacement.