PSA: Your DS, 3DS and Switch games will die

[Dark Jaguar]

I've just recently hacked my 3DS and have been going through the process of backing up every one of my physical 3DS carts so I can just run them all as natively installed games.  It works well and I even use Nintendo's own tool for moving the saved data off the cart version and into this new local version.  However, I found my copy of Smash 3DS doesn't load correctly.  It displays the game name and the manual is still accessible on the cart, but the 3D logo does not, and launching fails completely.  I tried using the tool "Godmode" to verify the cart and it fails pretty quick.

After looking into things, I found the reason.  Flash memory is not reliable for very long term storage and these cartridges will, all of them, fail within 5 - 10 years of disuse.  Even use doesn't promise they'll still work, as every single cell needs to be "touched" to get recharged.  Now, the HStore exists so I can safely download a viable copy of the game from there, but this is a frightening turn.  Optical discs do experience bit rot, but the time frame there is very long and longer if they are kept out of sunlight, so long as the disc is a professional printing and not a burned disc.  Mask ROMs using older cart tech like what's in all the retro gaming consoles is also extremely reliable.  It's the new flash carts that are at risk.

This also extends to your SD cards.  It will be wise to take any device that you rely on an SD card for and create regular backups on your PC, just to be safe.

This warning is scary for another reason.  Certain games never received digital purchase versions, such as all original DS and certain 3DS games like Kingdom Hearts 3D.  Buying used copies is now a risk and I would highly recommend NOT purchasing used flash based carts without verification from the seller that they have personally tested the cart to be sure it works at the least (and if possible, ran a "verification" tool over it as well just to be sure the whole thing is intact and not just the boot sequence).

[Weltall]

Also, your original model PSP batteries are probably useless and potentially explosive little balloons now. It's a thing Sony has acknowledged.

[Dark Jaguar]

Also, your original model PSP batteries are probably useless and potentially explosive little balloons now. It's a thing Sony has acknowledged.

My PSP battery is a swollen mess.  There's another at lower capacity that isn't such a danger, but yes I removed it.  I really REALLY wish the industry had actually standardized li-ion batteries so I could just pop to the store and buy a UL certified replacement, just as I can replace the AAs in my TV remote.  Heck at this point I switched to rechargeables of those sizes and haven't looked back.  I need to give credit to Microsoft for not screwing in an unservicable proprietary battery in their wireless controllers.  Oh they sell rechargeables, but I don't need them.  I've got some energizer brand ones that work just fine.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, this is pretty messed up, it's definitely the dirty little secret of modern "cartridges": the chips they use are not rated for lasting very long at all.  Through the GBA carts used very long-lasting masked ROMs, but the flash chips used since are rated in years, not decades or centuries.  It's pretty sad for sure, I don't like the idea of all those 3DS and Switch games dying based on nothing... "Forever Physical"?  Hah, your digital purchases will likely last longer.

[Dark Jaguar]

It's why hacking and piracy are an absolute necessity these days.  It's not the fault of the manufacturers.  ALL flash suffers this issue, and mask roms can't store the massive amount of data (my average 3DS game is 2 to 4 GB) that modern games require.  But, regardless of that, we do need to do this if we're to preserve our games.

So here's the good news.  None of my other 3DS games had that issue.  All the rest verified just find.  Being Smash Bros, the bad cart was easy to replace with a $5 purchase off of ebay, and what's really nice is the saved data wasn't the part that was corrupted, so I was able to pull it off the old cart and stick it on the replacement, as well as the now SD card installed copy.