ROM cartridge#Use in hardware enhancements

{{Redirect|Game cartridge||Cartridge (disambiguation){{!}}Cartridge}}

{{short description|Replaceable device used for the distribution and storage of video games}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2014}}

File:Star raider cart.jpg ROM cartridge for an Atari computer]]

{{Memory types}}

A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, cassette, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, electronic musical instruments.{{cite web |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cartridge |title=CARTRIDGE | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary |publisher=Dictionary.cambridge.org |date=2022-05-25 |accessdate=2022-05-31 |archive-date=February 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227221208/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cartridge |url-status=live }}

ROM cartridges allow users to rapidly load and access programs and data alongside a floppy drive in a home computer; in a video game console, the cartridges are standalone. At the time around their release, ROM cartridges provided security against unauthorised copying of software. However, the manufacturing of ROM cartridges was more expensive than floppy disks, and the storage capacity was smaller.{{cite magazine |last=Novogrodsky |first=Seth |date=April 1984 |title=Plug in a Program |url=https://archive.org/details/pcworld24unse/page/2/mode/2up |magazine=PC World |volume=2|issue=4|pages=2–5|publisher=International Data Group |access-date= 22 June 2022}} ROM cartridges and slots were also used for various hardware accessories and enhancements.

The widespread usage of the ROM cartridge in video gaming applications has led it to be often colloquially called a game cartridge.

History

ROM cartridges were popularized by early home computers which featured a special bus port for the insertion of cartridges containing software in ROM. In most cases, the designs were fairly crude, with the entire address and data buses exposed by the port and attached via an edge connector; the cartridge was memory mapped directly into the system's address space{{cite patent

| country = US

| number = 4485457A

| status = patent

| title = Memory system including RAM and page switchable ROM

| gdate = 1984-11-27

| fdate = 1983-05-31

| inventor = Richard K. Balaska, Robert L. Hunter, and Scott S. Robinson

| assign1 = CBS Inc.

}} such that the CPU could execute the program in place without having to first copy it into expensive RAM.

File:WIKI TI-59 ROM Module 20161212.jpg

The Texas Instruments TI-59 family of programmable scientific calculators used interchangeable ROM cartridges that could be installed into a slot at the back of the calculator. The calculator came with a module that provides several standard mathematical functions including the solution of simultaneous equations. Other modules were specialized for financial calculations, or other subject areas, and even a "games" module. Modules for these devices are not user-programmable. The Hewlett-Packard HP-41C also had expansion slots which could hold ROM memory as well as I/O expansion ports; modules for these devices are more versatile than those of the TI-59 calculators.

Computers using cartridges in addition to magnetic media are the VIC-20 and Commodore 64, MSX, Atari 8-bit computers, TI-99/4A (where they were called Solid State Command Modules and were not directly mapped to the system bus) and IBM PCjr (where the cartridge was mapped into BIOS space). Some arcade system boards, such as SNK's Neo Geo, also used ROM cartridges. Cassettes and floppy disks cost less than ROM cartridges{{cn|date=February 2024}} and some memory cards were sold as an inexpensive alternative to ROM cartridges.{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/WhatMSX|title=What MSX? (GB)|date=February 11, 1984|via=Internet Archive}}

File:First_cartridge_of_magnavox_odyssey.jpg

File:Fairchild-Channel-F.jpg was the first video game console to feature games on interchangeable ROM cartridges.]]

A precursor to modern game cartridges of second generation video consoles was introduced with the first generation video game console Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, using jumper cards to turn on and off certain electronics inside the console. A modern take on game cartridges was invented by Wallace Kirschner, Lawrence Haskel of Alpex Computer Corporation as well as Jerry Lawson at Fairchild Semiconductor, first unveiled as part of the Fairchild Channel F home console in 1976.{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=Benj |date=January 22, 2015 |title=The Untold Story Of The Invention Of The Game Cartridge |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3040889/the-untold-story-of-the-invention-of-the-game-cartridge |access-date=April 6, 2021 |website=Fast Company |archive-date=April 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413014941/https://www.fastcompany.com/3040889/the-untold-story-of-the-invention-of-the-game-cartridge |url-status=live }} The cartridge approach gained more popularity with the Atari 2600 released the following year. From the late 1970s to mid-1990s, the majority of home video game systems were cartridge-based.

As compact disc technology came to be widely used for data storage, most hardware companies moved from cartridges to CD-based game systems. Nintendo remained the lone hold-out, using cartridges for their Nintendo 64 system; the company did not transition to optical media until the release of the GameCube in 2001.{{cite book |last=Kent |first=Steven |date=September 6, 2001 |title=The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World |publisher=Crown |pages=450–453, 584 |isbn=978-0761536437}} Cartridges were also used for their handheld consoles, which are known as Game Paks in the Game Boy family of handhelds and as Game Cards in the DS/3DS line of handhelds. These cartridges are much smaller and thinner than previous cartridges, and in the case of Game Cards, use the more modern flash memory for game data rather than built-in ROM chips on PCBs for the same purpose.

File:Nintendo-Switch-Cartridge.jpg game cards. Reverse side of The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ shown on right.]]

In recent years, Nintendo has moved away from utilizing their own proprietary optical disc-based media after producing the last few first-party games for the Wii U in 2017 with the launch of the Nintendo Switch that year, which featured small cartridges instead of optical discs. These cartridges are known as Game Cards, similar to previous Nintendo handhelds since the DS, and are much smaller and thinner than previous cartridges for consoles as well as Nintendo's own Game Cards for their DS/3DS handhelds. They used a form of flash memory technology similar to that of SD cards with larger storage space. The final games made for Nintendo's optical disc media (specifically the Wii U) were released in 2020, three years after the release of the Nintendo Switch. {{asof|2024}}, Nintendo is the only major company to exclusively use cartridge-based media for their consoles and handhelds as others such as Sony and Microsoft continue to use optical disc-based media for their consoles.

In 1976, 310,000 home video game cartridges were sold in the United States.{{cite magazine |title=The Replay Years: Enter 1976 |magazine=RePlay |date=November 1985 |volume=11 |issue=2 |page=150 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-11-issue-no.-2-november-1985-600DPI/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2011%2C%20Issue%20No.%202%20-%20November%201985/page/150}} Between 1983 and 2013, a total of {{nowrap|2,910.72 million}} software cartridges had been sold for Nintendo consoles.{{cite web |title=Consolidated Sales Transition by Region |url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1112.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220072229/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1112.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 December 2013 |publisher=Nintendo |access-date=20 December 2013}}

Use in hardware enhancements

File:Intelligent-Systems-Nintendo-DS-Nitro-Burner.jpg]]

ROM cartridges can not only carry software, but additional hardware expansions as well. Examples include various cartridge-based chips on the Super NES, the SVP chip in the Sega Genesis version of Virtua Racing,{{cite web |url=https://www.sega-16.com/2006/03/segas-svp-chip-the-road-not-taken/ |title=Sega's SVP Chip: The Road Not Taken? |first=Ken |last=Horowitz |website=SEGA-16 |date=2006-03-17 |accessdate=2022-06-22 |archive-date=October 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021195822/http://www.sega-16.com/2006/03/segas-svp-chip-the-road-not-taken/ |url-status=live }} and a chess module in the Magnavox Odyssey².{{Cite archive|institution=Internet Archive|collection=Manuals|item=C7010 Chess Module Service Manual|url=https://archive.org/details/C7010_Chess_Module_Service_Manual_1984_Philips_EU|access-date=22 June 2022}}

Micro Machines 2 on the Genesis/Mega Drive used a custom "J-Cart" cartridge design by Codemasters which incorporated two additional gamepad ports. This allowed players to have up to four gamepads connected to the console without the need for an additional multi-controller adapter.{{cite magazine|title=A Small History Of Micro Machines|url=https://archive.org/stream/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_113#page/60/mode/2up|magazine=Retro Gamer|location=Bournemouth|publisher=Imagine Publishing|issue=113|pages=60–67|issn=1742-3155}}

Advantages and disadvantages

File:N64-Console-Set.jpg used cartridges when most home consoles had shifted to CD-ROMs.]]

Storing software on ROM cartridges has a number of advantages over other methods of storage like floppy disks and optical media. As the ROM cartridge is memory mapped into the system's normal address space, software stored in the ROM can be read like normal memory and since the system does not have to transfer data from slower media, it allows for nearly instant load time and code execution. Software run directly from ROM typically uses less RAM, leaving memory free for other processes. While the standard size of optical media dictates a minimum size for devices which can read discs, ROM cartridges can be manufactured in different sizes, allowing for smaller devices like handheld game systems. ROM cartridges can be damaged, but they are generally more robust and resistant to damage than optical media; accumulation of dirt and dust on the cartridge contacts can cause problems, but cleaning the contacts with an isopropyl alcohol solution typically resolves the problems without risk of corrosion.

ROM cartridges typically have less capacity than other media.{{Cite news |last=Cook, Karen |date=1984-03-06 |title=Jr. Sneaks PC into Home |page=35 |work=PC Magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZhoP0KRkQe4C&pg=PA35 |access-date=24 October 2013 |archive-date=April 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421102416/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZhoP0KRkQe4C&pg=PA35 |url-status=live }} The PCjr-compatible version of Lotus 1-2-3 comes on two cartridges and a floppy disk.{{Cite news |last=Trivette, Donald B. |date=April 1985 |title=Lotus 1-2-3 For IBM PCjr |page=63 |work=Compute! |url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue59/review_lotus_123.php |access-date=26 January 2015 |archive-date=December 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220172433/https://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue59/review_lotus_123.php |url-status=live }} ROM cartridges are typically more expensive to manufacture than discs, and storage space available on a cartridge is less than that of an optical disc like a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM. Techniques such as bank switching were employed to be able to use cartridges with a capacity higher than the amount of memory directly addressable by the processor. As video games became more complex (and the size of their code grew), software manufacturers began sacrificing the quick load times of ROM cartridges in favor of greater storage capacity and the lower cost of optical media. Another source of pressure in this direction was that optical media could be manufactured in much smaller batches than cartridges; releasing a cartridge video game on the other hand inevitably includes the risk of producing thousands of unsold cartridges.{{Cite magazine |date=May 1996 |title=Who You Pay to Play |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |issue=82 |pages=16–18}}

File:PokemonSilverBoard.jpg cartridge with battery-backed volatile memory for game saves for Pokémon Silver Version. Measures 2.2" × 2.56" × 0.32" (or 56 mm × 65 mm × 8 mm)]]

Electronic musical instruments usage

Besides their prominent usage on video game consoles, ROM cartridges have also been used on a small number of electronic musical instruments, particularly electronic keyboards.

Yamaha has made several models with such features, with their DX synthesizer in the 1980s, such as the DX1, DX5 and DX7 and their PSR keyboard lineup in the mid-1990s, namely the PSR-320, PSR-420, PSR-520, PSR-620, PSR-330, PSR-530 and the PSR-6000. These keyboards use specialized cards known as Music Cartridges, a ROM cartridge simply containing MIDI data to be played on the keyboard as MIDI sequence or song data.{{cite web |url=https://obsoletemedia.org/yamaha-music-cartridge-psr/ |title=Yamaha Music Cartridge |last=Curtis |first=Jason |website=Museum of Obsolete Media |date=September 26, 2017 |access-date=22 June 2022 |archive-date=March 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316164735/https://obsoletemedia.org/yamaha-music-cartridge-psr/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.perfectcircuit.com/signal/yamaha-dx-series|title=Yamaha DX Series|last=Johnson|first=Jacob|website=Perfect Circuit|access-date=22 June 2022|date=5 November 2020|archive-date=August 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808064542/https://www.perfectcircuit.com/signal/yamaha-dx-series|url-status=live}}

Casio has also used similar cartridges known as ROM Pack in the 1980s, before Yamaha's Music Cartridge was introduced. Models that used these cartridges were in the Casiotone line of portable electronic keyboards.{{cite web |title=Casio ROM Packs |url=http://www.crumblenet.co.uk/keyb/rpacks.html |website=www.crumblenet.co.uk |access-date=September 12, 2016 |archive-date=December 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161217150727/http://www.crumblenet.co.uk/keyb/rpacks.html |url-status=live }}

Cartridge-based video game consoles and home computers

See also

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite web |last=Pollson |first=Ken |date=October 30, 2008 |title=Chronology of the Commodore 64 Computer |url=http://www.islandnet.com/~KPOLSSON/c64hist/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116090147/http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/c64hist/ |archive-date=January 16, 2010 |access-date=February 26, 2009 |df=mdy}}

{{Cite journal |last=Hoffmann |first=Thomas V. |date=March 1984 |title=IBM PCjr |url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n3/74_IBM_PCjr.php |journal=Creative Computing |volume=10 |issue=3 |page=74 |access-date=April 15, 2008 |archive-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701012432/http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n3/74_IBM_PCjr.php |url-status=live }}

{{cite web |title=1976: Fairchild Channel F – First ROM Cartridge Video Game System |url=http://www.cedmagic.com/history/fairchild-channel-f.html |access-date=February 26, 2009 |publisher=CED Magic |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003055612/http://www.cedmagic.com/history/fairchild-channel-f.html |url-status=live }}

NES Cleaning Kit manual

{{cite web |title=The SNES CD-ROM |url=http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository/snes/history/snescdrom.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080704102945/http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository/snes/history/snescdrom.html |archive-date=July 4, 2008 |access-date=February 26, 2009 |publisher=Gamer's Graveyard}}

{{Cite book |last=Isbister |first=Katherine |title=Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach |publisher=Elsevier Inc. |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55860-921-1 |location=San Francisco, California |page=99 |chapter=Interview: Ryoichi Hasegawa and Roppyaku Tsurumi of SCEJ |access-date=February 26, 2009 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGBTzVj47ZcC&q=%22ROM+cartridge%22&pg=PA99 |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408210817/https://books.google.com/books?id=TGBTzVj47ZcC&q=%22ROM+cartridge%22&pg=PA99 |url-status=live }}

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