Nintendo doesn't like discs

[IndianCheese]

Why doesn't Nintendo like game discs very much? I mean, out of their 10 released systems (11 is you count Super Game Boy), only one uses discs (GC).

[BlueCrab]

I think this is probably in the wrong forum (since this one is meant for reviews, not for questions), and the topic seems like a statement, rather than a question...

Back to your question though, first of all, Discs are traditionally less secure than a Cartridge based approach. Its much easier to just copy a disc (using a PC cdrom/dvdrom drive), and even if the structure of the disc isn't figured out initially, you still have the dump to study. A cartridge requires wiring up a piece of hardware to read the cartridge, and knowing what the pinout on said cartridge is.

Secondly, Cartridge-based systems are far less likely to break. Cartridge systems have no moving parts for the most part, and moving parts are the most likely ones to fail.

Thirdly, before the Sega Saturn days, CD was a pretty much untested medium for video games. (The SegaCD doesn't count here, since it was, in many ways, a flop). Plus, remember how Nintendo/Sony/whatever other company botched the original Playstation (SNES attachment CD-ROM drive).

Fourth, Cartridge based systems are a lot more power-efficient. This helps out a lot in portable systems, as the batteries can be cheaper, and get a lot more use out of them.

Fifth, Cartridge based systems are cheaper to produce. Cartridge systems as mentioned earlier, contain no moving parts. The only thing there besides the ICs and such is a cartridge port, which is a boatload cheaper than a cdrom drive.


I had another point to make, but I can't remember it at the time....

[fisheric]

cartridges dont suffer from the same loading which has plagued all of sony's machines. i wonder how long it will take the ps3 to load a blueray

[Cap'n 1time]

speaking of loading times, even the 'cube loaded things at blinding speeds compared to the other two machines.

[quzar]

That is because even though Nintendo went to a disc format, they (and many of their second and third party developers) games are designed to either load in background or have very infrequent loading.

[BlueCrab]

Ok, I decided to move this topic to somewhere a bit more appropriate.....

[ptr.exe]

Also, the info on a cartridge is right there, the loading times for a cart are negligable when compared to a CD.

[Niggy G]

But with cd's/cart's its a compromise with capacity/loading time. In other words carts load fast but don’t hold as much. (at present)

The original statement saying 9 out of 10 (I can only count 8) systems have been cart based is not surprising really. The GB, GBC, GBA, NES and SNES were always going to be cart based because of the technology at the time they were produced. N64 was the first that could have been disk based, and in the end the disk/cart option on the N64 could have been its downfall. The NDS could have gone the disk way but the power consumed to spin a disk in a handheld means short battery life (psp). The loading times on the GC did seem very fast. Why was this? I know the mini DVD’s only hold 1.4GB but the reading process should be the same as reading most disks, so why is loading time so much faster? – good programming?

[scrabbus]

that is precisely that, Niggy G, good programming. When you consider how bloody long it takes to load up some of the PS2 and PSP software, while other larger games take less time, that coupled with the fact that IN MY OPINION: When we first saw CD's there was a hell of a lot of absolutely bloated content, just look at the amount of lazy FMV type games and the use of FMV just to show off the new found space, whilst the games themselves remained unchanged. And with the advent of BLUERAY technology it would appear that some people still have NOT learned that bigger storage mediums DO NOT equal better games. anyway, this is a bit of a moot point since this is the wrong forum to debate such folly!!

[Cap'n 1time]

uh. disc media has been around since the early 80's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc#History
also Nintendo concidered making a CD addon for the SNES with the help of SONY, but because of SONY's demand of rediculouse amounts of money and, a more powerfull system SONY ended up making the SONY Playstation. Anyway NES, SNES, and GBA had the possibility of using some kind of disc media, they just chose not to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_station#History

[scrabbus]

UH...I do actually own a pc engine with a CD rom, so I am well aware of the medium emerging in the 1980's that and being in my thirties also helps!!