Why do game cartridge save abilities die over time?

[samhain81]

Some sales/auctions state in their listing 'save feature still working...' etc

Common games with this problem , that I have experienced myself are Super Mario World, Link to the Past, and the Pokemon games on GB.

Anyone know how or why this happens? Can't seem to find a reason on the net, and its quite interesting to know why.

My guess is its due to the excessive usage of the game, but in what ways would this solely effect the save feature and nothing else ?

[DPrinny]

Some carts have a battery inside, playing them keeps it going, dont play them for a few years and the battery dies

[ulala]

do they have batteries in them?

[samhain81]

Some carts have a battery inside, playing them keeps it going, dont play them for a few years and the battery dies

Ahh, so kind of like the Saturn?

[DPrinny]

Same battery in some.
Know Pokemon has the same type

[speedlolita]

do they have batteries in them?

They have a battery that powers an sRAM chip. This is volatile memory, so when the battery that powers the chip dies the sRAM chip is wiped.

You can replace the battery so that the sRAM becomes active again, or you can swap the sRAM for fRAM in some cases which makes there be no more need for the battery at all.

For most people though a battery swap is fine. Also when the hardware is powering the cartridge the sRAM is powered via the hardware, so the battery isn't in use.

Because of this if you wish to keep the contents of your sRAM chip you're best off swapping the battery over when the cartridge is plugged into the machine, if possible. This is easier on something like a Game Boy compared to say a SNES.

[samhain81]

do they have batteries in them?

They have a battery that powers an sRAM chip. This is volatile memory, so when the battery that powers the chip dies the sRAM chip is wiped.

You can replace the battery so that the sRAM becomes active again, or you can swap the sRAM for fRAM in some cases which makes there be no more need for the battery at all.

For most people though a battery swap is fine. Also when the hardware is powering the cartridge the sRAM is powered via the hardware, so the battery isn't in use.

Because of this if you wish to keep the contents of your sRAM chip you're best off swapping the battery over when the cartridge is plugged into the machine, if possible. This is easier on something like a Game Boy compared to say a SNES.

Interdasting...

[speedlolita]

Sure is!

Certain arcade boards suicide (become unusable) when the battery dies. Most of them can be recovered now, except a few like the Capcom Play System 3.