ROM cartridge
A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, 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.[1]
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
The Texas Instruments TI-59 family of programmable scientific calculators used interchangeable ROM cartridges that could be installed in 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 were not user-programmable. The Hewlett-Packard HP-41C had expansion slots which could hold ROM memory as well as I/O expansion ports.
Computers using cartridges in addition to magnetic media are the
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 and Jerry Lawson of Alpex Computer Corporation, first unveiled as part of the Fairchild Channel F home console in 1976.[8][9] 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.[9]
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.[10] Cartridges were also used for their handheld consoles, which are known as Game Cards in the DS/3DS line of handhelds. These cartridges are much smaller and thinner than previous cartridges, and use the more modern flash memory for game data rather than having built-in ROM chips on PCBs for the same purpose. With the release of the Nintendo Switch in 2017, the company went back to using cartridges for their systems, moving away from their own proprietary optical disc media since the release of the GameCube in 2001. These cartridges are known as Game Cards like previous Nintendo handhelds. They are much smaller and thinner than previous cartridges for consoles as well as Nintendo's own Game Cards for their handhelds, and also uses the same flash memory technology as featured in the aforementioned Game Cards for their handhelds but with larger storage space.
In
Use in hardware enhancements
ROM cartridges can not only carry software, but additional hardware expansions as well. Examples include various
Advantages and disadvantages
Storing software on ROM cartridges has a number of advantages over other methods of storage like
ROM cartridges typically have less capacity than other media.
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
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.[24]
Cartridge-based video game consoles and home computers
Blaze Entertainment
Fairchild Camera and Instrument
- Pixter
- Smart Cycle
Interton
- Magnavox Odyssey
- Philips Videopac G7000
Nikko Europe
- clones like Terminator)
- SNES/Super Famicom
- Nintendo 64
- Game Boy
- Game Boy Color
- Game Boy Advance
- Virtual Boy
- Pokémon Mini
- SG-1000 Mark I / SG-1000 Mark II
- Master System / Mark III
- Genesis / Mega Drive
- Game Gear
- Pico
- 32X
- Genesis Nomad
- Advanced Pico Beena
See also
References
- ^ "CARTRIDGE | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". Dictionary.cambridge.org. May 25, 2022. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ Novogrodsky, Seth (April 1984). "Plug in a Program". PC World. Vol. 2, no. 4. International Data Group. pp. 2–5. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ "Texas Instruments software catalog for TI-58C/TI-59" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ US patent 4485457A, Richard K. Balaska, Robert L. Hunter, and Scott S. Robinson, "Memory system including RAM and page switchable ROM", issued 1984-11-27, assigned to CBS Inc.
- ^ Pollson, Ken (October 30, 2008). "Chronology of the Commodore 64 Computer". Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
- ^ Hoffmann, Thomas V. (March 1984). "IBM PCjr". Creative Computing. 10 (3): 74. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2008.
- ^ "What MSX? (GB)". February 11, 1984 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Edwards, Benj (January 22, 2015). "The Untold Story Of The Invention Of The Game Cartridge". Fast Company. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ a b "1976: Fairchild Channel F – First ROM Cartridge Video Game System". CED Magic. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0761536437.
- ^ "The Replay Years: Enter 1976". RePlay. Vol. 11, no. 2. November 1985. p. 150.
- ^ "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- ^ Horowitz, Ken (March 17, 2006). "Sega's SVP Chip: The Road Not Taken?". SEGA-16. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ "C7010 Chess Module Service Manual". Manuals. Internet Archive. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ISSN 1742-3155.
- ^ NES Cleaning Kit manual
- ^ Cook, Karen (March 6, 1984). "Jr. Sneaks PC into Home". PC Magazine. p. 35. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ Trivette, Donald B. (April 1985). "Lotus 1-2-3 For IBM PCjr". Compute!. p. 63. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ "The SNES CD-ROM". Gamer's Graveyard. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
- ISBN 978-1-55860-921-1. Archivedfrom the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
- ^ "Who You Pay to Play". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 82. Ziff Davis. May 1996. pp. 16–18.
- ^ Curtis, Jason (September 26, 2017). "Yamaha Music Cartridge". Museum of Obsolete Media. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ Johnson, Jacob (November 5, 2020). "Yamaha DX Series". Perfect Circuit. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ "Casio ROM Packs". www.crumblenet.co.uk. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
External links
- History of Home Video Games at the Wayback Machine (archived April 8, 2005)