Blowing on Cartridges


Cartridge blowing.

Though they were considered to be practically indestructible compared to scratch-prone CDs, video game cartridges would sometimes simply stop working. Especially in the NES and Sega Genesis era, an aging, dust-prone game console would sometimes simply not boot up the cartridge you inserted.

Short of going at the connectors inside the console with a long Q-Tip and some rubbing alcohol, the next-best solution was to blow on the connector pins on the business end of the game cartridge itself.

It was ridiculous and looked like superstition and somehow seemed like a perversion of the way real science was supposed to work. And yet… and yet it worked. Goddamn if the blowing didn’t really work!

Gamers everywhere of a certain age can attest to it: blowing on cartridges could revive a video game, even if it was just a temporary reprieve. The better your lungs, the more likely you were to make your cheap-ass system last.

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February 26th, 2008
11 Responses
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Reader Comments

Comment Number:
1
Written by:
ygg
Posted on:
Feb 26, 2008 at 2:56 pm

oh that shit totally worked. I blew the shit out of Elevator Action. And Elevator Action blew, so it’s kind of a twofer.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Glark
Posted on:
Feb 26, 2008 at 5:34 pm

It was reciprocal!

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Omar G.
Posted on:
Feb 26, 2008 at 9:38 pm

I have a similar story to that with an elevator and a twofer.

But I can’t post it here.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
oakling
Posted on:
Feb 26, 2008 at 9:44 pm

Why isn’t it “Cartridges, Blowing on”?

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
RCP
Posted on:
Feb 27, 2008 at 12:00 am

From a lexicography standpoint, if I were to think, “I wonder what Videogamey has mused upon re: the blowing on of cartridges, especially during the 16-bit era,” I would totally look first under B for “blowing,” and not “C” for cartridges. I would, however, look under C for an entry such as “Cartriges, Specialized Landfills Created for” or some such frivolity.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Glark
Posted on:
Feb 27, 2008 at 12:53 am

THIS SITE IS NOW BULLSHIT! GODDAMNIT OMAR!

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
tulipano
Posted on:
Feb 27, 2008 at 6:05 am

This is the first time I think I’ve read something about people “of a certain age” and identified 100% with the subject. Me and my brothers used to basically all blow on the NES cartridges before we would even put them in the system. Probably because we also usually left them piled on the floor around the system with no covers or anything. And we had carpet. And cats.

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Omar G.
Posted on:
Feb 27, 2008 at 9:36 am

I was gonna say “What RCP said,” but Glark just fired me and they’re making me put all my stuff in a box and leave the building while a guard watches.

Sadness.

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
oakling
Posted on:
Feb 27, 2008 at 1:41 pm

thanks you guys! i laughed so hard i cried at this comment thread :)

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Craig
Posted on:
Mar 3, 2008 at 8:10 pm

…

Is the accompanying picture SUPPOSED to be kind of titillating?

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
Omar G.
Posted on:
Mar 3, 2008 at 8:30 pm

If you’re into my brother, maybe.