Retro games collectors warned that two NES titles from Limited Run Games could bork your original hardware for good
As original retro hardware gets rarer and more expensive to buy, collectors in the scene like to make sure theirs is kept in tip-top condition. It’s not great news then that stories of two cartridges from Limited Run Games have a design flaw that could damage them, or worse still, your original hardware.
An email from Limited Run Games reads, “We were recently made aware of reports circulating, speaking to a potential issue when using select NES games which Limited Run Games have previously retailed on our website.
The reports make mention of two titles: Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland and PioPow. Upon learning about this issue from our community, we immediately began investigating and can confirm that due to an issue with voltage regulation, there is a small chance that prolonged use of these titles could result in damage to either the cartridge or the console hardware.
We have identified that these titles were not manufactured by our regular partner who we have worked with across 30+ titles and who we trust implicitly thanks to their impeccable manufacturing track record. The manufacturer who produced Rugrats and PioPow has only worked on a very small handful of titles for Limited Run Games and right now, we are going through our back catalog of NES titles manufactured by this supplier and testing for possible issues. While we conduct further testing, our immediate pledge is to rectify the potential issue with Rugrats and PioPow and ensure that this will not happen again.”
While not an out-and-out disaster, and by no means definite that damage could occur to your console, original hardware was not really designed with modern safety protections in place, nor with the idea that one day, far in the future, somebody might design something third party that would cause it issues.
It’s not a great situation all around and will shake consumer confidence in projects like this, but even the constant insertion and removal of cartridges of any type increases the wear on the copper contacts on board. While the best way to play old games definitely remains to do so on original hardware, these little electronic guys have a finite life and one that is closer to the end than the beginning.
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