They're pretty much a distant memory now—except for tinier descendants like 3DS and Vita games—but it used to be that cartridges were the only way to get video games playing onto a TV. The exact origins of the cartridge have been tough to trace, but a new Fast Company article run down the beginnings of this key piece… » 1/22/15 3:30pm 1/22/15 3:30pm

The popular myth has been debunked: you can't blow on cartridges to make them work. Actually, blowing on the cartridge might damage it. Sorry, folks. It's true. » 12/07/12 5:00pm 12/07/12 5:00pm

First they cautioned us against using anything other than a cleaning kit. But like... who actually used a cleaning kit for their cartridges, really? That…

I grew up, like many, blowing cartridges and spending hours reading through game manuals. Then came the boxy jewel cases and CDs. The more I loved a game, the more scratches and nicks the back of a game would suffer. » 8/08/12 6:30pm 8/08/12 6:30pm

About two years ago, a guy posted a how-to for turning old NES cartridges into a harmonica. If you lack the tools, know-how, or NES carts to make one yourself, someone's now selling them, for $24.99. » 4/09/10 10:20pm 4/09/10 10:20pm

Inspired by a three-year-old Kotaku article, Canadian blogger Rinry subjected eight NES carts to varying forms of torture to see just how durable the goods were. Seven of them were still fully playable. » 1/09/10 6:00pm 1/09/10 6:00pm

Meanwhile, in the make-believe land of eBayia, someone's auctioning a "mysteriously blank Nintendo 64 cartridge" - promising only that the game works and doesn't suck. "Are you man enough to buy a label-less N64 game?" No, but Saxton Hale is! » 12/19/09 6:00pm 12/19/09 6:00pm

We don't know much about art, but we know what we (sort of) like - and what we (sort of) like is NES cartridges put in a cheap frame and displayed on our walls. Each genuine NES cart is mounted on a 'Nintendo gray' top mat and a charcoal gray backing, then framed with something called a '1.5" Black shadowbox' and… » 10/22/08 8:40pm 10/22/08 8:40pm