GBA battery saves, what happens down the road?

jputahraptor

jputahraptor

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I have quite a few GBA carts that have the battery save. Since i want to enjoy these games till im senile, almost there, do you think it's a good idea to erase any save files when im not actually in a game. Are the batteries easy to replace or are the games basically shot once that battery does go?

I have a few rare titles like the Castlevanias and Metroids but i'd hate to lose these down the road. Even some of my SNES games are still going strong, but how long can a GBA battery last? What are your thoughts?
 
I think they can last awhile, but once they die you are never going to be able to get a new battery in and not destroy the cart.
 
I know that games from the NES and SNES can have their batteries replaced if they start having rouble, but I don't know that it's neccesary. I have some games that are 10-15 years old that can still save. I imagine that in that time batteries have improved and it won't be an issue with GBA carts for a long, long time. I wouldn't worry about it. By the time it becomes an issue they'll be a solution.
 
I kinda thought they were all using flash memory now makes more sense than having to send your carts to Nintendo to get a new battery. Although I suppose if you had the right screwdriver you might be able to replace a battery on your own but that still seems a bit drastic.

Cartridge batteries are suppose to last 5 years at optimum levels and slows begin to trail off, depending on how much you use them, I think my original Legend of Zelda cart still has the saves but it could probably loose them at any time now if I were to play it.
 
They do make a small gba screwdriver which you could open the games with...may be similar to replacing nintendo game batteries. Although I'm not sure. I think Nintendo actually replaces the batteries for a fee...at least on Nintendo games. As for the GBA games I kind of wondered the same thing. I would think they would do the same thing down the road. As long as they stick around until your senile. :D
 
[quote name='jputahraptor']I have quite a few GBA carts that have the battery save. Since i want to enjoy these games till im senile, almost there, do you think it's a good idea to erase any save files when im not actually in a game. Are the batteries easy to replace or are the games basically shot once that battery does go?

I have a few rare titles like the Castlevanias and Metroids but i'd hate to lose these down the road. Even some of my SNES games are still going strong, but how long can a GBA battery last? What are your thoughts?[/quote]

Are you sure? Most GBA games don't use batteries to save state.
 
As far as I know, very few of the GBA games use batteries.

If you think about it, you'll realize many types of electronics save data with no batteries. Take for example a cell phone - did you notice how they remember saved contact info even after the battery dies?
 
It think the ol' battery saves in a GBA cart are a rare thing now days. Some of the first ones may have used it, and I think original Gameboy/GB Color games used them a bunch, but I'm not worried cuz I haven't had one quit yet. My Castlevania Adventure cart that I bought on day it first came out forever ago still saves fines.
 
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