ABSTRACT

The word “cartridge” is derived from the French word “cartouche”, and its origins stem from military applications dating back to the 1500s. The initial ammunition cartridges were nothing more than charges of gunpowder bundled for quick access, usually housed in waxed paper, linen, or even animal tissue. The cartridge concept was eventually employed into other facets of life such as camping stoves, washing machines, and ink and toner cartridges used for printing. Before the development of the cartridge, inserting and removing socketed electronic assemblies had been an activity reserved for trained technicians, engineers, and military personnel. As video games became more popular, players expected and demanded more and more from the gaming hardware. The method of adding more capacity to video game cartridges via bank switching continued on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Cartridges have many advantages over other game storage and delivery systems.