Blowing on a Nintendo Cartridge Seemingly Did More Harm Than Good in the Past

Nintendo is one of the oldest console creators in the world. During the 1980s, when the company first launched its NES consoles, it became very popular with the audience. However, it did come with a slight issue with the design of the cartridges used.

Thus, to resolve such issues, the users tried a handful of nifty tricks, such as slapping the cartridge on the palm of the hand and plugging the console in and out. But there was one such trick that was known universally, i.e., blowing into the Nintendo cartridges. Although users thought it helped the games in running smoothly, it actually caused more harm than good.

A solution that actually harmed the cartridges!

During the early 1980s when Nintendo first launched its original NES, cartridges were a major part of it. All the classics were punched into a 72-pin interface ROM that was then connected to a built-in converter.

The primary problem with them was that the connection did not always make complete contact with the console. This resulted in strange images or odd sounds leading gamers to believe that the cartridge was getting old. As a result, gamers used to blow into them in the hopes of clearing any dust or debris from the cartridge.

Although this worked sometimes, it usually did more harm than good. Blowing into the cartridges accumulated moisture in the chip, which later produced a coating of ‘patina’ in them. Patina is a green or brown layer that forms on the surface of copper or related metals as a result of long-term oxidation.

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This layer, later made it worst for the consoles to get connected properly to the cartridge and read them. As the actual solution was simply to remove and re-insert the cartridge to make it work, the additional layer caused it more damage.

Nintendo found a way to warn the users

Nintendo took it seriously when the iconic ‘blow into your cartridge’ began corroding hundreds of purchased NES ROMs. As it was tarnishing their reputation in Japan and other places, they decided to print warning labels on the cartridges.

The label was printed as “Do not blow into your Game Paks or systems. The moisture in your breath can corrode and contaminate the pin connectors.” Which they later started putting on the SNES and other consoles as well.

Although with future consoles like the N64, the practice became rare, Nintendo still did not take any chance and printed the warning on every N64 cartridge.

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As consoles improved, the requirement for a cartridge became obsolete. As a result, playing any old classics on them is extremely nostalgic. But the gaming community always finds a way to return to its roots, whether through technology or superstitions.

Were you one of the many who tried this method on your Nintendos? Let us know in the comments section below.