Longevity of save files?

[Novotny]

How long do save files in Diamond and Pearl (and Platinum) last? From my understanding, DS carts use flash memory, which eventually loses its ability to save and hold data. Does that mean that the games will eventually lose saving capabilities? Is the same true for FireRed and LeafGreen? Thanks in advance.

[Jeff]

Flash loses it's ability to have data saved to it after data is saved to it a certain number of times. I'm not sure what the exact number is though.

[mr_pikachu]

If it's any comfort, most GSC cartridges have only started failing in the last couple of years. That was the first time that time of day was actively tracked in Pokemon (now it's done by the DS rather than the carts themselves), and I'd imagine that Nintendo's gotten a lot better at making their carts last for the long haul since then. Unless you're saving every two minutes for months on end, it's probably got at least a decade in it.

Quoting Wikipedia (such a reliable source, I know):

"Most commercially available flash products are guaranteed to withstand around 100,000 write-erase-cycles, before the wear begins to deteriorate the integrity of the storage."

[Pokemaster Ash]

I thought the Flash Memory was a little more durable than that...

In any case, it's a much longer-lasting type of save state than the battery backup of old. All GBA and DS games use flash memory for saving, so you don't have to worry about battery life or anything.

On a side note, something that ticks me off is that G/S/C was released in 2000/01 with battery backup in them, and the GBA was released in 01, with even the first games made for it using flash memory. They couldn't have given us a taste of the new technology?

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Hm, I was wondering, which one comes first? Normallly, will the DS cart lose its memory becuase it's old before you have saved/earsed about 100,000 times? Yeah, I know it depends on your gaming habits, but let's assume, I save only like 5 times a day so I should be able to go on with that for 20,000 days, wouldn't the cart expire in another way before that? I do have a friend who saves like 4 times in a row every time he saves the game, 'just in case'.

I hope this reply was readable, I haven't posted here too much anyway.

[mr_pikachu]

With your gaming habits, Mikachu, it might be more likely that the cart would have problems due to environmental damage. I don't know how long that would take and under what conditions it would corrode quickest, but if you're saving five times a day then that cart's going to last about 55 years before typical memory wear sets in.

Tell your friend that if he has the same saving pattern as you except that he saves four times when he really just needs to save once, that cuts the lifespan to 13.7 years - assuming that the "100,000 save" estimate is perfectly accurate. As you should know, it's probably not exact, both because it's an estimate and because a DS cartridge may have more or less resistance to memory wear than other "commercially available flash products." It's hard to say how different they might be, and if his game's not expected to survive long past a decade anyway, maybe he should count himself lucky if it even lasts until the fifth generation. Who knows?

[Jeff]

On a side note, something that ticks me off is that G/S/C was released in 2000/01 with battery backup in them, and the GBA was released in 01, with even the first games made for it using flash memory. They couldn't have given us a taste of the new technology?

The manufacturing process probably locked them into battery backup for all pre-GBA carts. Switching to flash for the later games would have meant that they had to invest money into changing the manufacturing process. When they started making GBA carts they already needed to change the process, so that was the best time for them to switch to flash. Not sure though.