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Leaving games inside the system (thoughts?)

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
This has bugged me for quite some time. Do you leave games inside your consoles or handhelds? I remember rumors going around about the time of the PS2. The system could scratch your disc if you left the disc inside after turning off the power (the whole PS2 standby/power off is a whole other thread). Outside of consoles are handhelds.

The reason I make this thread is because I have a 3DS game inside my 3DS. That is because I was going to play it tonight. When I'm done I always put it back in its case. It becomes a personal problem for me, when I have to put a game back in its case, just because it's so easy to pick up the handheld and play.

I've always thought this was an issue because handhelds have springs in them. Your game is inserted with force and it pushes down a spring and locks in place. I've had this issue since the PSP. When I had a GameBoy I didn't really care unless I was finished for the evening. Now a days I want to play both my Vita and 3DS, but I'm unsure if I want to leave a physical game inside the console.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone ever had issues with the spring or hatch that holds the game cartridge or even UMD in place? I'd love to bury this old concern of mine once and for all.
 

Freshmaker

I am Korean.
I just leave them in the system until I switch games.

Further, when I get a new game, I just take out the old game, put it in the new game's case then pop the new game in.
 

Newk86

Member
I heard that you shouldn't do it for cartridge games, at least older ones, I don't see how it could matter for discs ones though.

The guy I bought an old Mega Drive from recently said that they essentially have jaws in them and their default or neutral position is always closed. So when you shove a game in there you interrupt that and the jaws continue to try and return to their neutral position which essentially holds the game in there. He said leaving the game in causes stress, and he reckons when he restores old systems one of the things he has to do is tighten the mechanism, so probably best to leave cartridges out when you're not playing them unless you know how to do that.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
I leave them in. Next gen I'll probably go digital only so swapping disks will save me a whole 10 seconds. Weird how during this whole disk era there was a disk changer.
 
I leave them in. Next gen I'll probably go digital only so swapping disks will save me a whole 10 seconds. Weird how during this whole disk era there was a disk changer.

I am guessing you meant to write *wasn't... And I totally agree! I skipped consoles last Gen (went PC only... Thanks Steam!) And jumping back into the console space this Gen I literally did some Google research to see if anyone had developed a disk changer / stacker for any consoles.

It just seems like a no-brainer, after market "value add" the big companies could make some profit on. Plus it bridges the gap between going digital and physical, from a user experience perspective.
 

thecrunked

Member
Afaik, leaving discs in your console presents no danger for the disk UNLESS, you physically move the console with the disc inside. The disc may rattle around and get scratched, I believe it was common with the Xbox 360
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I always take out games on disk base systems like PS3&4 and leave games in on systems like Switch, 3DS and PSVita.
 

shogunduk

Member
the last console i owned was a gamecube. i always left my games in. i was more worried about cracking them while taking them in and out of the game cases.
 

autoduelist

Member
leave it in til I beat it. i wouldn't even think of taking it out, ever. it's never been an issue, from intelivision through ps4. though i used to switch games in and out to play different things a lot more when games were more 'arcadey'... now I generally play one game at a time.

Like someone else posted, i just put the old disc in the new game's case. every once in awhile i fix it all and get everything in the right case.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Like someone else posted, i just put the old disc in the new game's case. every once in awhile i fix it all and get everything in the right case.

That's when I decided I needed a cd booklet or something. Something I could grab in case I ejected a game for another one before I was finished with it.

I purchased a Vita carrying case a few years ago and it has straps to hold the games in place. I don't feel like I could freely stack Vita games without worrying about their durability.
 
I've never even thought about this until now. I think it's worth it to just leave your games in the system and in the unlikely event that a game is damaged, you just replace it and THEN you start worrying about this. Until then, it's just an unnecessary headache.
 

Krooner

Member
He said leaving the game in causes stress, and he reckons when he restores old systems one of the things he has to do is tighten the mechanism, so probably best to leave cartridges out when you're not playing them unless you know how to do that.

He is talking absolute bobbins.

Afaik, leaving discs in your console presents no danger for the disk UNLESS, you physically move the console with the disc inside. The disc may rattle around and get scratched, I believe it was common with the Xbox 360

When the machine was on, yes. Off it was fine. I've taken the machine over to friends houses with a disc in the tray.
 

WaterAstro

Member
If it's a tray, always take it out. Most consoles use the car disc-player design, so movement won't damage it, so I'm okay with leaving discs inside.
 
I remember from somewhere that you shouldn't leave discs in because they attract dust which is then left on the lense and in the system.

Sounds somewhat logical to me, but to answer the question I leave them in.
 

Nitty_Grimes

Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
Only do on X1 / X1X if I'm going to resume like if I have to go out for a couple of hours or have some food.

All other times I take the disc out.

PS4 always take disc out, don't use suspend mode on that.
 

SenkiDala

Member
I play since the fat GB and the SNES, I've owned most consoles and I always let the game in, whether it's a disc, cardridge, and never had any problem. Never heard anyone having any problem.
 

Teran

Member
I've always left mine in, never realised this was supposedly an issue?

All my consoles/games from Master System up to current gen still work.
 

Shrubchicken

Neo Member
I think you're a monster.

Seriously though, I try to remember to put my games back in their cases. However, if I'm really digging a game or playing only when I have free time I leave the game in the system.

A lot of the systems I played as a kid or in my teenage years were owned by other people (NES, Genesis, SNES, PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast, and Saturn). So it was a habit I developed out of respect for other people's stuff.
 
Never saw much of a point of taking the disc out unless I was switching games. What urks me the most however, is when people don't put the right disk in the right case. Fuck that pisses me off to no end.
 

dezzy8

Member
Only time I take out the disc is when I'm switching games or moving the console to a different location. Got a disc stuck in my PS3 like that.
 
You're worrying too much.

This.

I leave them in until I have a reason to remove them. I have done so for decades, across many, many, systems. Home consoles and portables. I’ve owned almost every single system. Leaving the cartidge/disc in is not an issue. It’s how the system is designed.

Relax and enjoy yourself.
 

Gamegeneral

Member
I know that there was a big problem with certain models of 360, and while i never had a problem with discs getting scratched in my PS2 I certainly did end up with DRE of doom.

I typically take discs out of consoles if I'm gonna move them but usually if they're gonna stay put, I'll leave them in.
 

Teran

Member
Ehhh...100% digital on my switch so far. I haven't even opened the flap

How's that working out storage/SD card cost wise? I'm just curious going forward because I'm an old man now and I don't like carrying as many cute game cases/cartridges around as I used to.
 

vypermajik

Member
I prefer disks as I enjoy my video game wall. That said I don't remove disks and leave them in. I can't speak to the PS4 Pro but Scorpio disks don't seem to move.
 

Wiped89

Member
I just leave them in the system until I switch games.

Further, when I get a new game, I just take out the old game, put it in the new game's case then pop the new game in.

+1 for this

Or put the disk in a little pile of recently used discs on the side
 
I've been leaving games in systems since 1995. I barely ever had any issues with the consoles or games for as long as I played with them. You're fretting over nothing.
 

Breakage

Member
I used to obsess over this during the PS2 era. These days not so much. Forza Motorsport 3 has been sitting in my 360 for over a year. I don't even play it. (I play digital games off the hard drive).
 
I totally forgot I still have Persona 5 sitting in my unplugged PS4. If only the current systems had lids you could pop open to see if there's a game inside, end remove it even without power. Instead we're stuck with those disc-sucking monsters.
 

DonMigs85

Member
Nintendo recommends leaving a cartridge/card inserted for all their handheld systems. Keeps dust and dirt out of the slot and reduces tarnishing.
 

Phalk

Neo Member
I think in my entire life I never took a game out after I stopped playing. Only when switching games.

I was always afraid dust would go in the console and break something, so I always leave something in.
 

Zog

Banned
I keep a game in my DS Lite and 3DS to keep dust from building up in the card slot. The GBA slot on the DS Lite has a dust cover so I keep that on. I leave discs in until I am done with a game.

The Vita has a dust cover but I still keep a game in it.

The N64 has a cart door as does the SNES so there is no need to keep a cart in.
 
Dude but like what do you do with digital games? That's multiple games inside your system and you can't get them out.

Brooooooo...
 

dispensergoinup

Gold Member
I leave games/movies in all the time unless I feel the need to change them. Sometimes I do put them away but if I forget them it's not a huge deal. (PS4)
 
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