Originally posted by: ricarleite My NES controller dosen't work anymore. And some game cartdriges have oxidated for some reason - Super Mario and Excitebike are some of those.

I'm not sure oxidate is a word in english, but I tried my best

Yes oxidize is a word we use. I can tell you exactly why it’s happening; you have been blowing on your cartridges/ console contacts. Use Rubbing Alcohol (Isopropyl) to clean your contacts and that won’t happen. Alcohol evaporates fast and is, for the most part, non-corrosive. Saliva is very corrosive on metal when combined with oxygen and pollutants.

With the exception of my Atari 5200 I’ve never had problems with my controllers, but consoles are a separate issue altogether. I always replace my consoles when they wear out so look at my current list of systems to see the companies I’ve had issues with:

System Number purchased
Atari 2600 (VCS) 3
Atari 5200 1 (serious controller issues)
Atari 7800 1
Atari Jaguar 1
Mattel Intellivision 2
Coleco Colecovision 1
Nintendo NES 3
Nintendo SNES 1
Nintendo N64 2
Nintendo Game Cube 1
Sega Master System 1
Sega Genesis 1
Sega CD 1
Sega Saturn 1
Sega DreamCast 1
Sony PlayStation 2
Sony PS2 3 (2 original tray, 1 new clam-shell)
SNK Neo Geo (Cart) 1
Microsoft X-Box 1

I’ve had all sorts of problems with Sony systems. Their optical drives are prone to failure. I had 2 CD-ROMS go bad on my original PlayStations and I’ve had two DVD failures on the PS2. I’ve had the new PS2 for about a year now and it seems to hold up well.

Microsoft makes a very solid machine. My X-Box drive tray sticks when closing sometimes, but I have an X-Box with a Thompson Drive and those Models have problems like that. It’s an annoying problem, but not one that prevents using the system.

Nintendo makes a good system. They have a better reputation with their newer systems. The NES had issues with the catch on the cartridge drive failing. I know many people that got past that issue by inserting a second cart on top of the one being played, which would force the game down into place.

The companies that make the most dependable systems are no longer making game systems. SNK, Coleco and especially Sega make very solid and dependable systems.

The TG-16 was a fun system. I spent hours playing Military Madness and R-Type. I never had the money for the TurboGrafxCD or the TurboDuo, but I know both had great games. I really wanted and still want a SuperGrafx. I can’t get my frau to buy off on the idea of paying over $300 to get an obsolete, 10-year-old system that only has 5 games. The only reason I was able to pull off the Neo Geo was because my wife really likes Ninja Combat and World Heroes 2.