Dear Future Gamer

In response to Cart Concerns (FG54), yes, the N64 does have a built in battery, but due to the cart's construction it's almost impossible to replace it yourself without physically pulling the cart to bits, and this would destroy your warranty. You're then forced to hulk your games along to your local Nintendo Authorised dealer and allow them to replace the battery for you at a vastly inflated price.

I used to work in a computer games shop back in the heady NES shoebox days, and you wouldn't believe how much a little box with lights on, used solely for the purpose of testing the NES pads, actually costs. Also, if there was ever anything wrong with the said pad, it was cheaper to bin it and buy another, rather than fix it.

Rick

FG: Thanks for that, Rick. Maybe the price - inflated or not - of having the battery replaced properly is better than losing those hundreds of hours of hard game-playing.