It's not that you can't store them, but having all of that takes up a lot of memory, both disc wise and RAM wise, and the game cartridges out now just don't have enough memory to have a full game and all of that, which is why they compromise like that still, even for 3DS games. It's true we have more memory coming out of our ears this decade, but that's mostly in terms of RAM and harddrives for the hardware. Game carts are proprietary, so they are much more specifically built and have more limits. Whereas harddrives and RAM sticks are a bit more universal, which is why they can go up to 2 TB and 32 GB respectively for PCs
Said cartridges are tiny, and for handhelds. If you made a modern cartridge the size of an NES, SNES, or even Genesis/N64 Cartridge, it'd be a-whole-nother story.
Yep some N64 games used MP3's sparingly, (sparingly, due to capacity constraints) like Conker's Bad Fur Day for example. Flash memory isn't the most durable in terms of longevity, I think they last around 10 years before the memory chips go sour? CD's and DVD's last longer if their high quality like Tayio Juden brand discs and are properly handled so they don't develop scratches. Magnetic Tape is I believe still the best in terms of longevity and reliability.
Longevity means nothing if it's easily damaged with little to no restore potential. Wii U games fit that description to a T, as I found out the hard way when my Wii U scratched up my discs. They CAN last a while, assuming NOTHING goes wrong, ever, but with frequent use, that is unlikely.
And even without Flash Memory, modern technology would STILL allow MUCH greater speed and memory storage than it used to, discs always had speed problems, even back in the day.
Edited by Anarchy_Balsac, 20 June 2016 - 03:38 PM.