A HuCard is...

[guyjin]

Was watching a youtube video this morning talking about Famicom cartridges; while doing so, it was suggested that PC Engine/Turbografx HuCards are not cartridges.

Are they, or aren't they? And what, exactly, is the definition of a cartridge?

[Sinistron]

Cartridge-
a small part with a particular purpose, used in a larger piece of equipment, which can be easily replaced with another similar part.

In this vein most of our wankers can be considered cartridges- but not mine- mine's too big.

A hucard is most certainly a cartridge.

[SuperDeadite]

Not a cartridge.  Its a plastic card with a PCB glued to it.  This is not a cartridge as the PCB is not contained in anything, its just flipped over and painted black.  Its a Hudson Card.  

The Japanese company's loved comming up with their own names though.  Neo Geo AES games are "ROM Cassettes" acording to the Japanese packaging.  

[nat]

Of course they are cartridges. Why the hell wouldn't they be? In fact, I rarely refer to them as "HuCards" because most people will stare blankly at you when you do so.

They are a plastic game medium that interfaces with the system via a set of pins. Sure they are smaller than most cartridges, but that's just because NEC rocks and was efficient when designing them. Why would they NOT be a cartridge?

Anyone who says otherwise is a doofus.

[Arjak]

That is so stupid. Of course they are! What else would they be? I often describe my Turbo Duo as a system that plays both Cartridge and CD games. Although, I do use this description for people who know nothing about the Turbo...

[NecroPhile]

cartridge: bullet, gunpowder, and primer packaged into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. 

HuCards are cartridges in my book.  I classify games as either disc (CDs, DVDs, floppies, etc.), cartridge (PCBs), or download.

Not a cartridge.  Its a plastic card with a PCB glued to it.  This is not a cartridge as the PCB is not contained in anything, its just flipped over and painted black.

Following that logic: gluing another piece of plastic on top of a HuCard will magically transform it into a cartridge, and removing a SNES (or whatever) cartridge from its case will forever end its life as a cartridge.  Sounds goofy to me.

[shubibiman]

They are not carttridges, to me but cards. The name says it all, doesn't it?

[Sinistron]

They are not carttridges, to me but cards. The name says it all, doesn't it?

Following that logic- an iBook would actually be a book and not a computer, a hamburger would be made out ham and a hot dog would be made from dog meat. 

[nat]

YEah, what if I had an NES cartridge shaped like a boot? Would it then be a boot and stop being a cartridge?

[Sinistron]

YEah, what if I had an NES cartridge shaped like a boot? Would it then be a boot and stop being a cartridge?

better yet- whose ass would you apply it to? 

[Ceti Alpha]

At the risk of sounding like a doofus  I never considered HuCARDS cartridges. Any cartridge I've seen, up to the N64, were big clunky P.O.S. that you had to blow on to get them to work properly. I always go by the saying "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..." - the HuCARD does neither. It's its own thing. Sure it performs the same function, but so do CDs. The SMS is a perfect example -they didn't call both game formats cartridges. They called the main cartridges "cartridges", and the cards "cards".

Basically, I look at Turbochips and Sega Cards as completely different formats from cartridges and CDs. However, technically they are cartridges. Wiki explains cartridges as:

In various types of electronic equipment, a cartridge can refer one method of adding different functionality or content (e.g. a video game cartridge), or a method by which consumables may be replenished (e.g. an ink cartridge for a printer). The term cartridge tends to be applied loosely to a large range of techniques which conform to this general description.

In general, the term tends to mean any detachable sub-unit that is held within its own container. The term cassette has a similar meaning. A video game cartridge may also be referred to as a cart or game pak.

Now, I've never called a cassette tape a cartridge and I would look at anyone strange for calling it that. It may by broad definition be a cartridge, but no one calls them cartridges. I tend to see HuCARDs in that way. Technically, by definition, they are cartridges, but we all know they are something else, and better.  By most definitions of cartridge, CDs also fall under that category. CDs are inserted into a bigger instrument and are easily replaceable. I guess MiniDiscs would more easily fit the cartridge definition than just regular CDs since they are encased; however, it's still just a CD in a plastic case. So is it just the plastic case that makes it a cartridge?

[Sparky]

Its a cartridge to me but never really thought about it until now  ... take away all the game casings from different system carts and you end up with the same teeth (whatever they are called) that need to be inserted into a device/system, me 2 cents. 
Edit: ceti's comment has me thinking though

[Turbo D]

I voted NOt a caRtridge! since it is a rom card 

[Sinistron]

I voted NOt a caRtridge! since it is a rom card 

and what exactly is a "rom card" if not a cartridge?    You've opened one serious can of worms Guyjin!

[TurboXray]

Interesting. So we are arguing semantics?

 I voted for cartridge, but technically it's not IMO. It's a card. A cartridge is a hollow case(usually two halves) that houses a PCB. A card is either glued to or molded with, a slim PCB. The share the same purpose (protecting the PCB), but are nothing alike in design.

[Ceti Alpha]

I voted NOt a caRtridge! since it is a rom card 

and what exactly is a "rom card" if not a cartridge?    You've opened one serious can of worms Guyjin!

hahaha!! Did he ever!! Curse you Guyjin!! 

But seriously, I spent my whole drive home thinking about this. lol I still think that by strict definition (at least from what I've found online), HuCARDs are cartridges. But by strict definition many things are cartridges that I never really considered such. For example, flash memory cards, by definition are cartridges. They hold information and are inserted into a larger instrument (i.e. computers, dvd players, gaming consoles), but I've never considered them cartridges. I've always referred to them as cards or sticks.

OK. I just found something.

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/r/romcard.htm

If you click "ROM cartridge" on that link, the definition of "ROM cartridge" states that it's virtually identical to the ROM Card except that it's bigger.

[NecroPhile]

Cartridge..... card..... cartridge..... card..... I'm so confused. 

Where's the fourth option, guyjin?  Did you forget that HuCards are also part of a balanced breakfast? 

[guyjin]

You've opened one serious can of worms Guyjin!

That's what I'm here for. 

Anyway, here's the video I was too lazy to link to this morning:

He doesn't directly say so, but it's implied around 1:10.

Where's the fourth option, guyjin?  Did you forget that HuCards are also part of a balanced breakfast? 

Yes I did. I've fixed the error. 

[nectarsis]

I voted cartridge...the only difference between a NES/SNES cart, etc.  is the way the innards are housed.  I mean take apart a NES cart...how much useless dead area is there.  So maybe we should define a cartridge as a media form that wastes room/plastic, and the cards are a much more efficient way to house the media in a least wasteful, space saving CARTRIDGE 

[rag-time4]

I voted 'not a cartridge'

If I was going to be a tool like Sinistron and just go blindly along with the dictionary definition, I'd have to agree that HuCards are cartridges... but no...

HuCards are a separate identity. Dictionary definitions don't have to be set in stone, and can be changed by a dedicated group of people... HuCards shouldn't be lumped together with those clunky space wasters that, as Ceti pointed out, need you to blow on em half the time before they work.

One word that has had it's original meaning corrupted is the term "semite"

According to the dictionary, the term "semite" includes a number of Afro-Asiatic linguistic groups, including Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, and some others... but the definition has been corrupted by Zionists to refer exclusively to Jews... to the point that when people say "anti-semitism" it is understood that it is Jews who are being talked about and not any of the other "semites"

[turbokon]

When I tell people who have never heard of a turbo grafx 16, I tell them that the games came in a cerdit card size game card.  I don't think of it as a cartridge even technicly it is.  I think of cartridge as being big and clunky as found on the other systems.

[Sinistron]

This is quite the confusing post Rag-time.

HuCards are a separate identity. Dictionary definitions don't have to be set in stone, and can be changed by a dedicated group of people... HuCards shouldn't be lumped together with those clunky space wasters that, as Ceti pointed out, need you to blow on em half the time before they work.

so, how does this "dedicated group of people" who can change the definition differ from these "zionists" who changed what the word "semite" means?

According to the dictionary, the term "semite" includes a number of Afro-Asiatic linguistic groups, including Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, and some others... but the definition has been corrupted by Zionists to refer exclusively to Jews... to the point that when people say "anti-semitism" it is understood that it is Jews who are being talked about and not any of the other "semites"

You seem to be making two opposing points here- 1) That it's good for dedicated people to change a definition
and 2) that a dedicated group of fanatics who changed a word "corrupted" it and therefore did a bad thing.

Two opposing thoughts that lead fucking nowhere and somehow I'm the tool.


Hey- maybe it is a cartridge and maybe it isn't- but you're most certainly quite the "card".

[rag-time4]

This is quite the confusing post Rag-time.

HuCards are a separate identity. Dictionary definitions don't have to be set in stone, and can be changed by a dedicated group of people... HuCards shouldn't be lumped together with those clunky space wasters that, as Ceti pointed out, need you to blow on em half the time before they work.

so, how does this "dedicated group of people" who can change the definition differ from these "zionists" who changed what the word "semite" means?

According to the dictionary, the term "semite" includes a number of Afro-Asiatic linguistic groups, including Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, and some others... but the definition has been corrupted by Zionists to refer exclusively to Jews... to the point that when people say "anti-semitism" it is understood that it is Jews who are being talked about and not any of the other "semites"

You seem to be making two opposing points here- 1) That it's good for dedicated people to change a definition
and 2) that a dedicated group of fanatics who changed a word "corrupted" it and therefore did a bad thing.

Two opposing thoughts that lead fucking nowhere and somehow I'm the tool.


Hey- maybe it is a cartridge and maybe it isn't- but you're most certainly quite the "card". 

In the case of "two opposing thoughts" ... it's all about intentions. The current definition of cartridges doesn't take into account that HuCards are cards, and not clunky hunks of plastic!

The coolness factor of HuCards needs to be taken into account in that definition! The dictionary definition of "cartridge" doesn't seem to really take the gaming community into consideration... by the dictionary definition, it seems like CDs can be considered cartridges, as someone else said above.

I used the example of the term "semite" to show you that the changing of the definition of words has happened in recent history, so accepting the definitions in the dictionary as unchangeable is the behavior of a tool!

[Sinistron]

This is quite the confusing post Rag-time.

HuCards are a separate identity. Dictionary definitions don't have to be set in stone, and can be changed by a dedicated group of people... HuCards shouldn't be lumped together with those clunky space wasters that, as Ceti pointed out, need you to blow on em half the time before they work.

so, how does this "dedicated group of people" who can change the definition differ from these "zionists" who changed what the word "semite" means?

According to the dictionary, the term "semite" includes a number of Afro-Asiatic linguistic groups, including Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, and some others... but the definition has been corrupted by Zionists to refer exclusively to Jews... to the point that when people say "anti-semitism" it is understood that it is Jews who are being talked about and not any of the other "semites"

You seem to be making two opposing points here- 1) That it's good for dedicated people to change a definition
and 2) that a dedicated group of fanatics who changed a word "corrupted" it and therefore did a bad thing.

Two opposing thoughts that lead fucking nowhere and somehow I'm the tool.


Hey- maybe it is a cartridge and maybe it isn't- but you're most certainly quite the "card". 

In the case of "two opposing thoughts" ... it's all about intentions. The current definition of cartridges doesn't take into account that HuCards are cards, and not clunky hunks of plastic!

The coolness factor of HuCards needs to be taken into account in that definition! The dictionary definition of "cartridge" doesn't seem to really take the gaming community into consideration... by the dictionary definition, it seems like CDs can be considered cartridges, as someone else said above.

I used the example of the term "semite" to show you that the changing of the definition of words has happened in recent history, so accepting the definitions in the dictionary as unchangeable is the behavior of a tool!

Hmmm.  Seems like you completely missed the bit in my initial post where I said right after posting the definition of cartridge- "In this vein most of our wankers can be considered cartridges"...  Now maybe you'd like to show me how I'm going "blindly along with the dictionary definition" instead of actually pointing out how vague it is?

Other than that BLARING mistake you made in sizing up my post- I ask you to point out to me where I state something along the lines of the definitions in the dictionary are unchangeable and/or are not meant to be changed. 

As Bonknuts correctly surmised- this is a thread about semantics.  I am a 'tool' for showing a definition- and then making a joke about the vagueness of it?  Clearly (or maybe not so clearly if you're a muddle headed fool) the reason I picked it as being a cartridge wasn't because I feel so rigidly about the definition.  If you think that I actually consider my penis or anyone else's to be a cartridge in anything other than a joking "poetic-license" sense then you are the entire tool f*cking shed- not just a mere tool.

Now- what was your point again?

[Lord Thag]

It's a rom chip that plugs into a console using copper contacts containing game data. Therefor, it is a cartridge.

It just happens to be a cartridge that looks like it was made last week, rather than twenty years ago. Damn sexy piece of electronics, the hucard! 

[nat]

That's what I'm saying. I just don't even see how there could be any debate.

I mean..... It's. a. cartridge.

[Ceti Alpha]

 

Damn you guyjin!! 

The debate isn't really if the HuCARD is a cartridge or not; it's really just about if you consider it a cartridge. It's just semantics. A HuCARD is a type of cartridge, but it's certainly unique in the world of consoles. Though calling it a cartridge isn't entirely precise, it is a form of cartridge. A memory card is also a type of cartridge (again, from the definitions I've read online), and so are a lot of things.

Anyway, this should be a fun debate. I don't think there's any reason for name calling. Everyone put their cartridge back in their pants. 

[Turbo D]

When I think of a cartridge, I think of a case that encloses an item. Like a cd cartridge from those old skool multi-disk players or a gun's magazine ( also called a cartridge.) I suppose you could call a hucard a cartridge, but it sounds out of place. Take the Sega MasterSystem for example; it has a cartridge slot and a card slot. Sega seems to agree that a rom card is different from a cartridge. Yay Sega!

[rag-time4]

This is quite the confusing post Rag-time.

HuCards are a separate identity. Dictionary definitions don't have to be set in stone, and can be changed by a dedicated group of people... HuCards shouldn't be lumped together with those clunky space wasters that, as Ceti pointed out, need you to blow on em half the time before they work.

so, how does this "dedicated group of people" who can change the definition differ from these "zionists" who changed what the word "semite" means?

According to the dictionary, the term "semite" includes a number of Afro-Asiatic linguistic groups, including Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, and some others... but the definition has been corrupted by Zionists to refer exclusively to Jews... to the point that when people say "anti-semitism" it is understood that it is Jews who are being talked about and not any of the other "semites"

You seem to be making two opposing points here- 1) That it's good for dedicated people to change a definition
and 2) that a dedicated group of fanatics who changed a word "corrupted" it and therefore did a bad thing.

Two opposing thoughts that lead fucking nowhere and somehow I'm the tool.


Hey- maybe it is a cartridge and maybe it isn't- but you're most certainly quite the "card". 

In the case of "two opposing thoughts" ... it's all about intentions. The current definition of cartridges doesn't take into account that HuCards are cards, and not clunky hunks of plastic!

The coolness factor of HuCards needs to be taken into account in that definition! The dictionary definition of "cartridge" doesn't seem to really take the gaming community into consideration... by the dictionary definition, it seems like CDs can be considered cartridges, as someone else said above.

I used the example of the term "semite" to show you that the changing of the definition of words has happened in recent history, so accepting the definitions in the dictionary as unchangeable is the behavior of a tool!

Hmmm.  Seems like you completely missed the bit in my initial post where I said right after posting the definition of cartridge- "In this vein most of our wankers can be considered cartridges"...  Now maybe you'd like to show me how I'm going "blindly along with the dictionary definition" instead of actually pointing out how vague it is?

Other than that BLARING mistake you made in sizing up my post- I ask you to point out to me where I state something along the lines of the definitions in the dictionary are unchangeable and/or are not meant to be changed. 

As Bonknuts correctly surmised- this is a thread about semantics.  I am a 'tool' for showing a definition- and then making a joke about the vagueness of it?  Clearly (or maybe not so clearly if you're a muddle headed fool) the reason I picked it as being a cartridge wasn't because I feel so rigidly about the definition.  If you think that I actually consider my penis or anyone else's to be a cartridge in anything other than a joking "poetic-license" sense then you are the entire tool f*cking shed- not just a mere tool.

Now- what was your point again?

My point was that cartridges are for the masses, HuCards are for us!

And don't try to explain away the last sentence of your first post as if we didn't see that!

A hucard is most certainly a cartridge.

Most certainly because it fits the dictionary definition! Not that you're pretty sure... but MOST CERTAINLY! Seems pretty rigid to me!

Cartridges are for the masses... SNES, Genesis, NES... those are cartridges.... but HuCards are HuCards!

The dictionary definition doesn't take into account the fact that the TurboGrafx-16 rules, dude!!! HuCards are so awesome they have their own word, and rightly so!

By the way Sinistron, I just noticed in the shoutbox you said that you are trying to quit smoking, so it seems I picked a bad time to give you a hard time!! May God bless you and your wife and make things easy for you!

[SignOfZeta]

You guys are crazy. They are the same thing.

One of the oldest usage of the term "cartridge" is for firearms. In this case it replaced loading and packing each round one at a time with a simple interchangeable cartridge. Likewise a NES, Neo Geo, or HuCard cart/card saves you the trouble of actually soldering in all those ROM chips by providing an interchangeable case (or cassette, just means "small case" in French), or cartridge.

[rag-time4]

You guys are crazy. They are the same thing.

One of the oldest usage of the term "cartridge" is for firearms. In this case it replaced loading and packing each round one at a time with a simple interchangeable cartridge. Likewise a NES, Neo Geo, or HuCard cart/card saves you the trouble of actually soldering in all those ROM chips by providing an interchangeable case (or cassette, just means "small case" in French), or cartridge.

Nooooo Sign of Zeta and Sinistron agree on this one... what have I unleashed??

Zeta, if we're crazy, you're no fun!

[Turbo D]

You guys are crazy. They are the same thing.

One of the oldest usage of the term "cartridge" is for firearms. In this case it replaced loading and packing each round one at a time with a simple interchangeable cartridge. Likewise a NES, Neo Geo, or HuCard cart/card saves you the trouble of actually soldering in all those ROM chips by providing an interchangeable case (or cassette, just means "small case" in French), or cartridge.

A hucard is not a small case; it does not enclose anything. I don't know if you read my earlier post or not, but I already brought up the firearm cartridge  . You can call me crazy, but will you call Sega crazy?

[Sinistron]

My point was that cartridges are for the masses, HuCards are for us!

And don't try to explain away the last sentence of your first post as if we didn't see that!

A hucard is most certainly a cartridge.

Most certainly because it fits the dictionary definition! Not that you're pretty sure... but MOST CERTAINLY! Seems pretty rigid to me!

Act like you didn't see what?  My opinion on the matter- after I showed how vague the dictionary definition is?
Honestly man you need to grow up and develop your brain a little more.

Cartridges are for the masses... SNES, Genesis, NES... those are cartridges.... but HuCards are HuCards!

The dictionary definition doesn't take into account the fact that the TurboGrafx-16 rules, dude!!! HuCards are so awesome they have their own word, and rightly so!

By the way Sinistron, I just noticed in the shoutbox you said that you are trying to quit smoking, so it seems I picked a bad time to give you a hard time!! May God bless you and your wife and make things easy for you!

Wrong again.  I never said I was trying to quit smoking.  Those on the shoutbox who know me better know that every week I take breaks from smoking- with no intention of quitting.  There were other reasons beyond that that me and my girlfriend (not wife) were having a hard time last night- and if you'd like to air my personal business that I was referring to amongst friends in that regard then I must warn you- I will seriously burn you and make you look more convoluted and desperate than you're already looking- than a bunch of us on shoutbox last night already agreed you look.  I believe that the running joke last night was that I am a zionist for calling a hucard a cartridge.  If you care to be the fodder for more shoutbox humor then so be it.

[guyjin]

and if you'd like to air my personal business that I was referring to amongst friends in that regard then I must warn you-

The shoutbox is not private, and you shouldn't expect it to be.

[Sinistron]

and if you'd like to air my personal business that I was referring to amongst friends in that regard then I must warn you-

The shoutbox is not private, and you shouldn't expect it to be.

You are correct- and I don't expect it to be-
however he A) took information from there that he clearly didn't understand, B) comes on here and adds wrong information about a dispute between me and my girlfriend as if it's comedy- when 1) it isn't and 2) has nothing to do with anything about hucards being cartridges or not. Twiggy came onto the shout trying to be Mr. Personality after calling me a tool- we argued further there and then later on he combed the shoutbox for information that wasn't directed to him but to the few people who were there- and though the shoutbox isn't personal- the misquoted information was and though perhaps I shouldn't have said it there there is zero cause for it to be repeated here. 
 

Nooooo Sign of Zeta and Sinistron agree on this one... what have I unleashed??

What have you unleashed?  You were not the first person here to say that a hucard isn't a cartridge- and if you were and if you happened to be the first poster here aside from Guyjin you still wouldn't have altered either me or Zeta's opinions.  You have unleashed nothing- this is Guyjin's post - the opinions were already there - a debate on the opinions has been unleashed but certainly not by you.

[TurboXray]

Guys.. just chill out. This is the third or fourth time I've seen mention of the shoutbox used for "we'll have/had a good laugh at you in the shout box at your expense for what you posted - blah -blah -blah" type of clique crap. It's immature and annoying.

 That out of the way.

 A PCB by itself *is* a card, not a cartridge. A cartridge, in context, is a case the encloses a PCB. A cartridge is a type of case. A hucard does not enclose a PCB. The plastic provides physically structure to support the PCB, not enclosing it like a cartridge. The PCB is fully exposed (the black part). It's the same as with a credit card. The magnetic strip is supported by the card's plastic (as well as some ICs for credit cards). Credit Cards are not cartridges.

[Sinistron]

Rag- take a breather man. 
I'll respond for you and save you the energy- you look like you need it.

Bonknuts- I'm not following you either.  EVERYTHING you posted so far is for the argument that hucards are not cartridges- and yet in your first post you say you voted for cartridge? 

[TurboXray]

Bonknuts- I'm not following you either.  EVERYTHING you posted so far is for the argument that hucards are not cartridges- and yet in your first post you say you voted for cartridge? 

IMO: Technically it's not a cartridge, but in generality it is a cartridge since it serves the a similar purpose - provide a physical plug in media for a game  rom.

[nectarsis]

So it is, but it isn't 

[Ceti Alpha]

A PCB by itself *is* a card, not a cartridge. A cartridge, in context, is a case the encloses a PCB. A cartridge is a type of case. A hucard does not enclose a PCB. The plastic provides physically structure to support the PCB, not enclosing it like a cartridge. The PCB is fully exposed (the black part). It's the same as with a credit card. The magnetic strip is supported by the card's plastic (as well as some ICs for credit cards). Credit Cards are not cartridges.

You've pretty much sold me. I forgot that the PCB is just the black part of the HuCARD. It isn't enclosed.

As silly as this debate is, it's obviously been an unanswered question that has been lingering. hehe And though it will probably remain unanswered by some, I'm satisfied. It's not a cartridge.  O:) O:)

[Sinistron]

It's the whole black or white thing that is getting everyone ruffled here I fear.
I posit forth the notion that  It IS a cartridge- in the shape of a CARD!   

however a cartridge in the shape of a card is a cartridge first and foremost 

[nat]

But.... It's a cartridge.

A PCB by itself *is* a card, not a cartridge.

Sure it is, if it has connector pins meant to be used to plug it into a larger unit for interface.

[SignOfZeta]

A hucard is not a small case; it does not enclose anything.

Yes, it is. Yes, it does. Rip apart a HuCard some time. Only a very small percentage of its mass is actual ROM.

. You can call me crazy, but will you call Sega crazy?

Its not crazy, its just a marketable use of language. Nintendo called Famicom carts "cassettes" in Japan and NES "Game Packs" in the US. Sony makes a "Memory Stick®" while most stuff uses an SD "memory card". Is one a "stick", and one a "card"? They are all cartridges in the shape of cards.

[Sinistron]

A hucard is not a small case; it does not enclose anything.

Yes, it is. Yes, it does. Rip apart a HuCard some time. Only a very small percentage of its mass is actual ROM.

. You can call me crazy, but will you call Sega crazy?

Its not crazy, its just a marketable use of language. Nintendo called Famicom carts "cassettes" in Japan and NES "Game Packs" in the US. Sony makes a "Memory Stick®" while most stuff uses an SD "memory card". Is one a "stick", and one a "card"? They are all cartridges in the shape of cards.

yeah- I know hell's freezing over or whatever- but Zeta's 110% right.  There were photos on threads here I believe (or on other pce related sites) that I'm sure most of you have seen where a hucard is taken apart and the card is CLEARLY a case and is clearly mostly plastic- you don't even need to take it apart to see that.  Why is there even any debate?

He's also absolutely right that Sega calling their card-shaped cartridges "cards" was only about marketing- only the foolish would take it so literally.  Are you the same people who believe in blast processing?

[TurboXray]

Sure it is, if it has connector pins meant to be used to plug it into a larger unit for interface.

No so ;). Cards that plug into a mother board, be it ram, video, nic, sound, etc - are not cartridges. They are cards. A cartridge is a case that encloses something, be it bullets, pills, PCBs, etc.

Yes, it is. Yes, it does. Rip apart a HuCard some time. Only a very small percentage of its mass is actual ROM.

I've taken apart many hucards (swapping around the PCBs to play tricks on friends). The plastic card does not enclose the PCB. It's glue to the under side. That's not enclosing or encasing a PCB.

 A car is not a truck, but both are vehicles.

[PCEngineHell]

 Its based off of cart technoligy,and the chips are still protected by a protective layer so there is not direct exposure.In the loosest sense of the word its a cart,just compacted so there is no empty space. In the strictest sense it is its own format based off a prior one,the cart. Either way it goes hand in hand.

[NecroPhile]

You can call me crazy, but will you call Sega crazy?

Damn right; the way they ran that company into the ground is the epitome of crazy. 

The plastic provides physically structure to support the PCB, not enclosing it like a cartridge. The PCB is fully exposed (the black part).

Isn't the black part a coating and not integral to the PCB making it fully encased (except for the contacts, obviously)?  I postulate that the white plastic card provides the cartridge back/sides and the black coating is the top.  If you don't buy that argument (who'd blame you?), then would you say that Street Fighter 2, Populous, and the Tennokoe Bank are indeed cartridges?

[Sinistron]

Both of the sides of the card are plastic straight up and down- meaning that in width the thing is plastic. if just the surface part isn't plastic- but behind it and the sides are all plastic- that's pretty much enclosed and encased MOSTLY in plastic- if you want to be so technical- more than half of it is encased in plastic since both the back and sides are.  More than half is a much better argument for than for against- and anyway the surface part is encased in something which itself is held firm by the plastic which is also level on the bottom surface area- making this sort of a thin scoop.  What's the black coating made of anyway? 

[nat]

Plastic. 

[PCEngineHell]

Both of the sides of the card are plastic straight up and down- meaning that in width the thing is plastic. if just the surface part isn't plastic- but behind it and the sides are all plastic- that's pretty much enclosed and encased MOSTLY in plastic- if you want to be so technical- more than half of it is encased in plastic since both the back and sides are.  More than half is a much better argument for than for against- and anyway the surface part is encased in something which itself is held firm by the plastic which is also level on the bottom surface area- making this sort of a thin scoop.  What's the black coating made of anyway? 

Carbonite lol.
Exactly Sini. All that really diff between the cards and carts is the empty space normal carts have. Otherwise the technoligy is still basically the same.