Topic: Nintendo Ds cartridge root

So I just looked through my DS cartridge collection to play some games on my DSI XL.

I found one of my DS cartridge won't work because of cartridge root.

I have not played this game in close to a decade and even then I only played the game once.

I keep all of the DS game cards in a plastic game card case for protection.

However this game card is the only card with cartridge root.

I brought all of the DS games brand new when Nintendo sold them back then so not been used by someone else.

My concern is I kept them in a case to keep them dry and to prevent corrosion and haven't been used in a long time but yet one of the cartridges got cartridge root.

Is this supposed to be normal?

I find it odd that I have not played this game in a long time and kept it in a case and it still rooted

I know that game cards can root over time but I thought this is weird that this happened

Has anyone else had this happen to a DS game card that never been played in years?

P.s. the game is Mario & sonic at the winter Olympic games (Nintendo DS)

Maybe you were unlucky and get the bad product without realizing.
You can always get the other one as replacement.
Btw, rotten not root.

Quick if your cartridge has roots plant it. Maybe it will grow into a game tree.

@Anti-Matter I remember playing the game about 3 years ago and it worked fine.

I just thought it was strange this happened

@Tay205 Heard of disc rot in optical media etc, but never in carts - folk still using old Atari 2600 etc with no issues. Could just be that the contacts need cleaned - have you tried that?

Like @dmcc0 said, I'm guessing you mean cartridge ROT?

Either way, this seems rather peculiar, unless you're living in really damp conditions or something.

This is the best answer.

@dmcc0 yep I tried. I took such good care of it and I just don't know what happened

@Tay205 Could be a moisture issue like @Silly_G said, or even damage from static electricity if you live somewhere really dry, or you might just have been unlucky and got a faulty cart - not all faults show up immediately with electronics. I've seen a couple of your other post that you've had issues with batteries in your Switch too - could point to something environmental? Or you're just really unlucky...