CloudGamerX
Kula's Candy
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2016
- Posts
- 303
Okay, so I was in a Skype conversation recently with HeavyMachineGun, and we were talking about Metal Slug. During our conversation, we were talking about how Metal Slug X carts are known to fail, yet copies of King of Fighters 98 with the same Altera MAX chip don't. So, we decided to take a look at our working copies of Metal Slug X and noticed something a little different compared to the scans present on MVS-Scans. So for starters, here is the scan for Metal Slug X on MVS-Scans:
If you notice, the Altera MAX chip has a serial number underneath the parts number. Keep note of the last 4 digits of that number, "9901". That is actually the manufacturing date, which stands for "1st week of 1999". Now here is a scan of King of Fighters 98, also from MVS-Scans:
Now, notice that the serial number is different. The last 4 digits on this is "9819", meaning this Altera MAX chip was manufactured on the 19th week of 1998. So what does this have to do with our copies of Metal Slug X? well, I took a picture of my Metal Slug X's PROG board, take a look at the Altera MAX chip...
The last 4 digits on this Altera MAX chip reads "9849", the 49th week of 1998. So what does this all mean? Well, integrated circuits like the Altera MAX chips always have a chance of manufacturing defects. So, it's quite possible that the reason why some Metal Slug X carts fail is because the 1999 Altera MAX chips came out of the factory defective. This would also explain why King of Fighters 98 carts haven't been reported to die as easily as Metal Slug X, despite sharing the same Altera MAX chip. So what do you guys think?
If you notice, the Altera MAX chip has a serial number underneath the parts number. Keep note of the last 4 digits of that number, "9901". That is actually the manufacturing date, which stands for "1st week of 1999". Now here is a scan of King of Fighters 98, also from MVS-Scans:
Now, notice that the serial number is different. The last 4 digits on this is "9819", meaning this Altera MAX chip was manufactured on the 19th week of 1998. So what does this have to do with our copies of Metal Slug X? well, I took a picture of my Metal Slug X's PROG board, take a look at the Altera MAX chip...
The last 4 digits on this Altera MAX chip reads "9849", the 49th week of 1998. So what does this all mean? Well, integrated circuits like the Altera MAX chips always have a chance of manufacturing defects. So, it's quite possible that the reason why some Metal Slug X carts fail is because the 1999 Altera MAX chips came out of the factory defective. This would also explain why King of Fighters 98 carts haven't been reported to die as easily as Metal Slug X, despite sharing the same Altera MAX chip. So what do you guys think?