The Bizarre Reason This Gamer Kept Their System Running For 20 Years

When comparing old gaming consoles to new ones, many gamers believe that yesterday's systems last longer than the more advanced platforms available today. On Reddit, several users agreed that because of "less moving parts," older gaming hardware has a longer shelf life. Just look at the infamous Xbox 360 "Red Ring of Death," for example. Of course, that doesn't mean retro consoles are invincible.

Have you ever accidentally left a system running all day and wondered if such an oversight would cause any wear and tear on its internal architecture? Perhaps you've pondered how long you could safely let your retro console run without risking damage. If so, you're not alone.

One Redditor asked if they could pause "Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts" and keep their Super Nintendo powered on for a day or so. In response, another gamer highlighted a story exemplifying the reliability of the SNES. It's an allegedly true tale about a player who kept their Super Famicom (the Japanese SNES) running for over two decades. That's a staggering amount of time for sure, but why would someone do such a thing? The real reason is quite bizarre.

In 2015, Japanese news website SoraNews24 reported on and translated a tweet from a gamer in Japan who showed an image of their Super Famicom, which they claimed had been left powered on "for over 20 years." Their explanation? If they cut the power, the save data for the inserted game, "Umihara Kawase," would likely vanish.

Because save data in some cartridge-based games relied on a working battery, this user was likely concerned that if the battery was dead, all their hard work would have been for naught. Still, this raises plenty of other unanswered questions. Did this user have a second Super Famicom to play other games? Were they truly unable to beat "Umihara Kawase" after 20 years? As one Reddit user pointed out, "you can easily complete that game in one sitting." This Redditor also suggested that the Japanese gamer may have kept it on as a monument to their childhood game file.

The owner of this immortal Super Famicom had to cut the power at least one time during a move, but nothing was lost. This user even confirmed that they managed to avoid power outages during the entirety of that machine's run. Is the system still on? Perhaps the user will offer an update at the 30-year mark.