/vr/ - Retro Games

>>2490413
the form factor may resemble SD cards, but that's where it ends. Inside you find a ROM (or multiple ROM chips), often an EEPROM/Flash chip for save states, and occasionally even more sophisticated hardware, like the bluetooth receiver in the pokemon typing game cart.
The form factor is for human reasons only, so the carts can be handled reasonably well. In terms of storage and capability though, they could be even smaller.

>>2490435
These carts were largely empty. Their size and shape was determined by what was considered useful for storage and human handling back then. The SD card established itself as a modern form factor though.