I feel like one of the big reasons I'm more into ROMs of new retro console games than carts is because I think it's actually a really big improvement that modern games can continue to get better after release now without having to buy the game again, and in that medium they actually can.
Lots of old games have really serious bugs (like the initial releases of Castlevania and Animal Crossing: Wild World being able to just crash) that, due to their medium, are just going to be there forever with no resolution aside from tracking down a later version, and that sucks.
I've probably talked about it before, but it feels like there's a lot of pressure and expectation in this hobby to make and sell carts to strangers, and I don't know how much of that is real or just me extrapolating from some interactions I've had.
That pressure (whether real or fake) bothers me and makes me feel like I have to explain myself? I guess because otherwise I'm just disappointing people with no reason given and that feels bad.
@NovaSquirrel galaxy brain: make cartridge reproduction itself a hobby project, publish print material but leave the production and assembly to those who want to make the effort
@elfi Yeah that's something that could be fun and comfy. There seem to be a lot of services where you can just give them a ROM and they'll ship you a cart, or at least a board for a cart.