@djlink
Well... that's crappy.
Coincidentally I happen to have a NES Blades of Steel (Konami) cart on my desk.
I got it at a thrift store for $3.50 CAD. I've little doubt it will function as good as the one I rented from the Video-View down the road from the house where I grew up.
Why is everything so fragile and/or have a designed or intrinsic shelf life?