Limited Run Games has issued emails to its customers confirming that both Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland and Piopow on NES may cause damage to the consoles or cartridges if used for prolonged periods of time.
As highlighted by John Riggs on Bluesky (thanks, Time Extension), Limited Run has stated that these specific games were not manufactured by its regular partner, and were instead handled by another team that has “only worked on a very small handful of titles”.
Limited Run is now checking through all games produced by this particular team and has removed both Rugrats and Piopow from sale. As for those who have already purchased either title, you can either opt for a replacement from Limited Run’s usual manufacturing partner, or apply for a full refund. Those wishing to receive a replacement will not need to contact Limited Run; this will be handled automatically.
Naturally, it’s recommended that if you do own these products on the NES, then you shouldn’t continue to use them, but Limited Run has stated that a return will not be necessary in this case.
In speaking with Time Extension, Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso said that although the cartridges have voltage regulators, “it has no logic level translation. This means that the parts on the board constantly draw power from signals that are not intended to provide power and will damage the cart and my NES. This cartridge is a tiny time bomb for my electronics.”
