I thought all these flat chips were flash. IDK, here's some pics and you can make of it what it is:
Vita card:
so Vita carts used Sandisk's Write-Once Flash Memory Chip.
i just remember something, didn't SanDisk once touted their memory cards as being able to last 100 archival years? because i distinctly recall reading an article on that in a computer magazine many years ago. does anyone remember?
---- UPDATE: ----
SANDISK’S WRITE-ONCE-READ-MANY “WORM” SD CARD STORES IMAGES FOR UP TO 100 YEARS
The SanDisk SD WORM card meets the new archival demands for mobility, long-term preservation, data integrity and ease of use. SanDisk's proprietary SD WORM controller technology instantly protects any files written to the device, preventing the alteration or deletion of stored data. The card stores files safely for up to 100 years*, as shown by accelerated data retention internal testing, and delivers a lower total cost of ownership compared to other archival media.
(SOURCE)
I remember how much i wanted these back then, i actually went around asking a few local retailers to see if they have any of these SanDisk WORM cards in stock but nobody has them and they were not being sold anywhere at all. I wanted those WORM cards quite badly at the time, as the idea of an SD-card being able to hold data for 100 years seemed almost too good to be true, but its exactly what i need when my old HDD and cheap memory cards were failing left and right. i found out in the end that the only way to order them is to get them from Sandisk's listed overseas retailers or place a bulk order to Sandisk themselves.
I tried to look for an alternative brand of WORM cards but from what i remembered, SanDisk was definitely the ONLY company who were producing these kinds of internal "write-once" memory cards at the time, as no other companies were offering this range of products at all. Presumably, SanDisk themselves must have invented and patented this "Write-Once" flash memory technology themselves which would explain why no other companies could produce their own brand of WORM cards since it's SanDisk's own proprietary technology which they have exclusive rights to seeing that they are the ones who pioneered and developed the technology wholly by themselves.
In any case, Sandisk's Write-Once-Read-Many Flash Memory Card (WORM) appears to be quite similar to what was used on the Vita game carts which too employs a type of Write-Once flash memory provided by SanDisk. Since SanDisk only has one type of "Write-Once" flash memory technology in their company which is their "WORM" chip that they themselves had developed proprietorially, it would be logical to assume that the "Write-Once" flash memory chips that SanDisk have been providing to Sony for use on their Vita Game Carts must surely be the same type of flash memory as "WORM" itself, or atleast something very close to it. Though i'd imagine that the cells used in the vita's game cart would probably be of much lower quality so therefore it would not be able to last 100 years like SanDisk WORM cards claimed it can.
If SanDisk is really using a type of their proprietary WORM flash memory chip on the Vita's game cartridge, then it may be possible to use SanDisk's special WORM Card Writer hardware to actually backup all of the game's data, then rewrite/reflash them back to a bit-rotted vita game cart. (only to repair data degradation! not for piracy!) of course the WORM CARD Writer as well as the Vita game Cart will need to be modified in some way but all of this is just a pipe-dream and it'd be too much work anyway just to repair the bloody game cart, though i heard that vintage electronic musical instrument collectors, as well as vintage computer collectors are willing to go through the expensive, draconian process of reflashing their hardware's EEPROMs from time to time to ensure that it will continue to function after the EEPROM components inside have failed due to data loss or corruption.
To sum everything up:
SanDisk appears to be providing their proprietary "Write-Once-Read-Many" (WORM) flash memory technology to SONY which are being used on all Vita Game Cartridges. This effectively makes the Vita Game Carts themselves a Variant of the SanDisk WORM Card, albeit cheaper and with a shorter data retention span.
