Sheldon (Jim Parsons) makes a big Mario mistake in The Big Bang Theory season 2. Aside from his unparalleled scientific knowledge, the socially inept genius also prides himself as an expert on geek culture, which includes gaming. However, he may not be as knowledgeable about how certain consoles work, evidenced by a Nintendo 64 blunder.
Fully aware of his unusually high level of intelligence, Sheldon typically lords his expertise over everyone, despite the possibility that his academic records may not be as impressive as his friends'. When he's not obsessing over his work and trying to make some scientific breakthrough in The Big Bang Theory, he spends his free time engaging in various geeky hobbies like checking out new comic book releases at Stuart's (Kevin Sussman) store or playing board games with the gang. Sometimes, he also plays video games by himself or with others, especially when his male friends are busy with their own lives.
This was the case in the season 2 episode of The Big Bang Theory title "The Codpiece Topology." Sheldon is forced to play his video game alone in the hallway as Leonard (Johnny Galecki) tries to restart his relationship with Leslie (Sara Gilbert) with a lovely date at home. Prior to being kicked out of his own apartment, an enthusiastic Sheldon announces that his mom sent him his old Nintendo 64 from Texas. While his roommate couldn't be bothered with the news, Sheldon excitedly opens the box, talking about playing old school Mario and not noticing that Leonard is busy setting the table for his romantic dinner. Sheldon continues to rummage through the package, discovering that his mother included the memory card, and he says that they can pick up where he left off the game in 1999.
There's only one problem: Super Mario 64 doesn't save game progress in its memory pack but to its cartridge. In fact, almost every game saves to the cartridge, and users can access the files regardless of which Nintendo 64 is being used or if one has an expansion pack. This means that they don't really need the memory pack to pick up where Sheldon left off and continue playing in the game. Leonard, who's supposedly also well-versed in gaming and the console, doesn't call him out on this detail either. Perhaps it's because he's more focused on making sure that his date with Leslie goes as smoothly as possible, or he just didn't know this as well.
This isn't the only time Sheldon got his games and console details mixed up. In the episode "The Indecision Amalgamation" in The Big Bang Theory season 7, he struggled to choose between buying an Xbox One and a PlayStation 4 when it should've been an easy pick for the former. The boys do a Halo night every week, which is a franchise exclusive to Xbox. If Sheldon didn't have that console, he wouldn't be able to participate.