My first flashcart which was an r4 ultra which lacked "standby" support and cost about 30ish bucks only lasted 3 maybe 4 months before my DS Lite didnt recognize it (it wouldnt even show a game icon). It also rarely left my DS so I dont think damage was the cause. The only good thing about it was it supported SDHC.
My 2nd flashcart which was an acekard 2i lasted me pretty much 2 to 4 years (i dont remember exactly cause i dont remember when i bought my DSi i know i got it around that time though XD) before it started to be a bit loose in my DSi. (It would randomly freeze cause the contacts would become separated because it wasnt snug) I sold it and my DSi to a friend and told him to use the paper trick to get it to fit.
My 3rd/4th and current flashcart is my Limited Edition GBAtemp Supercard. The reason i say 3rd/4th is cause i FREAKING LOST my original one while preparing another one for a friend who purchased the supercard aswell in class. I bought the one i was preparing from my friend and it is pretty good and shows no signs of EVER becoming loose in my DS or breaking. Only problems are cosmetically cause the white plastic has become slightly discolored with constant removal from my 3DS.
So yeah flashcarts can last a variety of times depending on how well you treat them
I've had my DSTT for nearly 4 years, recently is having some contact issues, but nothing too terrible. So I'd say if you take care of it, it could last many years.
There are so many variables involved in your question that it's impossible to give you a solid number.
My M3 Simply lasted about a year.
The M3Real lasted for three years and is still working today, in somebody else's DS.
There are many variables responsible for the service life of a flashcart.
My Acekard 2i from 2009 still works perfectly with daily use.
Quite simply, they are like anything else that is electronic, they work until they fail, and your milage may vary depending on how the flashhcart is treated and simply random chance.
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I think the Mister is cool and all, but honestly I have seen some video's exploring the difference between hardware and software emulation and the advantages of both.... I would pick software over FPGA, wouldn't mind some sort of hybrid approach but I can only imagine how complex that would be and how expensive.