Since the launch of the Switch 2, Nintendo has imposed a unique format of physical cartridge: 64 GB, that a game has made 3 or 50 GB. Result, many publishers have preferred to use cards without data, simple activation keys, rather than paying for a largely unused space … a badly experienced decision by many players, who see gradually disappear the possibility of really having their game. The manufacture of cartridges announces that things could evolve.
Switch 2: The programmed end of cartridges only downloadable would be on the table
The “Game-Key Cards” of the Switch 2, without physical data, are in the viewfinder of the players and could soon evolve. © Nintendo, digital
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The Taiwanese manufacturer Macronix, historic supplier of Nintendo, said working on new storage capacities for the cartridges of the Switch 2. The company, which already uses its MLC NAND memory and 3D NAND external components, plans to offer several different sizes, adapted to the real needs of the games.
On the first switch, this flexibility already existed: some titles held on 1 GB, others on 32 GB. But on Switch 2, this choice no longer existed – and that weighed heavily in the decisions of the studios. A game that occupies only a few gigabytes is as expensive to produce in 64 GB cartridge as a blockbuster full to crack, hence the massive use of key play cards.
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This uniformity has caused an uproar: in addition to the absence of physical data, it forces players to download the entire game, sometimes several dozen gigas, which is not ideal for those who have a limited connection or simply wish to keep their toy library offline.
If Macronix is holding out, this evolution could mark a return to more “fair” cartridges: a reduced format for small games, a large format for the behemoths. Less waste, fewer empty cards, and especially more really complete titles in physics.
Nintendo, for its part, does not remain inactive: the firm is currently conducting investigations to players in Japan and in the West on the acceptance of these famous key play cards. A sign that the message has passed?