Nintendo Switch 64GB Games Delayed, Fat Carts May Wait

Delivery of larger game cartridges for Nintendo Switch game developers means a wait for some sweet titles for users. Reports today suggest that some developers have been informed of the delay from Nintendo. Those that already own a Nintendo Switch will scarcely be affected – unless they were waiting for some of the most massive games of 2018 to come to Switch in a timely manner.

The difference between the standard Nintendo Switch cartridge capacity and the upcoming 64GB cartridge can be massive. Some games that require more space than their cartridge will allow have been released already. These larger games require additional data download before full capacity gameplay.

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Players of the game Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild will know the pain already. With Zelda on Switch, a 45.4GB game in all, 13.4GB are required to download before the user is allowed to play the full game.

Nintendo charges developers increasing prices from 8GB to 16GB to 32GB cartridges. According to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, PS4/Xbox One profit margins are the same on 50GB discs as a Nintendo Switch 8GB cartridge. Ramping up to the 32GB cartridge, a developer is said to pay 60% more than they would for a 50GB disc on PS4/Xbox One.

As such, higher pricing for Nintendo Switch game titles compared to those on Xbox One/PS4 is expected. And has indeed happened more than once.

Nintendo allows microSD cards for Nintendo Switch to expand the internal storage of the device. The standard Nintendo Switch comes with 32GB of internal storage space – before a microSD card slot is added on.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that some developers "may wait" on delivering some higher-capacity games until 64GB cards are available. It's not yet clear which developers this includes, or if any games will end up being cancelled outright.