Nintendo’s Switch 2 Game Card Situation Just Became Dire (Nintendo Switch Cartridge Rom Manufacturer Leaves Spiking)

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According to reporting by Google Search Trends USA, nintendo switch cartridge rom manufacturer leaves

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Nintendo’s physical Switch 2 game cards may have suffered their worst blow since the handheld console hit the scene last year. David Gibson, the games-focused analyst at MST Financial, reported late on Tuesday that the main manufacturer of the flash memory inside Switch game cards, Macronix, is “quitting the Switch business.” The reason why is simple: game cards are not a big money maker.

Gibson says that its ROM storage business made up less than 5% of Macronix’s sales last quarter. That’s down from 23% a year ago. Its other business is making eMMC and NAND storage, which is eclipsing the sales of the small storage solution used for Nintendo’s physical games.

1/4 Nintendo's main memory chip maker is quitting the Switch business Macronix, which makes the ROM chips in Switch 1 and Switch 2 game memory cards, is phasing out that business. There will be no new ROM products, and Q3 is the last quarter it reports ROM sales separately.

Macronix is not Nintendo’s sole provider of memory for physical cartridges. Still, it was the main supplier, and if Nintendo does not find a replacement, it could spell even worse tidings for future game card releases. Gibson said we may not see an impact immediately, but having fewer suppliers will inevitably push Nintendo to emphasize digital games even harder. According to Circana’s chief gaming analyst Mat Piscatella, U.S. physical game sales saw the slightest bump this year thanks mostly to Switch 2. At the same time, the “overwhelming” majority of game sales are digital now. Piscatella wrote back in June that we “likely have less than a decade left of physical software.”

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Information in this article was compiled directly from records provided by Google Search Trends USA. Access the primary source document at: https://gizmodo.com/nintendos-switch-2-game-cards-matronix-2000834832. Reporting and editorial review conducted by the USA NOW News Desk.