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[orthodoxy1095]

A good micro SD card can meet or even exceed many low end 5200RPM HDD's in read/write speed.

What...exactly is your point here? The Ultra 256gb microSD is $150 and the Extreme version is $200. And you're telling me it beats an HDD from like...2006?

512GB by next year.

Which are going to be insanely priced. We already have a 256GB cards that are $150+ and writing at 95MB/s.

When comparatively, people can now get SSDs for >$30 less than that price with write speeds of 445MBs.

 

[Skittzo0413]

I would hope more storage or a hard drive attached to the dock is possible. If you have a few 25GB games, and you buy digital downloads, it won't fit much at all.

Yeah, that could fit along with Kimishima's statement about wanting to provide more "add-on hardware." Might be something that attaches to the back of the Switch, maybe.

 

[aett]

How large do Wii U games tend to get?

 

[DrROBschiz]

How large do Wii U games tend to get?

Xenoblade clocked in at 22GB didnt it?

Smash is like 16GB

 

[AzaK]

128G is no where near enough if they are serious about AAA. Those things have massive patches and massive sizes for those going Digital Download. Couple that with no external HDD's and you have a system staying in the store.

 

[MuchoMalo]

What really upsets me is that I was hoping for it ship with a 128GB card. Joke's on me. :/

 

[DrROBschiz]

What really upsets me is that I was hoping for it ship with a 128GB card. Joke's on me. :/

It will be like buying a tablet today is suppose

A certain amount of built in storage (32,64,128) plus a Micro SD slot

Assuming 256GB Micros drop to what 128GB prices are currently at we could be working with a range of 150-300GBs of storage to work with

Still far short of 500GB - 1TB we are seeing in PS4/Xb1

 

[bomblord1]

What...exactly is your point here? The Ultra 256gb microSD is $150 and the Extreme version is $200. And you're telling me it beats an HDD from like...2006?

Which are going to be insanely priced. We already have a 256GB cards that are $150+ and writing at 95MB/s.

When comparatively, people can now get SSDs for >$30 less than that price with write speeds of 445MBs.

My point is it is faster than some 5400RPM HDD's

 

[orthodoxy1095]

My point is it is faster than some 5400RPM HDD's

For quite a price increase per GB, yeah, they might match.

Touting that they're faster than decades old HDD's is odd.

 

[timshundo]

I have a 32GB Wii U with a 128GB SSD connected and I've just about filled both of them up...

256GB Micro SD card support would be much more appreciated!


Paper Mario Paint Splash is around 8GB
Splatoon is barely 2GB
Watch Dogs Wii U is 17GB
Xenoblade Chronicles X is 23GB

 

[Zeyphersan]

The New 3DS doesn't only support up to 32GB, I have a 128GB in mine right now..

 

[rockyt]

If format properly can go higher like the micro sd card for the 3ds. the 3ds support up to 64 but I had a 128 and reformat properly. The up to 128 probably just the ready out of the package reading.

 

[Thoraxes]

Putting a 256GB card on my Black Friday shopping list.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Why are they going microSD instead of normal size SD? It's not like they wouldn't fit in a tablet.

I'm curious about this too. Really I wondered why they made the shift from 3DS -> New 3DS. I don't know this for a fact, but maybe just that everyone deals with them more these days thanks to other devices? Other than PC/laptop, all my other devices (phone/tablet/MP3 player) use micro.

 

[Malakai]

Why can't/didn't Nintendo use full size SD cards? They are bit cheaper (you can get a 256 GB one for like $70 and 512 GB for $200). I hated that they switched from full size SD cards to micro SD with the N3DS series.

 

[blu]

Which are going to be insanely priced. We already have a 256GB cards that are $150+ and writing at 95MB/s.

When comparatively, people can now get SSDs for >$30 less than that price with write speeds of 445MBs.

Not sure why you'd need such write speeds on a game console. If it's for storing video streams - you can write high-quality video at 20MB/s.

Now, where nintendo could have done better is putting a full-sized SD port, because you'd immediately save $50 off your 256GB: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WWBCS1Y/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[-shadow-]

Why can't/didn't Nintendo use full size SD cards? They are bit cheaper (you can get a 256 GB one for like $70 and 512 GB for $200). I hated that they switched from full size SD cards to micro SD with the N3DS series.

They undoubtedly can, but I assume that Micro saves a bit more space in the device they can use for other components instead.

 

[shouamabane]

Micro SD makes the most sense for Switch to me.

 

[Pittree]

Well that's the thing.

Some here in these threads speculate the Switch to be able to run near-XB1 level content. Downside is that XB1/PS4 games are fucking HUGE. Some reach 70-80GB.
You can call that 'bad optimization' or 'lazy devs' all you want but that doesn't mean it's not the way the current AAA development process works. Third parties aren't going to spend a ton of resources tailoring their games down to fit Nintendo's lack of storage solutions.

On the other hand, if the Switch really is only modestly more powerful than Wii-U, you can see game sizes maybe more in the vein of what people are used to on Wii-U (max of 20GB or so?) But third-parties are likely not going to bother porting their AAA games down to such a low-spec machine anyway so that's less of an issue.

I'm really curious how they are going to adress the storage situation. It seems to me that digital is really not the way to go for this thing. Just buy a little box for your physical gamecards and save yourself the trouble.

A 70GB game wouldn't fit on XO PS4 blu rays. You must be refering to installs.

Double layered blu ray discs (like the ones on PS4 and XO) has a maximum storage capacity of 50,050,629,632 Bytes. Now, the type of drive used on PS4 has read speeds up to 27MB per second.

Reputable sources (like the one who "leaked" the info we are discussing) place gamecards for Switch going from 32 up to 64 gigabytes (wich logically, like in the 3DS would be selected according of the specific storage requirements for each game). The write speed for those should be at the very least as fast as the type of SD's supported wich are around 90 MB per second. This two factors combined would alleviate the need for mandatory installs like those seen on xbox one and ps4 and therefore mitigate any storage issues for those buying phyisical.

Now for those who want to go all digital. Game installs from digital purchases are possible to be around the same size as those seen on XO and PS4, however it is worth mentioning that 70 gb installs are not that common even on those consoles and that even big AAA games like AC had an install file size around 38 GB in size. PS4 base system launched in 2013 with a 500 GB HDD. IF switch launches with a 128MB internal memory storage and you expand that memory with a nice 40 bucks 128MB sdxc you would end with half of that storage wich honestly isn't that bad considering you can take those games on the go. You could even get a 256gb card if you wanted and eventually a 1TB card too.

In conclussion. If you own an XO/PS4 you should be aware that "managing the fridge" is a common thing even for those who go physical. Switch would likely have less problems on that matter considering the use of gamecards. For digital it would be worse but not that much different and with time more options are going to become available. On a final note IMO, having to carry around discs (wich right now are little more than physical unlock keys) is quite more inconvenient than tiny gamecards

 

[antonz]

The New 3DS doesn't only support up to 32GB, I have a 128GB in mine right now..

It just a thing Nintendo stated. When the 3DS launched they were saying 32GB is max size then people very quickly learned formatting SD card could go well beyond 32GB.

Nintendo is always weird with this stuff. Sometimes they seem to say things that are negative just to spite themselves even when it isn't true

 

[KratosEnergyDrink]

Nice. Fast 128 GB cards are cheap these days and enough for many games.

 

[PSGames]

I don't think people will have to really worry about filesizes compared to current gen.

Rise of the Tomb Raider for instance is 20+ GBs on Xbox One while only 6.5GBs on Xbox 360. Shooting for a lower resolution (720p) will really help with this. Also lower bitrate video/audio, etc.

If most games on Switch are less than say 10GBs you could hold 10+ games on one 128GB sdcard. And lets not forget that cards can easily be swapped out if needed.

 

[viHuGi]

I don't think people will have to really worry about filesizes compared to current gen.

Rise of the Tomb Raider for instance is 20+ GBs on Xbox One while only 6.5GBs on Xbox 360. Shooting for a lower resolution (720p) will really help with this. Also lower bitrate video/audio, etc.

If most games on Switch are less than say 10GBs you could hold 10+ games on one 128GB sdcard. And lets not forget that cards can easily be swapped out if needed.

10 games is nothing tbh I will probably buy all Zelda, Pokemon and more but will buy Physical for sure, hopefully patches are small.

 

[MacTag]

10 games is nothing tbh I will probably buy all Zelda, Pokemon and more but will buy Physical for sure, hopefully patches are small.

10 games is more than the average attach rate. It's not enough for us core gamers but we'll also spend for more memory.

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Why only so little? We will soon have access to microSD cards that are 0.5TB

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

128 isn't enough for someone wanting to go all digital. Not even close.

Hopefully they release updates later to support more.

 

[MacTag]

There won't be an arbitrary 128GB limit. Supposedly that's just the size card that shipped with the devkits.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I would hope more storage or a hard drive attached to the dock is possible. If you have a few 25GB games, and you buy digital downloads, it won't fit much at all.

128gb cards run about $40-60, it's quite a bit more once you go up from there.

I know Nintendo can do some real wizardry with file sizes, but this is not an ideal situation for a digital age where file sizes are getting much bigger all-around.

The external HDD is a nice idea but how would that work in portable mode?


I'm a big digital gamer these days. It's just so much more convenient, for multiple reasons, and it really makes the most sense for a portable device. I may be an outlier and a glutton, but I can't fit half my Vita library on my 64gb card. I imagine files sizes on the Switch will be much, much larger (up to 32gb, apparently), and that 128gb card is going to fill up quick. It's also a hidden cost.

I had to buy a 2tb HDD for my PS4 and it's just about full, too.

 

[Biske]

It just a thing Nintendo stated. When the 3DS launched they were saying 32GB is max size then people very quickly learned formatting SD card could go well beyond 32GB.

Nintendo is always weird with this stuff. Sometimes they seem to say things that are negative just to spite themselves even when it isn't true

I think they just don't want to guarantee larger sizes working. Obviously you can go well beyond what they "Recommend" for a 3DS cart, just beyond that you are on your own

 

[ozfunghi]

Not sure why you'd need such write speeds on a game console. If it's for storing video streams - you can write high-quality video at 20MB/s.

Now, where nintendo could have done better is putting a full-sized SD port, because you'd immediately save $50 off your 256GB: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WWBCS1Y/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Well... it's only 200GB but the price ain't bad.

 

[KrawlMan]

It just a thing Nintendo stated. When the 3DS launched they were saying 32GB is max size then people very quickly learned formatting SD card could go well beyond 32GB.

Nintendo is always weird with this stuff. Sometimes they seem to say things that are negative just to spite themselves even when it isn't true

I think it has more to do with what they feel comfortable supporting vs what could technically be used. They might have undergone extensive testing with 32GB and nothing higher. Or maybe they tried higher and noticed failures in a large enough % of tests that they don't want to "officially" support it.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

I don't think you know what a fact is, then. What you do is provide an educated speculation, but it's far from being a fact.

Using 3ds as a proof has no weight.

"Wii uses SD cards, 3ds uses SD cards thus Wii U uses SD cards for storage. "

It doesn't work like that.

You don't know yet what kind of proprietary file system Nintendo uses for the micro-SD cards.

I don't think you understand what computing standards are. Micro SDXC is a standard media card spec from SanDisk, if your device is using an micro SDXC branded port then it HAS to be hardware compatible with the entirety of the micro SDXC spec, and that includes up to the maximum capacity 512GB micro SDXC cards. Not to mention that because it's all the same spec there's literally no I/O difference between a 128GB micro SDXC card and a 512GB SDXC, the pins are exactly the same, there's just higher density/more flash memory embedded in the latter. You'd have to artificially limit the card capacities in software, which would be asinine.

 

[cw_sasuke]

You will get 200gb cards for a bit more than 50 bucks by the time Switch launches - seriously doubt that space will be an issue.

 

[pulsemyne]

Xenoblade clocked in at 22GB didnt it?

Smash is like 16GB

Something like Xenoblade wouldn't be a problem on a cartridge as the load times are way higher than a disc. There would be no need to install something to make loading faster etc like there was with xenoblade. It's a total non issue.

 

[Rolf NB]

Well... it's only 200GB but the price ain't bad.

Finally, a web store fitting to my tastes wow!

 

[Bowl0l]

Something like Xenoblade wouldn't be a problem on a cartridge as the load times are way higher than a disc. There would be no need to install something to make loading faster etc like there was with xenoblade. It's a total non issue.

I think people who are buying digital copies that have the concern.

 

[jts]

Wouldn't worry myself about the devkit limit, can be upped for final model and can always be updated via software when it's necessary.

What I hope to, though, is that we can swap microSDs at ease, a bit like the Wii U external HDD system where it's ok to unplug an HDD, plug a second one, have 2 plugged at the same time, just one, none, etc with no issue or weird system reinstall requirements. Pretty much hot-swappable. That way we could have some games in a micro-SD, some other games in another micro-SD and so on, if desired. For me that's actually even more important than going over 128GB (although I'm sure it will).