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[SlipperyFishes]

Wouldn't that be expensive? I mean an optical disc is extremely cheap to make compared to a cartridge. I love the idea of going back to using cartridges, but I just can't see it being economically efficient for Nintendo. This was the main reason why N64 games were so much more expensive than PS1 games.

I mean, not really. SD cards are pretty cheap

 

[mrmickfran]

Will I have to blow into my cart to make it work again?

 

[Graphics Horse]

Wouldn't that be expensive? I mean an optical disc is extremely cheap to make compared to a cartridge. I love the idea of going back to using cartridges, but I just can't see it being economically efficient for Nintendo. This was the main reason why N64 games were so much more expensive than PS1 games.

Can't see them using UMD for their next handheld.

 

[Hoo-doo]

I mean, not really. SD cards are pretty cheap

50GB+ SD cards compared to dirt-cheap, mass-produced Blu-ray optical discs? I don't think so.

When you're trying to fabricate and ship these products at these volumes, every single cent matters. I don't think moving to carts is cost-effective at all unless you're willing to heavily skimp on storage capacity.

 

[Graphics Horse]

They wouldn't need to be 50gb+. But best wishes to those still onboard this third party AAA dream machine crazy train.
Nintendo has only put out a single disc that uses over 16GB.

 

[KojiKnight]

Wouldn't that be expensive? I mean an optical disc is extremely cheap to make compared to a cartridge. I love the idea of going back to using cartridges, but I just can't see it being economically efficient for Nintendo. This was the main reason why N64 games were so much more expensive than PS1 games.

N64 cartridges were making up roughly 30% of the cost of the game ($10-20 depending on the size of the game and size of the cart). It's why Nintendo selects of the era only went down to $30 versus PS1's $15-20.

For comparison, a 32GB class 10 SD card is $7-10 dollars at retail, which would be noticably less for a wholesale purchase like Nintendo would make. Still pricier than a dual-layer blu-ray disc, but if you're expecting a good portion of your game sales to be digital going forward, it's less of a concern (you end up offsetting the price of the carts onto the consumers).