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LPVG Report: Nintendo Switch Dock Doesn’t Support External USB Drives

Assuming HDD support doesnt come then I suggest you be on the lookout for a good deal on a 200+ GB Micro SD card this holiday season

Or Wait

And this is assuming you plan on buying bulk all digital software in high volume

That said

I feel like the 200Gb 70 dollar cards are more than good enough for launch. By the time you need more storage the costs should have gone down and capacity gone up
 
Then just buy cartridges then, jeez. Digital-only sucks. The games you buy have no resale value. You can't even lend them. I can't see why anyone would want that.

Its really none of your business why people download games instead of buying physical. Just know that they do. Console games do at an increasing rate and PC gamers have done it forever.

I never expected to play Dwitch games off an external drive but i certainly thought you would be able to onload and offload games to the sd storage. Quickly and easily. If i assume this report is true, and with Nintendo throwing bullshit PR about how it is a home console first, then this sucks.

A small, external 2TB drive will be cheaper than any comparable micro sd for the forseeable future.

The more details cone out, the less excited about the machine i get.
 
Not what I expected, seems Nintendo is really keen in making things as uncomplicated as possible.

It would be nice if they had multiple micro SD slots, would reduce the friction in adding more storage.
 
Yep, should work great.
At what point do Micro SD cards become incompatible? I heard something among the lines of some of the new cards having a new pin configuration that makes them incompatible with legacy devices.
 
Not what I expected, seems Nintendo is really keen in making things as uncomplicated as possible.

It would be nice if they had multiple micro SD slots, would reduce the friction in adding more storage.

that would be cool, I wonder how expensive that would be, though.

I bet they figure most people would be fine with just one 128gb micro sd for the entire gen. majority of people still buy physical, and their most popular games like mario and pokemon are probably super small anyways.
 
At what point do Micro SD cards become incompatible? I heard something among the lines of some of the new cards having a new pin configuration that makes them incompatible with legacy devices.

SDXC is the latest and greatest which Switch supports so you are basically covered up to the theoretical 2TB limit until the next design comes around
 
Not a fan of this, at least hope they support external USB devices for backup. Its a clear difference imo between the xbox one and PS4 - the xbone supports external drives just fine, for game storage and play while the PS4 only supports external drives for backup.

I've never heard of a person with problems with xbox one, the PS4 is the one that has been jail broken and not the xbox so the "security" deflections are false just like vita proprietary storage.

The switch wouldn't really work with external USB drives so its not a big deal in my book but I just don't see how big AAA third party games will even look at the switch, but then again I think for most people you have pc/ps4/xbone for those 4-10 "blockbuster" games every year, and then Nintendo and mobile/tablet for the smaller, cheaper, casual games. The only people who are left out are those who ONLY want to own a switch and still have access to every game, but I think that was never realistic.
 
This is a thread about that report, if you're not happy with the discussion either PM a mod or leave.

Thankyou thread police. But I'm fine with the discussion, I'm just replying to you in particular and your OTT reaction/conclusion jumping. You've no idea how the device is intended to work, how big games will be, if there will be some other proprietary storage solution etc etc. So you can probably chill and discuss more rationally than:

you said:
Pathetic storage plus no external drive? Good job killing any interest that I had left, I give zero fucks about cartridges.
 
This seems like such an easy fix. Allow for storage on an external HDD(games can't be played) but it allows you to transfer those games to the SD card when you need to (where they can be played).
 
Thankyou thread police. But I'm fine with the discussion, I'm just replying to you in particular and your OTT reaction/conclusion jumping. You've no idea how the device is intended to work, how big games will be, if there will be some other proprietary storage solution etc etc. So you can probably chill and discuss rationally.

You came to a thread about a report, asked for people to wait and I'm the thread police? Yeah, right.

How would having an HDD attached to the dock even work if you want to take it with you?

The same way an external storage works when someone takes a Xbox One for a spin. The dock is meant to stay in one place.
 
This seems like such an easy fix. Allow for storage on an external HDD(games can't be played) but it allows you to transfer those games to the SD card when you need to (where they can be played).

There really isnt a reason why you couldnt make Externall HDD support work like it does now on the WiiU

Yeah you would lose some access to those games in portable mode but big deal

Its not an issue for me personally since Id rather just have a big SD card with all my games and micro manage from there but I totally see where the console only guys are coming from

Hold onto that hope though. We dont have a 100% confirmation that the option wont be available just yet
 
You came to a thread about a report, asked for people to wait and I'm the thread police? Yeah, right.

Not people, you. You don't know for a fact that if it has "pathetic storage and no external external drive" - for example. The report just says no external USB drives.

Could easliy be some internal storage, other proprietary external storage, cloud based storage etc. There is no need to jump to the conclusion that Switch has "Pathetic storage" and Nintendo have no other plan for storing game data. Seems a bit rash.
 
At what point do Micro SD cards become incompatible? I heard something among the lines of some of the new cards having a new pin configuration that makes them incompatible with legacy devices.

SDXC capable readers should be good up to 2TB. Nintendo has recommended a maximum of 128GB, but I believe that's largely because of price. High end SD Cards are still in a price tier unreasonable for a games console.
 
Not what I expected, seems Nintendo is really keen in making things as uncomplicated as possible.

It would be nice if they had multiple micro SD slots, would reduce the friction in adding more storage.
Both sides of the debate provide good points, a shame it always becomes a battle of "who's right and who's wrong". Really respect that Nintendo wants to keep things simple, specially for themselves more than the consumer. On the other hand Nintendo could provide a way to cold storage games and even play from on dock storage, let's not delute ourselves thinking otherwise.

What i will find super interesting to know is the size, updates, patches and DLC policies for Digital games for the Switch. Madame Dale news this time around? Not much surprsing to me.

Another thing to consider is that it is more practical for the consumer to buy physical media in a Switch than in platforms such PS4 or Xbox1 sue to media sizes. A person can put 24 3DS cards in something more or less the same size of a thin 2.5'' HDD.

So a combination of buying physical media that doesn't require installs, digital games that will have smaller download sizes than in PS4/X1 (probably closer to 7th gen sizes) and the ability to cold storage in a PC (like with the 3DS), will make things manageable enough.

A ptity though that anything above of a 128 microSD at this point in time would eat a significant shunk of what a Switch will cost just for storage alone... and way more expensive than the options available in other platforms.
 
Not people, you. You don't know for a fact that if it has "pathetic storage and no external external drive" - for example.

Multiple reports saying 32GB storage already. If that's wrong fine, I'll gladly eat crow, no problem, I'd rather do that than stay with 32GB, which is pathetic on a console trying to get HD games in 2017.

Takes an Xbox One for a spin?

Yes, sarcasm. The dock is meant to stay in place like the Xbox is meant to stay in place. People will take the Switch + controllers, not the whole dock.
 
Both sides provide good points, i don't know why always make it a battle of who's right and who's wrong. Really respect that Nintendo wants to keep things simple, specially for themselves more than the consumer XD

On the other hand Nintendo could provide a way to cold storage games and even play from on dock storage, let's not kid ourselves here.

What i will find super interesting to know is the size, updates, patches and DLC policies for Digital games for the Switch. This news itself isn't much surprsing to me.

Another thing to consider is that it is more practical for the consumer to bu physical media in a Switch than in a PS4 or Xbox1. An person can put 24 3DS cards in something more or less the same size of a thin 2.5'' HDD.

So a combination on buying physical with no installs require and digital, with games that obviously will have smaller download sizes than in PS4/X1 (probably closer to 7th gen sizes) and the ability to cold storage on a PC, will make things manageble enough.

A ptity though that anything above of a 128 microSD at this point in time would eat a significant shunk of what a Switch will cost just in storage alone.

Probably but il wait and see what the supply and costs adjust to when March 2017 rolls around

I predict that at least 256GB will be widely available and more affordable by then
 
Is 32GB really gonna be enough even if it's just for patches?

With powerful new hardware come more complex games, and I can see at least third parties like Capcom, Square utilizing day 1 patches to make additional fixes while still shipping on time, and then further patches down the line. This stuff could add up even if they're 2-3GB on average.
And should we really be taking for granted that all Nintendo games will ship polished and without needing last minute tweaks? The Switch might end up being a completely different ball game than the previous consoles.
 
SDXC is the latest and greatest which Switch supports so you are basically covered up to the theoretical 2TB limit until the next design comes around
Ah OK thanks for the clarification. I wouldn't mind dropping $100 for a 256GB but I will wait until Samsung's EVO line drops that low because I'm not willing to pay an extra $160 for double the memory space an a slight write/read speed boost when I can get the 128GB for just $40
 
Multiple reports saying 32GB storage already. If that's wrong fine, I'll gladly eat crow, no problem, I'd rather do that than stay with 32GB, which is pathetic on a console trying to get HD games in 2017.

You're right. I'm sure Nintendo plans to release a console that can have no more than 32GB of storage in 2017. No conclusion jumping here, all rational discussion.
 
The same way an external storage works when someone takes a Xbox One for a spin. The dock is meant to stay in one place.

How many people just walk up in the middle of playing Halo unplug their Xbox? Sorry, but despite Nintendo touting it as a "home console" it's a mobile device first and as such, you're getting mobile device components and no mobile device has an HDD.
 
Ah OK thanks for the clarification. I wouldn't mind dropping $100 for a 256GB but I will wait until Samsung's EVO line drops that low because I'm not willing to pay an extra $160 for double the memory space an a slight write/read speed boost when I can get the 128GB for just $40

Exactly

You could snag a 200GB card for 70 now but the BEST course would be to wait for holiday rush or just simply see whats available on March 2017
 
This seems like such an easy fix. Allow for storage on an external HDD(games can't be played) but it allows you to transfer those games to the SD card when you need to (where they can be played).

It would be an easy fix, but just like lawnmowers have to warn you not to stick your arms into rotating blades, or your Ibuprofen bottle has to remind you not to overdose yourself, Nintendo is simply saving themselves a lot of hassles here.

The first some some doofus has their Switch docked playing Zelda, and then corrupts their hard drive by disconnecting it while the game is in progress, there will be 20 threads on Neogaf and 50 news articles on the web about how this could have been avoided. Could you imagine the support calls they would get trying to teach idiots how to properly manage data in between their dock and tablet? What a nightmare.
 
It would be an easy fix, but just like lawnmowers have to warn you not to stick your arms into rotating blades, or your Ibuprofen bottle has to remind you not to overdose yourself, Nintendo is simply saving themselves a lot of hassles here.

The first some some doofus has their Switch docked playing Zelda, and then corrupts their hard drive by disconnecting it while the game is in progress, there will be 20 threads on Neogaf and 50 news articles on the web about how this could have been avoided. Could you imagine the support calls they would get trying to teach idiots how to properly manage data in between their dock and tablet? What a nightmare.

PIC-2276-EN.jpg


Truly the worst nightmare.

How many people just walk up in the middle of playing Halo unplug their Xbox? Sorry, but despite Nintendo touting it as a "home console" it's a mobile device first and as such, you're getting mobile device components and no mobile device has an HDD.

If someone is unplugging the dock during a session that's their problem, the Switch is the mobile part, not the dock. Not even allowing storage using external drives (not talking about playing games from them, just downloading and storing) is backwards.
 
It's only really an issue if you intended to buy a bunch or BIG 3rd party titles digitally.

Most first party titles will likely be 2-5GB ala Wii U.
 
Is 32GB really gonna be enough even if it's just for patches?

With powerful new hardware come more complex games, and I can see at least third parties like Capcom, Square utilizing day 1 patches to make additional fixes while still shipping on time, and then further patches down the line. This stuff could add up even if they're 2-3GB on average.
And should we really be taking for granted that all Nintendo games will ship polished and without needing last minute tweaks? The Switch might end up being a completely different ball game than the previous consoles.

I'd imagine games would actually patch to their cards, no reason for the onboard memory to be used in this case. Disc games obviously do not have this luxury and must also be installed due to the limits of the medium.
 
PIC-2276-EN.jpg


Truly the worst nightmare.



If someone is unplugging the dock during a session that's their problem. The Switch is the mobile part, not the dock.

Those storage pools are always connected. It's not at all comparable to attaching a HDD to the dock of a system where the very first thing ever shown was the ability to pull the Switch out of the dock and keep playing. You can't do that on a game running off a HDD, and there's no question it would cause problems for a lot of players.
 
PIC-2276-EN.jpg


Truly the worst nightmare..

Now imagine supporting it after some idiot corrupts the drive by forgetting to:

1. Quit the game.
2. Go into settings and start a data transfer.
3. Wait until the data transfer is 100% complete.
4. Adequately dismount the external drive from the switch.
5. Disconnect the switch from the dock.

Short circuiting that process could cause data loss or corruption, and it would be a giant pain in the ass to expect users to do this all the time. Not to mention supporting it when they undoubtedly screw up.
 
Wait, people actually wanted this? Get yourself a big SD card son. It's not that hard to do. I have like 80 3DS games downloaded on my 32gig SD card (most are not full size retail games to be fair).

3DS games file sizes are just a bit different than those on modern home consoles. You might as well boast about how many SNES roms you can fit on a SD card.
 
Problem with having a HDD is that every time you want to take the NS out with you it has to download save files to the SD card and vice versa when you are home and want to play directly on the TV
 
Now imagine supporting it after some idiot corrupts the drive by forgetting to:

1. Quit the game.
2. Go into settings and start a data transfer.
3. Wait until the data transfer is 100% complete.
4. Adequately dismount the external drive from the switch.
5. Disconnect the switch from the dock.

Short circuiting that process could cause data loss or corruption, and it would be a giant pain in the ass to expect users to do this all the time, and then support it when they undoubtedly screw up.

As far as I know, you quoted the person talking about storing games, not playing from the HDD. Yes, there would be problems with people removing the HDD if games could be played straight from the external drive, but not if that's only for storing. If you remove the external storage during a transfer you're just being stupid, that would be a problem on any device that supports transfers, from a computer to a console.

Those storage pools are always connected. It's not at all comparable to attaching a HDD to the dock of a system where the very first thing ever shown was the ability to pull the Switch out of the dock and keep playing. You can't do that on a game running off a HDD, and there's no question it would cause problems for a lot of players.

See above.
 
This is a crock of shit. Show me where game size relates to how poorly coded\optimized a game is?

Memory cards also didn't hold digital content back then. They were strictly for save files and managing multiple SD cards can be a pain in the ass.

I'll never understand how people come up with excuses for features that should be standard. You can still like the company and admit they have fucked up. Sounds like another console third parties might just give up on after a year,

Newest Gears of War on PC. It's 75GB. No PC game comes close to that normally, not even WoW is that big.

I'm not saying it's fine that there's not USB HDD support, but I'm saying that calling it DOA is completely over the top.
 
I think someone mentioned this before, and it concerned DLC and patches. Nintendo could ship all game cards with a storage capacity higher than what the game requires, leaving enough room for DLC and patches for each individual title.
 
I'd imagine games would actually patch to their cards, no reason for the onboard memory to be used in this case. Disc games obviously do not have this luxury and must also be installed due to the limits of the medium.

God, if Nintendo actually allows this, I'll be in heaven. I remember being crushed when you couldn't do this with Vita game cards.
 
As far as I know, you quoted the person talking about storing games, not playing from the HDD. Yes, there would be problems with people removing the HDD if games could be played straight from the external drive, but not if that's only for storing. If you remove the external storage during a transfer you're just being stupid, that would be a problem on any device that supports transfers, from a computer to a console.

The entire point of the console is that you can easily take it with you on the go by merely disconnecting it from the dock and walking away. If the guts of the device are in the tablet, every time you remove the dock, you risk corrupting data on external disks.

You also have to factor in how stupid some people are, which is easy to underestimate.
 
God, if Nintendo actually allows this, I'll be in heaven.

They may not, writing to gamecards may be considered a security risk. Who knows.

I'd sooner, actually, expect them to carry over their rather excellent wireless-PC connectivity from the N3DS which lets you have effectively infinite storage and back-up for that system. They already made the tech, I see no reason for the Switch not to have it.

Pretty clear, though, that they want this to be a clear message and the dock/USB would have been a confusing (and obviously potentially dangerous for data and such) point that they have simply entirely avoided. Them coming out with it now shows they were also aware of the issues this would cause and are getting it out of the way months ahead of the blow-out in January. What solutions they have in place for it, remains to be seen outside of the SD card support.
 
I'd imagine games would actually patch to their cards, no reason for the onboard memory to be used in this case. Disc games obviously do not have this luxury and must also be installed due to the limits of the medium.

I doubt they will make the gamecarts anything other than read only. Because if Switch can write on the gamecarts that's a very nice backdoor into the system.
 
God, if Nintendo actually allows this, I'll be in heaven. I remember being crushed when you couldn't do this with Vita game cards.

That is all great until you get a 20GB patch, see e.g. Doom. Yes, special case due to the megatextures, but you get the idea. In principle there is of course nothing wrong with it.
 
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