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Nintendo details how physical games bigger than 32GB will work on Switch

I'm still mind blown how they managed to fit all of Breath of the Wild on that dinky thing even on the Wii U.

I'm hoping Metroid Prime 4 isn't compromised by this space.
 

shanafan

Member
This seems to happen every now and then (Splatoon 2 and now NBA 2K18) when the update file is downloaded to the system memory instead of the microSD card. In order to fix this, I would need to archive the game and redownload so everything (game and updates) are downloaded right to the microSD card. Any ideas why it's not always installing the update file to the microSD card but to system memory instead? Here is what it looks like -

5H2m3Y5.jpg
 

Pokemaniac

Member
This seems to happen every now and then (Splatoon 2 and now NBA 2K18) when the update file is downloaded to the system memory instead of the microSD card. In order to fix this, I would need to archive the game and redownload so everything (game and updates) are downloaded right to the microSD card. Any ideas why it's not always installing the update file to the microSD card but to system memory instead? Here is what it looks like -

So, my theory is that some games reserve a bit of storage on the system memory for caches and stuff, and that's what that is. It's just a guess, though.

The reason I think that is that the data doesn't seem to actually show up until the games have been started.
 

Bluth54

Member
I'm still mind blown how they managed to fit all of Breath of the Wild on that dinky thing even on the Wii U.

I'm hoping Metroid Prime 4 isn't compromised by this space.

Many Nintendo games are small because of the way they design their games (though Breath of the Wild is 13 GB before DLC/patches, which is larger than a lot of their other first party games).
Breath of the Wild (and many other Nintendo games) have very little voice acting compared to similar style open world games. In BotW mainly just the cutscenes are voiced, not the random dialog from NPCs. The lack of recorded dialog (which often comes in multiple languages) save a lot of space.
In general with many Nintendo games the cartoon art style they choose to use allows them to use fairly simple textures in some places (sometimes only a couple of colors with simple patterns).This can save space by not requiring a more complex texture with a lot more colors. They also can probably get away with lower resolution textures in a lot of cases as well.
 
Literally a worthless release.

I really hope it flops.
It isn't worthless, but some people will not buy it because of the download requirement. Now the bad thing is if it does flop, would it precipitate another exodus of the third parties just because of this? We'll see if this'll affect its sales or not. Would be interesting to watch.
 

The Jutty

Member
The storage size is already so small on the Switch that I refuse to do digital on it. Unless they allow me to use an external hard drive it's going to be a pass on any game released like this. Also out of all games to save cost this is the game that does it. With it's $150 edition and microtransactions for everything.
 
The storage size is already so small on the Switch that I refuse to do digital on it. Unless they allow me to use an external hard drive it's going to be a pass on any game released like this.
You can buy huge microsds now and the Switch supports up to microsdxc which goes up to 256 GB right now.
 
Kinda on topic:

I own a switch , but I have never played the Legend of Zelda BOTW

how are the loading times since it's on a cartridge compared to say a disc like the wii u?
 
It isn't worthless, but some people will not buy it because of the download requirement. Now the bad thing is if it does flop, would it precipitate another exodus of the third parties just because of this? We'll see if this'll affect its sales or not. Would be interesting to watch.

It is worthless. Once the servers are down it won't even be the full game.
 

Fiendcode

Member
I feel like they should’ve splurged for a 32GB card on the $99/$149 LEs. It’d drive some to buy those versions instead if they wanted a complete physical release and the higher pricepoint would more than help cover media costs.
 

Wamb0wneD

Member
Kinda on topic:

I own a switch , but I have never played the Legend of Zelda BOTW

how are the loading times since it's on a cartridge compared to say a disc like the wii u?

It loads faster on the Switch cartridge than on the Wii U disc, if you load it on an SD card with fast reading speeds it's faster than the cartridge. I don't remember by how much, there were some comparison videos when the game came out but I can't find them right now. Maybe search on Digital Foundry if you're interested.
 

EmiPrime

Member
It isn't worthless, but some people will not buy it because of the download requirement. Now the bad thing is if it does flop, would it precipitate another exodus of the third parties just because of this? We'll see if this'll affect its sales or not. Would be interesting to watch.

I think Switch owners have already definitively demonstrated that we buy a shitload of games so that shouldn't be a worry. If this pile of cack bombs at retail then so much the better, maybe third parties will reconsider this practice.
 
I own a switch , but I have never played the Legend of Zelda BOTW
how are the loading times since it's on a cartridge compared to say a disc like the wii u?

It loads faster on the Switch cartridge than on the Wii U disc, if you load it on an SD card with fast reading speeds it's faster than the cartridge. I don't remember by how much, there were some comparison videos when the game came out but I can't find them right now. Maybe search on Digital Foundry if you're interested.
Yup, only marginally so though, the cartridge's time is very comparable to the external Micro SD. Only the Switch's internal storage is really faster.
Digital Foundry's comparison video (timestamp at Zelda comparison)
  1. Switch's 32gb internal storage: 30.42s
  2. SanDisk 16GB Ultra Micro SD: 34.07s
  3. SanDisk 64GB Extreme Plus Micro SD: 34.27s
  4. Switch cartridge: 35.45s
 

The Jutty

Member
Actually, SanDisk recently released a 400GB microSDXC card

And the Switch supports microSDXC up to 2TB, which aren't on the market yet.

I just don't understand why external hdds aren't an option. I understand they wouldn't work for mobile, but it should still be an option. $250 is just too much for 400gb of storage imo.

Edit: I literally have never undocked my switch and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
 
I just don't understand why external hdds aren't an option. I understand they wouldn't work for mobile, but it should still be an option. $250 is just too much for 400gb of storage imo.

Edit: I literally have never undocked my switch and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

You won't need anything close to 400GB on Switch though. The majority of Switch games are tiny. Most people who are heavy downloaders have a 128GB or 200GB card, and those won't be full for a good while, if ever.

Nevermind the fact that it's very easy to just move games onto a PC or something if space ever becomes a problem and you don't feel like deleting/redownloading.
 
I think Switch owners have already definitively demonstrated that we buy a shitload of games so that shouldn't be a worry. If this pile of cack bombs at retail then so much the better, maybe third parties will reconsider this practice.
I really hope they do reconsider.

Actually, SanDisk recently released a 400GB microSDXC card

And the Switch supports microSDXC up to 2TB, which aren't on the market yet.
Hopefully soon the storage devices will see a drastic reduction of price. These things are pricey.
 

The Jutty

Member
You won't need anything close to 400GB on Switch though. The majority of Switch games are tiny. Most people who are heavy downloaders have a 128GB or 200GB card, and those won't be full for a good while, if ever.

Nevermind the fact that it's very easy to just move games onto a PC or something if space ever becomes a problem and you don't feel like deleting/redownloading.

Did not even consider that maybe I'll soften my stance and reconsider digital. This is the only platform I'm not digital on.
 
I doubt it. Zelda is the only Nintendo game bigger than 10 GB, and it's really only 13 GB. Maybe thanks to their handheld experience, but they know how to properly compress games.

There's that, but devs who want to make a switch version of a demanding game are already forced to compress assets because of the console's lower ram amount and bandwidth. That'll already cut the size down considerably.

Nevermind the fact that it's very easy to just move games onto a PC or something if space ever becomes a problem and you don't feel like deleting/redownloading.

That's a good idea! Once I get a bigger SD Card, I'll probably download every game I have and store them in alphabetical order. Hopefully the game files are labeled so it's easy to tell them apart!
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Yeah, the "microSD card required" might be a sticker, as it's not present on the boxart shown on the Nintendo web page:





That also explains why the base game on the eShop is 7357.86 MB.

Didn't this game fit on one DVD for Xbox 360?
 
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