I thought the same. Isn't the title misleading or am I missing something?
They're looking at it, but it doesn't support external drives at launch.
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Nintendo Switch could eventually support external USB drive. No limit on MicroSD size
- Thread starter CaVaYeRo
- Start date
I thought the same. Isn't the title misleading or am I missing something?
They're looking at it, but it doesn't support external drives at launch.
Oh, I'm sure they'll add it. Once there are a lot of games and people start complaining about space...boom...HDD support. My guess it'll be a few months, but I expect it to happen.
Movalpolos
Banned
It is misleading.
30yearsofhurt
Member
Sandisk made a 1TB prototype but the biggest I can find is 256GB.
Indeed, it is ready to support it but not activated due to aforementioned reasons... kind of tricky to explain as it really is there, just not allowed.
Delusibeta
Banned
If it's like the Vita whereby you can backup games to a hard drive, that would be a compromise that I would accept. Obviously, having them be running straight from the hard drive (as in the WiiU and the Xbone) would be preferable.
JonnyDBrit
Member
Has the exact issue I expected if they were to somehow try this.
I can vaguely see some solutions, but am not sure of the technical requirements to deliver them. At the very least you'd need the system readily able to transfer data between the internal and external storage, and to do so in decent time. No-one would want play Zelda on the go if, after saying 'Yes' to 'Do you want this game ready for handheld play?', you had to wait around an hour before you could take it out of the dock.
I can vaguely see some solutions, but am not sure of the technical requirements to deliver them. At the very least you'd need the system readily able to transfer data between the internal and external storage, and to do so in decent time. No-one would want play Zelda on the go if, after saying 'Yes' to 'Do you want this game ready for handheld play?', you had to wait around an hour before you could take it out of the dock.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
If USB drive support is as easy as flipping a switch, how about you go about doing that like...now? Would alleviate a lot of the concerns the digital-only crowd has, even if it messes with the "aesthetic".
InsaneZero
Member
It's not an aesthetic problem - you can't actually take out the Switch from the dock if you're playing a game from a USB drive.
freeofgreed
Member
Yikes.... Hopefully patch sizes aren't as ridiculous as they are on the PS4/XBO or else this will be a problem.
Yeah I actually don't see much of a problem here as I have tons of downloads on my 3DS. I do have HDD hooked to my Wii U, but I'm keeping the portable philosophy in mind (actually pretty pumped for Mario Kart alone lol) for the Switch. So yeah I'll have to save for a big enough SD card.
Well they also mentioned costs before on this thread. But as long as user accounts are still anchored to the systems, I would've liked to at least have game saves stored on the card itself - used to trade a bunch of games with friends.
Well they also mentioned costs before on this thread. But as long as user accounts are still anchored to the systems, I would've liked to at least have game saves stored on the card itself - used to trade a bunch of games with friends.
You'll be waiting a while.
test_account
XP-39C²
I think those leaks are accurate. This doesnt confirm that Nintendo will go with this solution eventhough its possible. Sony never did it with PS3 (and probably not with PS4 either) eventhough its fully possible, proven through custom firmware. Who knows what will happen in the future though, but right now the leaks seems accurate.
protomouse
Member
Completely missed this, but should be a no-brainer really.
DrROBschiz
Member
Yup finally a positive topic
Happy to see that 3.0 port on teh back there
Happy to see that 3.0 port on teh back there
Jack The Nipper
Banned
The dock only had a fan or something doesn't it? All the power is still in the system isn't it
I'm pretty sure it's USB-C, though the charging port on the bottom.
USB-C, USB 3.1 or 3.0 we don't know.
Everything, power, hdmi and data goes trough the USB-C connector.
That's the beautiful thing about it, it can be used as a lot of things, at the same time.
Yautja_Warrior
Member
SD Card support was a good move, we don't want another Vita Memory card problem again. If you are going completely digital then HDD support would be good for home and 256GB SD Card would be fine for on the go.
Unless Nintendo get digital pricing spot on, I will just buy physical games and then I can get away with the built in memory or a smaller SD Card, depending if many games get DLC or patches (normally Nintendo games don't need patching, so hopefully that will still be the case here)
Unless Nintendo get digital pricing spot on, I will just buy physical games and then I can get away with the built in memory or a smaller SD Card, depending if many games get DLC or patches (normally Nintendo games don't need patching, so hopefully that will still be the case here)
protomouse
Member
There's a single USB Type-C connector that carries power, data, and DisplayPort video (which the dock adapts to HDMI).
I think what they meant is that there's no system-imposed limit on SD card capacity. 2TB is the SDXC specification's maximum.
suavelicious
Member
I'm sure they could be supporting it at launch but it would be against the whole idea of being able to take (all) your games from your TV on the go.
They should just let you decide where to install a game, internal or external storage, and than give a warning that you can't play it in portable mode if it's installed to the external storage...
They should just let you decide where to install a game, internal or external storage, and than give a warning that you can't play it in portable mode if it's installed to the external storage...
I don't think it's due to hardware, but because they want you to have the same experience between docked and portable modes.
The major problem I see is that if you're playing a game that is installed on a hdd, you can't switch to the portable mode.
Oh, I see.
Why not? Why can't you plug the HDD into the Switch directly and use it on tabletop mode?
I think it's because the only 256gb mSD available at the moment is a higher end model that the 200 one. Like the price difference between an evo or evo+ and the pro models from Samsung.
I don't think so, there's no enough space for the connector or cable when in tabletop mode.
Yeah, combine this with the back port being USB 3.0 and it's dead obvious they are planning some sort of HDD support.
The experience is probably what they are still looking at. The "safest" approach would be to use the HDD as a fridge like the initial SD card support in the Wii, where you couldn't run Wiiware/VC games from the SD card and could only use it to stash games. I imagine such feature should show up eventually, I mean, just look at that dock, it's clearly designed to have an external HDD thrown in it.
easiest solution:
abstract file read API blah blah etc. Tell users when they launch an HDD game to not remove the Switch from it's dock until they exit the game. They're on their own if they decide to pull it out anyway.
more work:
copy data from HDD to internal storage on launch. really slow, though, not feasible. They did this on Wii.
even more work:
add something where games can detect undocking. have them throw up a panic screen if you undock an HDD game, like when you opened the tray on PS2 and GC games.
for the record i don't have an external HDD for my One yet so I have no idea what Microsoft's solution was on the One if you unplug an HDD there. Nintendo will probably copy whatever they did.
fabricated backlash
Member
There's a USB 3.0 port on the back of the dock next to the power and HDMI ports:
If they could pull off a quick and easy way to transfer between an external HDD and system storage/microSD for digital games/content, it could work really well.
Any solution to that would probably be very unintuitive.
Games that remain on the HDD would need to be closed when you take the Switch out of the Dock.
Then again, it would be the same thing as removing a disc from a console mid playthrough, so yeah it could work.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
I didn't know my Vita could do this.
Nintendo better get a external hard drive solution working before Christmas. I'll seriously need it.
I don't think it ahs enough space for a whole hdd, one of the superslim ones maybe, but the ac and hdmi cables would make it very tight.
Good idea. That way you don't have to download them again.
Heh, there won't be enough games for that to matter at launch. In 6 or 7 months? Definitely.
Yeah, this is the easiest way: deal with it the same way they deal with removing the cartridge mid game.
They are probably testing different approaches.
Hi, let me tell you about my brilliant upcoming invention. It is a simple and cheap USB-C converter + stand which is portable and light, you plug the Switch into it, put it on the table, and there's another USB outlet behind where you can either use another USB cable to charge it, or plug a HDD in.
WOW.
fabricated backlash
Member
It's not like there are enough games announced to not fit on a 64 GB card in the first few months.
Eh beaten to the obvious joke.
Anyway, if they implement a solution, I'll probably just get a 128 or 200 GB card and an SSD for the Dock.
Tabletop mode for me is when you use the stand and let it sit on a surface, not when you use the dock, that for me is docked mode.
But it's semantics, if we use your definition, it could work, although there's various technological problems that might have to be solved.