Nintendo Delays Rollout of 64-Gigabyte Switch Game Cards Until 2019
Nintendo has announced that it is delaying the delivery of 64-gigabyte game cards for the Nintendo Switch until 2019. This means that gamers will have to wait a little longer before they enjoy some data-rich titles on the hybrid console.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company told third-party developers that they are postponing the release of high-capacity cartridges. Technical issues with formatting the cartridges appear to be the reason for the delay moving the planned release from mid-2018 to the following year.
Developers will just have to make do with the current 32 GB cartridges, a significant handicap compared to the Blu-ray discs being used on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Blu-ray can hold as much as 50 GB of data allowing for more data-rich games to be played.
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So far, "DOOM" and "L.A. Noire" are among the current Switch titles that were able to make do with the limited space requiring 25 and 30 GB respectively. Nintendo has yet to issue a comment regarding the delay.
There has been speculation about the high costs required to produce these cartridges which Switch owners have dubbed the "Switch tax." Simply put the costs of producing these cartridges are passed on to gamers causing physical copies of third-party titles costing up to $10 more on the hybrid console compared to other platforms.
With 32 GB already rumored to cost more for developers when compared to those that max out on 8 GB or 32 GB, it's probably safe to assume that 64 GB games will lead to even higher sales prices for gamers. This will likely dampen AAA sales on the Switch depending on how high their Switch tax is.
That being said, no one can say exactly how expensive they will be, not until 2019 when these cartridges are finally released by Nintendo.
