Nintendo Switch's Storage Can Be Filled up with a Single Game

Megalith

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Not that anyone thought you could get away with foregoing an SD card, but this goes to show just how inadequate the Nintendo Switch’s internal storage could be for gamers who are interested in amassing a digital library. The Japanese branch has released the digital download sizes for a number of titles, and one game—Dragon Quest Heroes I-II—takes up 32GB, which exceeds the 25.9GB of available space provided by the Switch console. Do you think this is totally moot, or should Nintendo have at least bumped the storage up to 64GB?

…a lack of system storage is not any single reason why the Switch will fail or even struggle. But it is part of a broader mosaic where the Switch seems to be at cross-purposes with its core strengths: flexibility and convenience. And that's a tricky place to be in. The pitch for any new console needs to be strong, clear, and easy to understand. Witness the Xbox One vs. PS4: PS4 succeeded, I would argue, for the relative lack of complicating factors. The Switch is already a concept that needs explaining, and so anything else makes an already precarious situation that much trickier.
 
Isn't expandable by SD card? Either way looks like Nintendo made some poor design decisions on this console for the sake of portability and low cost. On the up side, those little cartridges are easy to carry around like 3DS games so it's got that going for it, which is nice.
 
I think the Switch should have been 64 or 128GB at least. That said, DQH is two games so technically it's 16GB per game which isn't bad. I wonder if the Switch's digital store would allow something like DQH to be downloaded in separate parts if SE wanted to. Like only downloading DQH1 and then later downloading 2 after you finish 1.

If the recent Switch teardown by a Chinese (?) company was real it speaks to the internal storage being fairly easy for Nintendo to upgrade later which might speak to plans to upgrade the memory later on.
 
Minimum should have been 128GB, which is what I'd likely buy if I did pick up a Switch. 32GB is a slap in the face.

Love the concept, but the more I hear about this console the more it seems that the thing was rushed out the door as fast as possible.
 
The New 3DS XL shipped with a 4GB microSD card and you had to take the thing apart to swap a new one in. 32GB built in actually seems generous compared to it and at least the microSD slot is easily accessible under the stand.
 
The New 3DS XL shipped with a 4GB microSD card and you had to take the thing apart to swap a new one in. 32GB built in actually seems generous compared to it and at least the microSD slot is easily accessible under the stand.

Yeah but the biggest game on 3ds was like 4gb total. We're now into decent sized textures and the like. Needs moar storage!
 
Definitely should have been a minimum of 64GB. When it's all said and done most Switch owners are gonna be on the hook for more $ than the other consoles. Depending on how portable you plan on making it, maybe a whole lot more.
 
The New 3DS XL shipped with a 4GB microSD card and you had to take the thing apart to swap a new one in. 32GB built in actually seems generous compared to it and at least the microSD slot is easily accessible under the stand.
The first one it was fully accessible. The new 3ds it's behind two screws which is easy to take off. there's also a replaceable battery behind the two screws.
Nintendo figured out that if someone wants to swap the microsd, it's more than likely a one time thing. You throw a 128 or above microsd and you're set.
"Take the thing apart" and loosening two screws that hold the back cover in place are totally different things.
 
All the more reason not to buy the games digital. I'm really trying my hardest to fight the urge to get one of these (having been burned by the Wii and the DS, both of which I played for all of a couple of months before they collected dust for a year), but if I do buy a Switch I would buy physical copies of games.

Nintendo has never struck me as a company that knows how a digital marketplace platform should be run so I would never trust them with digital licenses.
 
The first one it was fully accessible. The new 3ds it's behind two screws which is easy to take off. there's also a replaceable battery behind the two screws.
Nintendo figured out that if someone wants to swap the microsd, it's more than likely a one time thing. You throw a 128 or above microsd and you're set.
"Take the thing apart" and loosening two screws that hold the back cover in place are totally different things.

i have a couple 3ds xl (origional) and on one the sd card flap broke. Putting it under a a couple screws is fine with me.

As for the storage on the switch, I'm sure it was another decision to reduce cost. Realistically you'll be pairing a large microsd card with it.
 
All the more reason not to buy the games digital. I'm really trying my hardest to fight the urge to get one of these (having been burned by the Wii and the DS, both of which I played for all of a couple of months before they collected dust for a year), but if I do buy a Switch I would buy physical copies of games.

Nintendo has never struck me as a company that knows how a digital marketplace platform should be run so I would never trust them with digital licenses.

Same. Really loved Nintendo back in the day, but very worried this will go the way of the Wii U.

Also the damn thing is too expensive if you live in Canada.
 
Yeah but the biggest game on 3ds was like 4gb total. We're now into decent sized textures and the like. Needs moar storage!

Yeah, that's what I was getting at, one game could almost fill up all of the included storage. Not really that much different then what's happening here except the storage is more easily expandable. Nintendo still would rather sell you cartridges it appears.

The first one it was fully accessible. The new 3ds it's behind two screws which is easy to take off. there's also a replaceable battery behind the two screws.
Nintendo figured out that if someone wants to swap the microsd, it's more than likely a one time thing. You throw a 128 or above microsd and you're set.
"Take the thing apart" and loosening two screws that hold the back cover in place are totally different things.

Anytime I have to go grab a #0 Phillips head, I'm likely taking something apart. It's no different then upgrading memory in a laptop. Sure it's trivial for people who are used to assembling their own computers but you're still removing the casing to replace an included part. It appears to be much easier for the general public to add an additional microSD card in the Switch and easier to swap them around if you intend on purchasing a lot of games from the eShop.
 
Same. Really loved Nintendo back in the day, but very worried this will go the way of the Wii U.

Also the damn thing is too expensive if you live in Canada.

There are definitely some weird and confusing design choices for the Switch, but I still don't think it will go the way of the Wii U. At least not initially. The Wii U's biggest problem out of the gate wasn't 3rd party support, it wasn't weak hardware, it wasn't dumb design decisions, it was marketing. No one knew what the hell the Wii U was and Nintendo's marketing did everything it could to confuse people. The name was bad, the marketing confused people into believe it was just an accessory for the Wii, and they stupidly kept trying to target the casual demographic that had abandoned them even before the Wii was dead. So far the Switch's mass marketing has been pretty good. The Super Bowl ad was great, their messaging has been on point, they're directing marketing at the right groups, their 1st party lineup for year one is pretty damn good. The price might be the big sticking point though. This could turn into another 3DS situation where Nintendo is forced to lower the price after a few months due to lackluster sales and reception. But that remains to be seen as right now no one can pre-order the thing even if they want one so we'll have to wait until April or May to really see how sales trends go as it'll probably be constantly sold out at least through March, if not longer.
 
Anytime I have to go grab a #0 Phillips head, I'm likely taking something apart. It's no different then upgrading memory in a laptop. Sure it's trivial for people who are used to assembling their own computers but you're still removing the casing to replace an included part. It appears to be much easier for the general public to add an additional microSD card in the Switch and easier to swap them around if you intend on purchasing a lot of games from the eShop.

That's a pretty low bar. My TV remote has a phillips head screw holding the battery cover on it.
 
I always feel like Nintendo designed their consoles to discourage digital sales.
They probably get close to the same cut profits wise either way.
But surely they get a little more money out of digital sales??

Why would i ever buy a digital game when it's 99% of the time never on sale.
I can't trade it in either....
 
I prefer digital games. I like having my whole library right there on the menu screen. Plus, with Nintendo games I buy 99% of them on launch day anyway. It's not like the newest versions of Zelda, Smash, and Mario Kart are going to mysteriously suck. I dislike that fact that they're discouraging. I like living in a post media world when possible.
 
I always feel like Nintendo designed their consoles to discourage digital sales.
They probably get close to the same cut profits wise either way.
But surely they get a little more money out of digital sales??

Why would i ever buy a digital game when it's 99% of the time never on sale.
I can't trade it in either....

I absolutely love digital games. When the entire thing is installed anyways and I have to place the disc in there just to 'prove' i own it, i would rather just have a menu of games to pick from. I stopped trading games in long ago when you get a fraction of what it is resold for, it is insultingly low. I will say physical games do go on sale more often and I have nothing to argue with on that one. I also have damaged discs and had to repurchase, it is nice avoiding that haha.
 
Call me old fashioned but Nintendo's design choices make no sense to me.

It's like "innovating" is now "here's tech that's 6 years old, but hey, IT HAS ZELDA GUYS!"

Maybe it's because I've moved on and I value a console that does more than games, but the I spent some with the Wii/WiiU and just didn't care for them, and the Switch looks to be bring nothing really "new" to the table unless absolutely need portability.
 
I'm hoping there's USB HDD capability for the dock at some point. That way, I could keep a limited number of games on my Switch+SD card, but keep the rest of my library saved on my dock (using a usb HDD).
 
I always feel like Nintendo designed their consoles to discourage digital sales.
They probably get close to the same cut profits wise either way.
But surely they get a little more money out of digital sales??

Why would i ever buy a digital game when it's 99% of the time never on sale.
I can't trade it in either....

Nintendo has started getting into the digital sales game and have had some pretty good digital sales on the Wii U and 3DS from time-to-time. Not Steam level, of course, but not bad. I prefer digital. I have no interest in selling my games and I hate box clutter. Physical games offer no real advantage to digital ones for me and just give me more things to clutter up my limited disc storage space so I'd rather just go digital. Thankfully Switch cases seem pretty small so I'll be fine getting some of them physically even if it bugs me.
 
I'm hoping there's USB HDD capability for the dock at some point. That way, I could keep a limited number of games on my Switch+SD card, but keep the rest of my library saved on my dock (using a usb HDD).

I've seen articles mentioning USB HDD support coming later, but haven't seen Nintendo directly say one way or the other. Would be nice to have on or near launch since I have a 1TB external drive I use for the Wii U that I could just use for the Switch instead.
 
That's a pretty low bar. My TV remote has a phillips head screw holding the battery cover on it.

Plenty of things use Phillips head screws, but typically anytime you're reaching for a #0 driver you're taking apart electronics. I guess we could always be happy they didn't use P5 Pentalobes or Torx security like Apple likes to do.

Sorry about your remote though, I'd recommend switching to a rechargeable Harmony so you can set your bar low like I do.
 
For a console, 32GB is pitiful, especially considering how cheap flash memory is and how expensive this thing is. Don't expect many console gamers to switch.

As a 3DS replacement, it's probably fine for that crowd.
 
Nintendo has started getting into the digital sales game and have had some pretty good digital sales on the Wii U and 3DS from time-to-time. Not Steam level, of course, but not bad. I prefer digital. I have no interest in selling my games and I hate box clutter. Physical games offer no real advantage to digital ones for me and just give me more things to clutter up my limited disc storage space so I'd rather just go digital. Thankfully Switch cases seem pretty small so I'll be fine getting some of them physically even if it bugs me.


I like digital downloads on PC since they're almost always going to remain playable; on console though I prefer physical media. There's just too much risk that the downloads you purchase on a console won't be transferable to the next gen console.
 
I like digital downloads on PC since they're almost always going to remain playable; on console though I prefer physical media. There's just too much risk that the downloads you purchase on a console won't be transferable to the next gen console.
and game developer like to sell you their remasters for a full price game.
 
I think only a portion of the game gets installed onto the Switch unless it is a digital game. I remember seeing Zelda is 32GB but if you have the physical version it only installs 5-12GB (I forgot the exact number). Still the storage size is low, but I think there will be a new Switch unit every 2 years so the next version will have a great library of games, better specs and a crap ton of storage.
 
Not that anyone thought you could get away with foregoing an SD card, but this goes to show just how inadequate the Nintendo Switch’s internal storage could be for gamers who are interested in amassing a digital library. The Japanese branch has released the digital download sizes for a number of titles, and one game—Dragon Quest Heroes I-II—takes up 32GB, which exceeds the 25.9GB of available space provided by the Switch console. Do you think this is totally moot, or should Nintendo have at least bumped the storage up to 64GB?

…a lack of system storage is not any single reason why the Switch will fail or even struggle. But it is part of a broader mosaic where the Switch seems to be at cross-purposes with its core strengths: flexibility and convenience. And that's a tricky place to be in. The pitch for any new console needs to be strong, clear, and easy to understand. Witness the Xbox One vs. PS4: PS4 succeeded, I would argue, for the relative lack of complicating factors. The Switch is already a concept that needs explaining, and so anything else makes an already precarious situation that much trickier.

Honestly, given how cheap SD cards are now, I'm glad they didn't bake in some overpriced memory in. This way hopefully device price will be lower and consumer can choose the SD card that's right for their use or umm use one they already have.
 
Well, to be fair to Nintendo, with the way they space out their first party releases, 32GB should be more than enough if you're only grabbing a Switch for the first party titles and Virtual Console. By the time their next big release comes out, you'll probably be okay to delete older titles from your Switch (and redownload, if you feel like playing it again). Win win!
 
I think only a portion of the game gets installed onto the Switch unless it is a digital game. I remember seeing Zelda is 32GB but if you have the physical version it only installs 5-12GB (I forgot the exact number). Still the storage size is low, but I think there will be a new Switch unit every 2 years so the next version will have a great library of games, better specs and a crap ton of storage.

Breath of the Wild is 13.4GB on the Switch. The physical Wii U version requires a small install, but the Switch version does not.
 
With the price of memory chips and them buy in mass quantities there is no reason for a terabyte.
 
I think they should have put a m.2 slot in the backside rather than micro sd and included the 32gb ssd to start. As for worrying about giving hackers an easy to read interface Encrypt the volume like the xbox... Failing that at least 128GB happier with 512GB
 
With the price of memory chips and them buy in mass quantities there is no reason for a terabyte.

Well I know they could negotiate lower prices, but the lowest I found real quick was 512gbit flash for $33. Kind of sizable
 
Dear Nintendo,

Memory is Stupidly cheap..Please stop actively trying to sabotage your next console. I WANT to like the Switch, I WANT to buy it.But God Damn you are making it REALLY REALLY HARD.


Signed,

Someone who bought Every single console and handheld you produced until the WiiU and will absolutely not buy the switch if it is as shitty as that was.
 
The main problem here is that this is increasingly looking like a $90 tablet being sold for $250 and putting the shortcomings of a $90 squarely in your face.

That's what it LOOKS like, we'll see what it is when people get production units in hand and some game cartridges and try it out.

Additionally, there's clearly what the market thinks nintendo needs to do, and what nintendo thinks it needs to do, and the latter is clear as mud.
 
I plan on going full physical with my switch. The cartridges are suppose to be as fast as the SD Card so why not just use those. I am putting a 64gb card into it but it will be games I buy on the eshop. I am ok with 32gb of main storage if save games are small.
 
What is with all the "should have been 128gb or 256gb minimum" bullshit? It SHOULD have been 500gb or more, like their competitors have had for almost a decade! Jesus.
 
What is with all the "should have been 128gb or 256gb minimum" bullshit? It SHOULD have been 500gb or more, like their competitors have had for almost a decade! Jesus.

A decade ago 20GB was the standard for consoles with the option to pay a lot more for a 40 or 60GB PS3. Also, remember we're talking about a tablet form factor. You can't just slap a platter hard drive in there for a few bucks and call it a day. 500GB worth of memory chips would increase the cost of the system, probably quite significantly.
 
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