How to Choose the Right Memory Card for Your Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 is astir here, and if you’re jumping successful aboriginal to play Mario Kart World oregon next-gen versions of Zelda past you’re astir apt connected the lookout for accessories similar a representation paper too.

While astir archetypal Switch accessories should enactment with the Switch 2, that’s not the lawsuit erstwhile it comes to storage. The Switch 2 requires a antithetic benignant of representation card, which volition yet beryllium captious if you’re going to beryllium downloading tons of games.

The Switch 2 Requires microSD Express Cards

The Switch 2 requires a faster MicroSD Express representation card. Ultimately, this comes down to streaming requirements. Since Switch 2 titles are acceptable to beryllium much visually demanding, they volition usage higher-quality assets similar textures and quality models that necessitate much bandwidth to watercourse into memory. Ergo, dilatory microSD cards are nary longer bully enough.

The caller microSD Express cards connection speeds of astir 900MB/sec. You tin archer them isolated from slower microSD variants due to the fact that they diagnostic the “EX” logo printed connected them, and person a full other enactment of pins to facilitate the faster full-duplex (two-way) work and constitute speeds.

Cards are presently disposable from a scope of manufacturers including SanDisk with 128GB and 256GB variants and Lexar who besides nutrient 512GB and 1TB variants. The Nintendo Switch 2 officially supports microSD Express cards of up to 2TB successful size, though nary are connected the marketplace astatine the clip of writing.

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  SanDisk 128GB microSD Express

  The SanDisk 128GB microSD Express Card is cleanable if you're connected a fund oregon chiefly bargain carnal games. Its transportation speeds tin scope 880MB/s, which is up to 4 times faster than the UHS-I cards utilized successful the archetypal Switch.

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  Samsung 256GB microSD Express Card

  Samsung is nary slouch erstwhile it comes to expanding storage, and this 1 is Nintendo-branded, too. Not lone is it fast, it matches the Switch 2 successful capacity, doubling the magnitude of retention it has.

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  Lexar 512GB Play PRO microSD Express

  With 512GB of storage, the Lexar 512GB Play PRO and 900MB/s work speed, it's some a high-capacity paper with exceptional performance. It writes astatine 600MB/s, too, ensuring faster crippled installation from the get-go.

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  Lexar 1TB Play PRO microSD Express

  The Lexar 1TB Play PRO microSD Express Card benefits from the aforesaid show arsenic its 512GB counterpart, but with a important magnitude of space. Just 1 of these cards is astir 4 times the Switch 2's interior storage.

As the Nintendo Switch 2 motorboat nears, there’s been a tally connected cards that has made them harder to find. One redeeming grace is the information that Nintendo has upped the interior capableness of the Switch 2 to 256GB (from 32GB connected the archetypal Switch), truthful that should beryllium capable to tide galore gamers implicit until the cards are easier to find.

Buy Brands You Trust (Don’t Worry About Nintendo Tie-Ins)

Though lone a fistful of microSD Express paper options are disposable astatine this aboriginal signifier successful the game, it’s important to lone bargain from brands that you trust. Stick to the basics of online shopping, wherever you prioritize reputable sources (like authoritative outlets connected Amazon, and trustworthy autarkic retailers) implicit cheaper prices.

Historically, representation cards person been an casual people for scammers looking to walk disconnected fakes arsenic the existent deal. The occupation is truthful atrocious that it’s led immoderate to avoid buying flash retention connected Amazon altogether. In the lawsuit of microSD Express, your paper could extremity up being wholly useless if it falls abbreviated of the faster modular and isn’t really compatible with your caller console. Since the Switch 2 needs the other bandwidth, you don’t privation to messiness this up!

You besides don’t request to interest astir “official” representation cards that are adorned with Nintendo branding and iconic characters. Any representation paper that meets the microSD Express modular volition do. Right now, there’s not a batch of quality successful terms betwixt licensed Samsung microSD Express cards and the regular aged SanDisks and Lexars (probably due to the fact that they’re each caller and hard to find). But during the archetypal Switch’s lifespan, Mario-branded microSD cards demanded a premium (and inactive do).

For example, astatine the clip of penning a Nintendo licensed 1TB SanDisk microSDXC card is listed for $103.50, whereas a 1TB SanDisk microSDXC card with the aforesaid specification sells for much than $20 little astatine $81.96. These were sold alongside the consoles successful retailers similar GameStop and arsenic add-ons erstwhile buying online.

If you tin bent connected for the availability of these cards to retrieve and debar authoritative tie-ins, you tin prevention immoderate money. Remember: you can’t spot the microSD paper erstwhile it’s firmly planted wrong your console, and it’s not the benignant of happening you’ll beryllium removing regularly (or ever). You whitethorn adjacent beryllium capable to people a 2TB paper erstwhile they yet deed the market.

If you're disquieted astir abstraction successful the meantime, Nintendo has revealed however overmuch abstraction immoderate aboriginal Switch 2 titles volition inhabit connected the interior storage:

• Mario Kart World – 23.4GB
• Donkey Kong Bananza – 10GB
• GameCube Classics (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soul Calibur 2, and F-Zero GX) — 3.5GB (in total).
• Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch 2 version) – 7.7GB.
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch 2 version) – 5.7GB.

So if you walk large and outpouring for each of these games earlier you prime up a representation card, you'll usage conscionable implicit 50GB, which is astir 20% of the Switch 2's interior memory.

Your Old Nintendo Switch Memory Card Won’t Work

As noted, you won’t beryllium capable to bring your aged representation paper implicit from your archetypal Nintendo Switch. The Switch utilized acold slower eMMC-based interior retention which meant that slower outer retention could besides beryllium used.

Nintendo has indicated that the Switch 2 won’t beryllium capable to marque usage of these cars astatine all. This is antithetic to the mode that backward compatibility worked connected the Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 console, wherever the usage of slower outer hard drives connected implicit USB was imaginable successful bid to play older games that didn’t necessitate faster storage.

This apt comes down to the information that backward compatibility works a spot otherwise connected the Switch 2 connected relationship of the caller console utilizing a hybrid of bundle emulator and autochthonal hardware compatibility.

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Rembmer: it's cheaper successful the agelong tally to bargain larger representation cards that volition past longer, alternatively than having to regenerate a smaller 128GB oregon 256GB paper wrong a twelvemonth oregon 2 of the console's lifespan. It's besides worthy noting that if you're opting for carnal releases, you'll lone request to sacrifice a tiny magnitude of abstraction per crippled for bundle patches.