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Nintendo Switch runs games on cartridges

Switch games are roughly the size of 3DS cards.
David Craddock
David Craddock
33

As shown during its reveal trailer this morning, Nintendo's Switch console will run on cartridges instead of optical media.

These aren't your papa's bulky Nintendo 64 carts, though. Switch carts are roughly the size of Nintendo 3DS game cards, and are inserted into a slot at the top of the tablet-like device. This is in line with months of rumors indicating that Nintendo would leave Blu-Ray and DVD storage media behind in favor of cartridges.

Nintendo Switch is a console/handheld hybrid that runs on a tailor-made NVIDIA Tegra processor and will launch next March. For more info, check out Shacknews' comprehensive summary of today's unveiling.

Long Reads Editor
Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

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  • Shacknews legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
    reply
    October 20, 2016 7:40 AM

    David Craddock posted a new article, Nintendo Switch runs games on cartridges

    • daggot legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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      October 20, 2016 8:01 AM

      Note the cooling ports in the image too. That suggests to me that it's going to run warm at the least.

      • Conan legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury ultra mega
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        October 20, 2016 9:25 AM

        I think you may be reading too much into non-final and largely indistinct images.

        • daggot legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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          October 20, 2016 9:40 AM

          Non final? No these are final. You think they haven't finalized the hardware and will be able to produce enough units before March?

          • Prozium legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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            October 20, 2016 10:40 AM

            There could still be some changes. The DS shell was changed between it's E3 2004 reveal and Nov 2004 release.

          • Conan legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury ultra mega
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            October 20, 2016 11:50 AM

            It wouldn't be unprecedented, no. But mostly I mean you haven't seen enough clear images of the device from all angles to necessarily judge what you're seeing, let alone draw concerns about heat from them.

      • DedlokPM legacy 10 years
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        October 20, 2016 9:43 AM

        Electronic device has cooling ports and has the possiblity of running warm! Film at Eleven!

      • [deleted] 1391147144 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 1:47 PM

        [deleted]

        • daggot legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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          October 20, 2016 1:52 PM

          Different demographic though. While there weren't kids in the teaser, I still maintain Nintendo system will skew to a much younger demographic than Sony & MS.

          • rtrson legacy 10 years
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            October 20, 2016 2:44 PM

            You know something you don't see in the 3 minute video? Any kids.

            • daggot legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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              October 20, 2016 3:10 PM

              Ya, and I said that. In multiple posts.

          • capt tripps legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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            October 20, 2016 3:23 PM

            How does the addition of children affect device cooling?

            • daggot legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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              October 20, 2016 3:49 PM

              Parents will freak if a device their kid is using get too warm. I'd say doubly so after the Note 7 stuff now.

    • [deleted] 2048834275 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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      October 20, 2016 8:08 AM

      [deleted]

      • dopefish legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 9:26 AM

        That would be a terrible user flow.

        • [deleted] 355768971 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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          October 20, 2016 11:35 AM

          [deleted]

          • dopefish legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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            October 20, 2016 12:06 PM

            That's a "do this one time when you get a new device" thing, which is still fucking retarded, but it's not a common thing to ask users to do.

    • Nali4Freedom legacy 10 years
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      October 20, 2016 9:20 AM

      feels weird calling what's essentially an SD card cartridges

      • [deleted] 1526492478
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        October 20, 2016 9:22 AM

        [deleted]

        • DinK legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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          October 20, 2016 1:19 PM

          Yeah, I always loaded into Mario 64 first so did everybody else

      • Conan legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury ultra mega
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        October 20, 2016 9:26 AM

        It's not an SD card, though I imagine they will also have a storage solution like that given the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS all have SD support.

    • boarder2 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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      October 20, 2016 9:25 AM

      Hopefully there's some internal storage too. Carrying around cartridges on a mobile device is pretty crappy.

      • Turd Ferguson legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 11:22 AM

        Hell even at home i don't want need to physically swap media to play a different game.

      • dantastic legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 11:44 AM

        the thing will probably have 32GB on it too and it's not like you're going to dangle a USB hard drive from it while you carry it around. man, physical purchases suck

      • one random winner legacy 10 years
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        October 20, 2016 11:55 AM

        Hopefully you can expand it with large as cards like the 3ds.

        • Serpico74 moderator legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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          October 20, 2016 1:20 PM

          128GB microSD at the very least, and even that probably won't be enough

    • omnova legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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      October 20, 2016 10:50 AM

      My first reaction was "man, they're going to limit how big games can be that way" until I realized that DVDs are like 5-8 GB and 16 GB SD cards are dirt cheap.

      • roushimsx legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 11:32 AM

        That was my response as well. 20 years ago it would have seemed like a step back, but now that they can fit an entire PS4/XBO-sized game on that little card....man, it'll be interesting.

      • phokz legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 11:59 AM

        128gb wholesale/direct from manufacturer would even be affordable if they mass produce.

      • DM7 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 1:11 PM

        So games will be cheaper right? :D

      • Serpico74 moderator legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 1:19 PM

        Even 128GB cards are dirt cheap. 32GB ROMs are pennies for Nintendo at the volume they'll produce

    • Lawgiver legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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      October 20, 2016 11:41 AM

      I wish they would Switch (lol get it!) the positions of the a/b/x/y buttons. I know they are the originators of that the positioning but I'm so used to the ps4/xbox layout on controllers now.

      • atom519 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 11:48 AM

        I'm a little bummed about them moving the right analog under the buttons. I prefer them to be symmetrical near the top similar to Wii U gamepad & pro controller. Based on the screenshots it looks really low on the Switch controller, could see it cramping up hands but I guess I'll reserve judgement and give them benefit of the doubt.

        • atom519 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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          October 20, 2016 11:52 AM

          Also I'll be surprised if they remove it, but if the new Switch controllers don't have the same gyro controllers as the Wii U controller I will be super disappointed. Splatoon 2 would never be the same.

          • [deleted] 1166922691 legacy 10 years
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            October 20, 2016 1:14 PM

            [deleted]

            • atom519 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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              October 20, 2016 1:18 PM

              Sounds like someone hasn't played Splatoon with the gyro controls. It makes the game so much more enjoyable than relying on the super slow analog sticks for precise and quick aiming.

              • [deleted] 1166922691 legacy 10 years
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                October 20, 2016 1:21 PM

                [deleted]

                • atom519 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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                  October 20, 2016 1:27 PM

                  You aren't just waving the controller all over the place like a wiimote. You still use the traditional analog sticks, but have the gyro for fine-tuning or quick flick shots when needed. It takes some getting used to (I originally didn't like it), but feels SO good once it becomes second nature.

                • Serpico74 moderator legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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                  October 20, 2016 1:51 PM

                  Splatoon is the only console shooter that had anything close to the speed and accuracy of mouse and keyboard aiming, and it was thanks to the gyros.

                  Gyros are the next best thing to M+K, thumbsticks are the devil.

              • dopefish legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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                October 20, 2016 1:25 PM

                I played Splatoon with the gyro controls, which were nice, but their analog stick controls were fucking terrible, and had nintendo bothered to actually work on those then the sticks would be just as useful as the gyro.

                • atom519 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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                  October 20, 2016 1:30 PM

                  Yeah I agree that the normal analog controls felt off somehow. However I strongly disagree that they would be the same as you wouldn't be able to pull off quick mouse-flick type shots with the charger or nades, due to the slow and limited range of movement with an analog stick.

        • rick legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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          October 20, 2016 1:31 PM

          I know what you mean, but I think they did that so when the two half controllers are used individually for local multiplayer while mobile, they are symmetrical

          • atom519 legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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            October 20, 2016 2:02 PM

            yeah that makes sense.

          • invalidat10n legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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            October 20, 2016 3:00 PM

            Makes me wonder if there could be optional alternate controls for sale.

    • [deleted] 1166922691 legacy 10 years
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      October 20, 2016 1:09 PM

      [deleted]

    • [deleted] 1220350752 legacy 10 years
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      October 20, 2016 2:38 PM

      [deleted]

      • rick legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        October 20, 2016 3:33 PM

        I remember for an engineering project at school, me and my teammate needed a gyroscope, and the cheapest way to get one was to buy a used GBA cart for something that had one in it, off of ebay, and just yank it out.

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