Consoles like the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 4 have base hard drives that sit at 500 GB. Nintendo's new bet for the gaming console market, Switch, sports a hard drive of just 32 GB. Now, the device uses cartridges which do not require a big amount of data for HD, instead of discs.
Nintendo Switch is boosting SD cards for additional storage for users who would like to download any games or downloadable content. The company is rubbing shoulders with accessory manufacturer HORI in Japan releasing SD cards for Switch. First one is at 16 GB while the other one is at 32 GB. The big issue now is the cost.
According to Forbes, the 32 GB card stands at ¥ 7,900, or about $70 USD. Amazon's high-end SD card at 32 GB from SanDisk is ¥ 2,690 or about $23 USD. Other than that, there's always the less expensive version with the same amount of storage but with slower read or write speed that consumers can find one for as low as ¥1,180/$10.
In an update, Forbes said, "While Amazon.jp has the price listed for these cards as one figure, it appears that third parties have marked up the price to levels above what the manufacturer intended. The HORI site has the 32 GB card listed as ¥ 3,758, which is still more than most similar microSD cards, but not as much as the listed Amazon price was indicating." They also go on to mention that the third party listing has also reduced its price.
There is a premium sense when one buys original and branded items. However, paying two or three times as much as needed just to get official Nintendo items is a little too much. Smart consumers should know that you can just get a 64 GB micro SD for under 20 USD.
