Is this 400GB SanDisk MicroSD Card the Ultimate Nintendo Switch Storage Expansion?

Nintendo Switch and Android phone enthusiasts, rejoice: SanDisk is letting you store more than ever.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

It'll run us about $250 here in the states.

[PhoenixUp]

That SD card costs nearly as much as the Switch itself. Doesn't sound like the ultimate solution for mainstream audiences.

I'd never pay that much for that level of external storage, especially when I got a 4TB external HDD for $130 a few months ago

[DarkKaine]

You can't hook up USB drives to the switch tho.
But yes this is overpriced. You're better off buying multiples of 64/128GB.

[kneon]

Expensive, but not over priced.

[PhoenixUp]

I know that. I'm just saying I prefer the gigabyte to dollar ratio that HDDs usually provide over SD cards.

The average Switch owner wouldn't need that big an SD card so soon. Better to just wait until a device like this drops in price.

[Neonridr]

absolutely, better off waiting until prices come down.

[The 10th Rider]

Yeah, within a year or two the prices of cards this size will start to normalize. Right now you can snag a 200gb card for $78. Within a year or two a 400-500gb card should be $150 or even cheaper.

MicroSD cards are currently the go-to method of expanding phone and/or tablet storage too, so the incentive to push the technology in that area is fairly high.

[letsa_go]

Best deal I got recently was a bunch of 4TB drives for $30 from walmart. They were on clearance!

[GamingCentaur]

Switch isn't mainstream. (yet) It's selling to Nintendo fans upgrading from 3DS/Wii U at the moment.
It is far too expensive for a Nintendo console though. Even if it does double as a portable...

[porkChop]

Not at that price. I can get 128 GB for just $50-$60 CAD. I buy big games on cart anyway, so 128 GB would already be overkill. I have 13 games, and like 12 GB+ of empty space.

[Benjaminkno]

I'm sure this size will be twice as cheap by the time one half that size would be filled.
Nintendo's games especially are compressed so much it's like an art form to them.

Here's one half that size for less than $100
http://twinfinite.net/2017/...

[Yi-Long]

It's ridiculous that a 300$ console releases in this day and age with the bare minimum of storage, so folks will need to buy extra storage seperately...

Should have launched with a 1TB HDD in the dock. At least.

[Prince_TFK]

And unable to play most games on the go. What is the point of being a hybrid console then?

[kneon]

Well for one, having storage in the dock could actually make it a hybrid console instead of a portable with a video out port. As it is, the dock does nothing but simplify connecting cables, that doesn't make it a hybrid of any kind.

Having storage In the dock would have allowed you to pick and choose which games to take with you without the need to re-download them again if you've deleted one to make space. Think of it as local caching of your digital titles. With some minimal processing power in the dock it could even ensure patches and updates are downloaded and applied automatically. Then when you do dock the switch it could pull in the updates from the dock so updates could be applied much more quickly.

[NotoriousWhiz]

@kneon, Nintendo needs to hire you.

[kneon]

@NotoriousWhiz

It's not an original concept, that's pretty much how you could use the PSP/PS Vita + PS3.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Size would have increased, which would ruin portability factor and cause overheating.
Price would have went waaaaay up from the $300 tag, making it unmarketable for the tech inside.

So no, it shouldn't have. Just think a little and you'd realize that there's no way they could sell a 1TB hybrid at a cheap enough price to maintain any sort of popularity.

There's nothing ridiculous about it; you just aren't looking at the details behind the decision.

[Dalailana]

300$ is very cheap.

iPhone x cost 1000$ with only 256 gb of memory.

[Prince_TFK]

The $1000 iPhone X comes only with 64gb of memory. It is the $1150 one that come with 256gb.

Those price are crazy compared to the Switch.

[ABizzel1]

The iPhone X is also highly overpriced for the hardware (like most iPhones), it's also a cellphone and multimedia device significantly more than the Switch), and you could have used the price of any iPhone (or Android) with 256GB to make a comparison or 128GB for that matter ($549 128GB 6s, lesser gaming, similar hardware, mobile phone, and significantly better multimedia device).

Memory is super cheap for devices like these that are produced by the tens of millions, and the Switch should have at least have a 128GB internal, for a device with at least a 5 year life expectancy dedicated to gaming.

The Switch is great, but there are areas that should can be improved upon, and should have been fixed Day 1. Nintendo has tried getting away with this 32GB "HDD" for 2 consoles now. It's not going to work anymore, especially when the competition is starting at 500GB and moving to 1TB standard now. 128GB was more than enough.

[Yi-Long]

Why are you comparing a games-console to the most overprices PHONE on the market?

I could do the same and mention the 300$ OnePlus 1 released 3 years ago with 64gb storage. And then complain about how the Switch can't call people, or doesn't have a decent camera included, or doesn't have a decent mediaplayer on board.

It's a bit of a ridiculous comparison on your end to justify Nintendo's crazy anti-consumer decisions.

Why not compare it to it's current-gen rivals, both of which released with 500GB HDDs...!?

[GamingCentaur]

The iPhone X is way more powerful than a Switch. It also has thousands more games and apps. It can also make phones calls and receive/send messages.

If you ask a kid or teenager to pick between an iPhone and a Switch, they'll pick an iPhone without a second thought.

[Cyro]

I agree but the system would be even more expensive.

[Perjoss]

It's a handheld, how much storage did the vita come with when it released?

[davand114]

The reason the Switch doesn't come with that is because you don't have to install 99% of the physical games coming to the system. The reason why the PS4/Xbox come with 500GB HDD's is because they need to have them. The only game that requires an install to play right now it NBA 2k. If you get a $40 128GB microSD you'd be good for a long time. I'd say wait for black friday if you don't need it now, it should cost around $20 - $30 around that time.

[Xenophon_York]

This is the epitomy of putting a lot of eggs in one basket. Probably safe, but I'd still be nervous.

[letsa_go]

You could say that about any storage device, including the hard drives on the ps4 and xbox one.

[deafdani]

True, but I think micro SD cards are much more susceptible to failure and data corruption than hard drive disks.

I own a Switch and I love it, but I honestly wouldn't trust a micro SD card in the same way I trust my 2 TB external HDD that I got for my Wii U.

[letsa_go]

@deafdani Interesting, I didn't know that about micro SD. From personal experience, I have had 2 hard drive failures, and no micro sd card failures...so naturally I am more cautious about hard drives. I know everyone's experience is different though.

[Xenophon_York]

I'm going off my experience as a cinematography student who uses SD cards for video capture. It's common practice to have multiple medium sized cards as opposed to a couple extremely large ones. This even expands into NLE with chaining multiple hard drives.

[davand114]

It's better to go with inexpensive 128GB cards. If your card breaks it wouldn't be expensive to replace.

[NextGenCeo]

Nintendo Switch need ASAP USB HDD support! You can take to the SD card which games you want to play on the go and rest of can stay in usb hdd in dock!
(ESL guy here so sorry for English)

[Majors]

No need to apologise, You're English is better than most English people. Some cant string a sentence together.. Lol

[NextGenCeo]

Thank you :)

[letsa_go]

*Your

[Goldeneye007]

@NextGenCeo:
(ESL guy here so sorry for English)
No worries, NextGenCeo. I think what you were conveying was:

What the Nintendeo Switch needs ASAP is USB HDD support! You could put the games which you want to "play on the go" on an SD card, and leave the rest docked on a USB HDD!

Your English will get better the more you use it and the more you're exposed to it. You already have a decent grasp on the language, so just keep studying and using the language, and you'll be fluent before too long.

And yeah... I totally agree with your statement!

[davand114]

The dock has a USB 3.0 port on it that isn't activated yet. I think they might do that later on.

[ninsigma]

That's fairly pricey. Considering Nintendo are pretty good getting their games to install with relatively little space, probably better off with a smaller capacity card for less money.

[nitus10]

Well, Zelda Breath of the Wild had a download size of 13.4GB which is over 50% of the total storage capacity of the Switch's internal memory.

Note The Switch has 32GB of storage of which approximately 26GB is usable for games.

[ninsigma]

Yes the given storage isn't enough to last but at the same time I wouldn't spend that much on a memory card for the switch when in general its game sizes are relatively small. I'd buy a cheaper card with less memory, tgat is also more likely to be on sale for better value.

[davand114]

If you buy it physically it only takes up a few MB of data for a save file.

[Melankolis]

Sadly. Even this maybe still not sufficient.

[Prince_TFK]

Yeah since all the Switch games are downloadable only. And some of it games (such as Mario Oddysey) are super duper massive in size.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I see what you did there.XD

[deafdani]

400 GB is overkill for the Switch, lol.

I own a Wii U with a 2 TB external HDD plugged in, and so far it's taken about 230 GB of games, and I got a lot o ñf dogital games, patches and DLC. And some of these games were free, even...

If you try and buy the majority of Switch gsmes in physical format, a 200 GB card will probably be enough. Remember, Switch games don't require installarion unlike PS4 and Xbox One, therefore the Switch doesn't require as much storage as the other consoles.

[Profchaos]

Not need just yet I'd imagine maybe on a year or two after a massive office drop

[nitus10]

I am still waiting for SSD's to drop significantly in price and they have over five times the performance of most class 10 MicroSD cards. You can even get SSDs that have a 15TB capacity but they are not cheap.

[Profchaos]

Sd prices however seem to drop faster 3 years ago there was no 200gb cards and 120 was quite expensive today you can get a 200 on sale for under $100 au

[davand114]

In a year or two imagine how much cheaper the 128GB cards will be. It'll be more cost effective to get a couple of those instead.

[InMyOpinion]

Nintendo taking cues from Apple...

[Razzer]

No, Apple devices do not allow storage expansion.

[InMyOpinion]

Good point lol! And the switch comes with a loading dock. A dock! That's unheard of in Apple territory.

[letsa_go]

I thought there was a whole aftermarket for iphone docks.

[timotim]

I'm actually going to buy one of these cards for my Surface Pro...its what I use to game on the go. I'll load it up with all my touch/casual games. Fallout Shelter, Asphalt 8, Hitman GO, etc. The bigger Play Anywhere games will come off the 2TB bus powered external.

[WheatBread]

This card has a good read speed, but slow write speed. I'd skip this and go with a 128Gb Sandisk Extreme Pro or 256GB Samsung EVO plus because those have great read and write speed (90-95 mb/s).

[MetroidFREAK21]

I have a 128 GB I got got $40... I'm good for now. Not spending $250 on a storage medium

[MetroidFREAK21]

I got for* $40... What's proof reading? 💁

[Gemmol]

The 128 GB card was $250.00, 3 years ago, now it cost 44.00, i know it sucks to wait 3 years but future for the switch is bright and by then 1 terabyte card will be out for 250.00

[The 10th Rider]

Yeah, I think this is what Nintendo is banking on. They're probably counting on both the cost of cartridges and the cost of SD cards taking a nose dive over the next 3 years. Right now adding an SD card to the Switch is certainly affordable, but you're not getting much space. Right now some games have a "Switch Tax" due to the cartridge cost, or they require you to download part of the game. However I imagine in the future they'll open it up to 54gb cartridges or something and they're counting on costs coming down. When it comes to SD cards they're banking on prices continuing to drop because in 2-4 years you should be able to get a 500gb card for $50 and that will be more than enough.

[davand114]

Also in 3 years the high capacity cartridges the switch uses will most likely be cheaper for devs to order and we won't need to install anything for any games (except patches).

[jznrpg]

Too spendy right now for most people but the price will come down, though I isually dont buy SanDisk

[MegamanXXX]

I'll stay with Samsung

[InTheZoneAC]

must buy for me if I ever buy a switch, maybe it'll come down in price by then

[ziggurcat]

this wouldn't be necessary if they made a system with a proper internal HDD.

[davand114]

The console doesn't need to install all it's games so the HDD wouldn't be needed and you don't want to move a hdd around while it's in use.

[DrugsAreGood4U]

I literally bought a few microSD cards off of that App "Wish" for dirt cheap. Bought a 512GB for Switch, 256 for S8+, 128GB for other phone and a 64GB for PD Vita adapter. Total came out to $32 and they got to me within a week. The actual cards loom like a knock off samsung card and work fine

[nitus10]

Wow a 512GB MicroSD card for the Switch. That's strange considering the largest capacity MicroSD card to date is 400GB.

[Officialxandr]

I have a 256GB and don't think I'll need more than that.

[Kyizen]

Thats 100gb less that Xbox One and PS4 launched with 3 years ago

[GamingCentaur]

Switch w/ Game = $360 + this $250 400GB SD Card = $610

PS4 Slim 500GB w/ Uncharted 4 = $269.99

I didn't even include the Switch Pro controller, which is kinda necessary for comfortable docked gaming......

[davand114]

The ps4 needs the hard drive, the switch doesn't need the microsd card. When you buy games on the ps4 all of them take up space, even the physical ones. All but one physical switch game don't take up any space on the console except for a small save file.

[LandoCalrissiano]

Or for phones?

[damnitdaniel5000]

Guys I'm not a specs genius but, why couldn't Nintendo make the Switch atleast as powerful as the base Xbox One, along with adding atleast 500GB, and 4K video support? Right now you could find a Xbox One (2013) for about or less than $199

[nitus10]

Simple answer, "cost".