Something I pointed out on the article about this on the front page. I think it's worth repeating here. People are going on about how Switch cartridges cost more than optical disks. Something to consider what options are on the table in 2017:
Full Sized BluRay:
Capacity: 25GB (single layer) to 100GB (XL) (PS4/XBOne games have to be on 50GB disks)
Cost: Low
Speed: Low (games require mandatory installs)
Portability: Super Low
"Portable" Blu-Ray Mini-Disk/UMD
Capacity: 5GB (single layer) to 20GB (XL)
Cost: Low
Speed: Low
Portability: Average (smaller than a full sized disk but similar power/noise issues)
ROM Cart
Capacity: 32GB is cheap enough to be possible now, larger capacities as costs drop
Cost: High but not stupidly by the time you get to retail
Speed: Fast enough that there's no technical reason for data packs
Portability: Super portable
Whine about the Switch tax all you want, cartridges win in every other category. And the "Switch tax" isn't even that crazy when push comes to shove. To put it in perspective I brought Overwatch on PC last year for $70AU in a shop, off a shelf. At the time the PS4/XBOne versions were $80AU. Looking now at the same shop the PS4/XBOne versions are $80AU and the PC copy is $90AU. A Switch example? That same shop is selling FIFA on PS4, XBOne, Switch, 360 and PS3. The PS4/XBOne versions are $70AU. The Switch/360/PS3 versions are $80AU. This isn't N64 era 2x the cost sort of stuff. This is the same sort of price gaps between versions we've always had.
Can someone explain the difference in sd cards and does it matter with switch. I know there is an HC sd card. Does switch require an sdxc? What's the difference?
Can someone explain the difference in sd cards and does it matter with switch. I know there is an HC sd card. Does switch require an sdxc? What's the difference?
It's mostly just capacity. SDHC officially supports capacities upto 32GB, SDXC supports capacities upto 2TB. There are some other improvements that SDXC brought but as an end user they're not really worth worrying about too much. Yes the Switch will work with both just make sure that if you're getting a card bigger than 32GB it's SDXC
I think it's disappointing the way the reporting and conversation about Switch cartridges always implies that they're significantly more expensive than BluRay discs.
They're slightly more expensive but it's a tiny fraction of the cost by the time you get to retail.
The much bigger issues are having to buy them through Nintendo, minimum batch runs and responsiveness of the supply chain.
Those are the factors that introduce risk and drive some publishers to implement the 'Switch tax' but, of course, if a game is successful and sells out most of its production run they make exactly the same/more per unit on Switch (depending on the price they choose for the Switch version).
Final Fantasy XV director Tabata has been talking to Famitsu and he's not currently doing anything on Switch. So now it would appear that we've clarity.
Tabata had mentioned, before we even started chatting, that someone from Nintendo called him up after his Switch teases at Gamescom. Although he kept quiet about what Nintendo actually said—“I can’t say,” he laughed—Tabata did try to walk back his comments that he and his team were looking to bring Final Fantasy XV to “a console that sounds like Twitch.”
“It was just kind of a joke response,” said Tabata. “That said, we aren’t dismissing the hardware in any way. We believe it’s a great platform, and we’re open to looking for opportunities. And if the opportunity presents itself, and there’s something we can do on that given platform, we’d like to do it.”
I think it's disappointing the way the reporting and conversation about Switch cartridges always implies that they're significantly more expensive than BluRay discs.
I think part of the problem is that there's this conventional wisdom about cartridges vs discs. As gamers we all know about the N64 vs PS battle and how that went down. And we carry that into the Switch because there's some things that are kinda similar. Specifically that some games are a bit more expensive on Switch.
Of course we're ignoring entirely that in the N64 vs PS battle the biggest N64 games were 1/10th of the size of a CD. We're also ignoring that large N64 games could easily be double the RRP for a PS game. With the Switch we're looking at cartridges that are, early in the console's life, 1/3rd to 2/3rds of the size of a dual-layer BluRay. By EOL it's likely that some cartridges will be bigger than a PS4/XBOne game disc. In terms of cost we're talking about a $10 premium for some smaller run games when the developer has chosen to pass on the cost.
@skywake Part of the problem is also this is another argument PlayStation and Xbox fans can use forever and ever against Nintendo and reason not to buy the hardware or games
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@FragRed
Well until their platforms also move away from optical media as they inevitably will. The future of physical game distribution is either cartridges or a code in a box. The advantages optical media used to have are all but gone.
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"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"
@FragRed
Ya, but anyone looking for an argument or excuse is gonna find one regardless.
If you look at actual open minded gamers who are interested in the system, how many will care that a few 3rd party games launch at $10 more? None of my coworkers have said anything. I think the logical reaction, if that's a problem, is wait until the price drops to what you consider reasonable.
Bomberman and Ultra Street Fighter II were both widely agreed to be overpriced by $10, but all the more casual gamers I know bought one if not both at release.
Tbh, I'm not happy about it but, I'd much rather this than not getting the games at all. And I think the tax makes bringing games more appealing to devs/publishers. Even alot of concerns about lower sales can be alleviated this way.
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@JaxonH
Agreed. I'm not trying to sound uppity or anything, but 10 bucks more once or twice a year isn't going to break anybody, and if it is, gaming probably is not the hobby you should be pursuing - this can be an expensive pastime.
@JaxonH Still, the tax is a point against the Switch vs the other versions. It's ironic how Nintendo wanted to make the system affordable, only to inadvertently saddle people with the Switch tax later down the line. In their eyes, they're paying more, for the options of portability. For some, this is worth it, but for others, this is taking an extra 10 because they can. I already have this crap going on in Holland, where games cost, compared to 50 USD, 59,99 euros, when the euro is stronger and the direct translation is supposed come out cheaper for the euro, but it just costs 10 extra, because in Holland, people are allowed to set their own prices, and so we pay 10 extra, because "We can". I'm sure you can imagine I won't be paying 69,99 when it comes to that, since that goes to a little beyond ridiculous for me.
@rallydefault I'm quite sorry, but that sketches you as sitting on your high horse for me. If gaming was only for those with big, well-filled pockets, then Nintendo would've never cared to make the Switch "affordable", since it wouldn't have done them any favours.
You want an expensive hobby? Go play Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, and try to get to the top spot. Cards going for as much as 100+ for one card, and you needing 2-3 for your deck, with making an entire deck from scratch, while not buying random packs, ending in 400-500 for one. Not to mention doing that on a regular basis.
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