Two brand new microSD cards, both boasting a whopping 1TB of storage space, have been officially unveiled today. With one of these beauties tucked away inside your Switch console, you'll likely never have to worry about storage concerns ever again.
The cards in question come from Micron and SanDisk (which you can see for yourself up above). The SanDisk card is said to be able to achieve up to 160MB/s read speed, as opposed to Micron's 100MB/s, although the Micron card just leads the race on max write performance. To put things much more simply, though, either option can comfortably store and play your Switch games and you'll be gaining an incredible 1,000 GB of storage in the process. Slightly more than the 32GB internal storage, then.
So when can you get your hands on one, and how much will it cost you? Well, the good news is that the SanDisk card is set to launch this April. The bad news is that it'll cost $449.99 (which just so happens to be one and a half times the retail price of the Switch itself). Is a 1TB microSD card worth more than an entire console? We guess that depends on your specific needs.
The main problem here is that you're mostly paying for the convenience of storing all of your games on one card; SanDisk also has a 400GB card available for just $77.90 on Amazon at the time of writing, and plenty of other more affordable options, too.
We have a full guide on the best microSD cards for your Switch right here if you're interested. These 1TB options are definitely exciting, but they might not be the best choice just yet.
Would you go for a 1TB card? Would you rather buy smaller cards and keep swapping them out when needed? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
[source theverge.com, via businesswire.com]
Comments 123
That’s too expensive, but I suspect prices will drop quickly. I could see myself buying one of these in a couple of years.
I pretty much only buy digital anymore so I cannot wait for this.
$78 for 400gb!?
Damn in my country they are €110 and the 128gb ones €31...
If Game Pass comes to Switch then yeah, we are going to need much more storage.
I’m content with the 256gb one I got around launch time. Getting full, but I’ve also have 73 games now too.
My 400GB card is basically full (even though I buy physically where I can) so I'll definitely look into upgrading eventually. By the time they're affordable, I'll probably already have 1TB worth of games.
I’ll definitely consider upgrading when it inevitably drops drastically in price.
I still can't get my head around how much data is on that tiny card. I remember going to school with 1.44mb floppy disks
I had 64 gigs on launch.... Need an upgrade!
thanks to save data backup I can Switch and not lose my save!
I haven't used an sd card yet. I have been holding back on getting a lot more games because I would not get anything done 😂
I have a 200GB one from SanDisk and it's crazy how quickly I'm filling it up. I haven't bought any new AAA releases yet, but the Switch has introduced me to indie games and now I have tons of great indies, that I didn't get to play on the Wii U.
Bet the first lot burns itself to the switch.
Still not used my SD cards that I bought in preparation as a lot of my games are physical
It'll be $200 by black Friday. Pretty remarkable we're at this point to get so much data in such a tiny space. Have 128gb cards in my switches now but may spring for one of these larger ones if/when we get a "Switch Pro"
Surely it's time for Nintendo to implement some sort of filing system for the Switch. I've only got 20 or so games on mine (without an SD card so far) but I'd appreciate having fewer icons to pick from.
A file for just coop games would help a lot, or even the option of the SD card sub menu like on the Wii.
@blackbox64 If GamePass comes to Switch, it will only be via streaming.
So you won't need more than a few Mb on your Switch to play all games.
I really need to get a micro SD card. Was holding out for a sale on the 400GB one but was tempted by the 200GB one for £30 recently (now at £35). Still not sure, plus would rather spend the money on an extra game.
@antdickens I'm there with ya. I remember being excited to get a second disk to take to have for 'play'.
@Reigestugatensho Psst, your saves are stored on the Switch and not your cards. So you were always safe
I literally just installed a 400GB card today. It might only be 40% the size of this card, but it only cost about 20% what this card does and it's double the storage I had previously. And it's not like my old 200 card, or the 128 I used before it vanished, I can use them in other devices.
I give it 3-4 years before this card is down to the 120 dollar range, then I'd consider it. Though personally I'd prefer the option to install 2 or even 3 microSD cards in a device, they are certainly small enough for that to be feasible.
@Vulpern Oh it is long past time for that. We should be able to make folders, and sort by alphabetical, purchase date, or custom orders. We should also be able to adjust the size of the icons to show more or less on the home menu screen at one time. These are all simple quality of life features that the Switch should have had since day 1!
I love my Switch, play it nearly daily, but this is definitely one of the areas it is very lacking in.
@blackbox64 Well, not really since most will be streamed.
The price of flash storage devices has always been exponential to the capacity, so no surprise that a 1TB card would be so expensive.
But it's also incredible how affordable storage becomes over time.
I wonder if a 1TB microSD card will function correctly on a Switch though? Some devices have a maximum expandable storage capacity, though I don't know what the limit on the SDXC specification is, where it was 32gb for SDHC. Doesn't stop you from using 64gb or 128gb microSDXC on the 3DS though.
@Vulpern Folders would be sweet, I mean even the Wii U had them.
@RupeeClock Well that and SD is always more than conventional storage, the nice part is the SDXC format can go up to 2TB so we are not capped yet. Not sure what their plan is beyond SDXC though since nothing was announced yet.
Not very useful until it's under $100... but it will be eventually.
Why does the article only have dollar prices? Not only is this a British based website but its readership is literally worldwide. Please don't needlessly insult people who don't live in USA by needlessly excluding them. Thank you.
Game Pass on Xbox consoles involves downloads...
I will get another 400gb for my surface pro. I will start saving for the 1tb. Hopefully by the time I have the cash and my current 400 is full it will be in at least the 300 dollar range.
@Lionyone it also involves the Xbox being able to run the games, realistically it'll be using Project Xcloud to stream most if not all of those games
Please please please Nintendo get the smeg on with introducing a fully customisable filling system for the games purchased library. One should be able to very easily tell which SD card a game is on and without highlighting the game. This is basic basic stuff that Microsoft cracked in Windows Thirty. Years. Ago.
Please. It's shameful. It makes the Switch needlessly look bad. It impairs player enjoyment. It is a deterrent to playing to have to work out which SD card a game is on. That goes flat against the Switch ethos of pick up and play effortlessly. Please remove this barrier to our enjoyment.
I'll buy plenty of it if it's $80 tomorrow. Also Nintendo needs to release another Switch with 1tb hard drive and 2 microSD card slots.
I reckon Xbox Game Pass for Switch will initially be a cut down custom version until a Switch Pro comes out.
Yeah.......no. I'll be cool with a 400 gb
Too expensive but nice that it exists.
Although that is really expensive this is also great. Whenever new larger cards come out the lower capacity drop in price as well generally. The 1tb will be very expensive for a few years but as more and more companies bring them out and the process for making them becomes more efficient then we will see better prices and then the 2tb card will come
i'm halfway through my 256 gb card.
I can see myself upgrading to 1 tb eventually.
Digital only for me nowadays, but switch games are very small and i don't buy so many of them to justify such an increase in storage right now.
At that price id just buy some 400gb ones and well switch between them
I'm good.
I might eventually upgrade to a 400GB card, since I'm 70/30 digital at this point, but I just don't need THAT many games installed on my system at once.
They will be more expensive than the Switch in my region...
I have a 128gb and I think that’s gonna last me the lifetime of the system as I mostly buy physical
Got a 400gb one, for now I whould rather buy an other 400gb because of the price.
I still need a microSD Card.
@Heavyarms55
I would love it if I could even make folders for which sd card games are on. I have 3 128 gb cards and tried sorting the content by game type but it ended up I had too many adventure/rpgs for just one.
I am out of space on u my 400GB card. I would buy a 1TB card in a heartbeat.
63 years ago, you could have this bad boy for your storage needs. It offered a whopping 5MB for the low monthly price of $3200.
This SD card costs more than the Switch... but the Switch can now compete with the PS4 Pro in storage capacity.
Btw, Switch is capped at 100 MB/s... so any faster is pointless.
I bought a 200GB card at launch. Unfortunately, it was getting fullish so on Black Friday I bought a 400 GB card (which had been too expensive when the Switch launched but not now) so hopefully the price of bigger ones will come down significantly before I actually need a bigger one
Absolute insanity. I remember in 2001, when I had first heard of what a terabyte was, and I thought there was no way in the world I would ever use so much data.
Fast forward 18 years later and I have about 18TB worth of hard drives at home, with most of my filming projects requiring 500GB of space at Cinema 4K resolution. Sure, it's still costly, but I think the investment will be worth it in the long term.
@Reigestugatensho save data is ONLY stored on the internal storage so losing you're SD card will never cause you to lose save data
That's awesome news, it should be down to $299.99 by the time Switch is discontinued!!
I don't know if you need that much space. This isn't a PS4 or Xbox. The games don't take up as much space as they do on other consoles. The main reason is the graphics aren't as good on the Switch compared to other consoles. I would compare the Switches graphics to the PS3. Look at the big difference between sports games on the Switch, PS4, and Xbox. I have the 128 GB memory card and it's not even half way used up.
@Medic_alert I'm sure Nintendo will find a way, if a freaking phone could have around 512gb internally I'm sure the Switch could get to that same amount of storage as well.
Problem with the larger SD cards is you need a computer with enough space when transferring Switch data.
@Heavyarms55
It's like they forget everything they had previously implemented and start from the very beginning every console release. My 3DS has folders. Why on earth doesn't my switch?
SD cards have been getting really cheap..
@antdickens Well aren't you young. I remember carrying my games around 35kB a side on my cassette tapes.
I took my floppy disks to college!
I only recently switched to a 128gb card, from a 64gb that wasn't even full to begin with, but just wanted a bit of headroom just in case. Most big games I try to buy physical anyway, leaving mostly indie games and some games I feel would be nice to have around all the time (like that SEGA compilation) on the microSD. Maybe also, when some titles get on sale on the e-shop for a price much better than physical.
I can't see myself buying a 400GB, let alone a 1TB microSD. While I wouldn't have a problem filling those up with Steam games on a GPD Win, I'd have a hard time finding stuff to fill this up on the Switch, given that I buy physical when I can, and that most games on the e-shop are almost always pricier there (in Canada at least they are), making the act of buying them not very attractive IMO.
Glad that some feel they need more space for their games. 1TB (even 400GB) is a lot in such a small format. Technology never cease to amaze me.
@DanteSolablood haha, wow... it's just insane when you think about how much data you can carry around on your person these days.
@Rayquaza2510 yeah, but I bet your country also gives you healthcare...
I used to be in the "physical disk/cartridge!" camp...but with my old Vita I started the move...and with Switch I've moved mostly over into digital for most of my purchases. Its just so nice having MHGU/Skyrim/Warframe etc all with me at all times whenever I want to play them. I started with a 128g card...moved up to a 256...now need to move up to a 400 card as I'm already having to shuffle games in and out. Maybe I'll pick up 2 of the 400g cards for now, and switch between them. My digital vs physical collection of Switch games isn't even comparable.
Also, Nintendo seems to have really amped up the eShop sales section in the last few months, with a ton of good games going on some pretty good sales every week. I've been able to stock up a rather large set of backlog games thanks to it. Or should I say no thanks to the sales? lol
Order one of the 400gb Sd cards the other day on amazon for the $77.90 + tax it was around $82.00. It should be at my house to day so hopefully it will last me awhile.
I still have 65G-70G available on my SD Card.
I will go at least 400G when it is time to replace.
Yikes. $450? Nope. Looks like a couple $70-$80 400GB cards are the way to go, for now.
I mostly buy physical (most of my cartridges are in the Switch case) and still have a fair amount of space on my 64GB SD card. I have a 256GB card waiting for it to run out of space.
My 500GB PS4 has a bunch of games offloaded because I’m out of space, but going physical doesn’t help with PlayStation and Xbox. My Xbox has 1GB and is probably about half full.
@Lionyone If you feel insulted because a currency wasn't included in an article, you might need to calm down. It's 344GBP. It was really hard.
https://www.majorexchangerates.com/usd/450-gbp.html
eventually ill get a bigger sd card wen i use up all my 200gb sd card.
Considering at 499 a pop that mighty porgy. I'll wait til it at least reaches half that price to decide. Maybe then will get a 2tb microSD card at that point. But good to now we will get a 1tb card.
Here's my other post about a 1tb SD card.
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/lexar_announces_1_tb_sd_card_that_is_available_right_now_-_related_tech
Give it 2 years or so and like the 400GB card, the 1TB card will be reasonably priced.
Can't believe how much data we can store on micro SD cards now, Nintendo was smart to use it again for storage on their latest console.
Why are they so expensive?
amazing that 1 TB can be stored in such a tiny space now
@OorWullie Haha, that's amazing. Funny to think how that's only such a short while back, relatively speaking.
By the way: serial guy is at it again...
I think these prices will drop VERY quickly. I remember that the 526GB cost about the same as a Switch at launch when I bought my 400GB card for $170 less than a year ago I thought it was a steal. Moral of the story is you probably only have to wait a few months before this becomes totally reasonable.
@duffmmann "Can't believe how much data we can store on micro SD cards now, Nintendo was smart to use it for storage on their latest console."
They saw the writings on the wall already remember the New 3DS XL were microSD cards already. So not much as smart or by chance they already planned ahead. They should be given more credit than one admits here.
I reckon these will drop to the 100 price point within a year.. Black Friday / cyber Monday will be interesting (keep an eye out for them mark down special deals) soon as 1.5 and 2 come out
At this point they might as well have just made m.2 a requirement. This is rediculous. Slower storage roughly the same capacity. Then we start getting to 1tb and it's like we want 200 more than the 1tb m.2 modules that are out there. Imagine the performance boost your games could have. Good thing Sony and MS are considering it for next gen. I'm about ready to write off SD cards
@LunarFlame17 by then we'll have cheaper 2 tb m.2 sad modules . Starting to feel like SD was the wrong way to go.
Just don't buy those stupid Switch/Nintendo branded SD cards
I mean I'm not going to be there day one but towards the end of the Switch's life I'll pick one up hopefully for fairly cheap and download everything to the one card as the system rides off into the sunset.
@mikegamer Oh yeah, those are stupidly overpriced. And who cares if you have Nintendo branding on your SD card? You can’t see it when it’s in the console anyway.
Just get 2 400mb and 1 200mb for half the price. Seriously it's far too expensive.
WTF you have to be completely insane to this thing. $449! Who in there right minds would spend that much!
@ThanosReXXX Yep, technology moves so fast. I often think about where it's heading. Are we close to the ceiling of what can be done or have we not even tickled the surface? I'd say the latter.
Something that blows my mind, if we assume technology to improve exponentially each year for the next 30 years, by 2049 we will have over 1.1 Billion better technology than we have today. 1.1 billion! We can't even imagine what that will look like yet many of us who frequent this website will still be around. With big advancements expected with AI and quantum computing in the 2020's, that point may arrive even sooner. It's said that an Artifical General Intelligence could offer 20,000 years of human innovation in a single week. Its expected to reach that level of intelligence sometime in the 2030's. It's fascinating to think about but at the same time, slightly scary. Can a lid be kept on it?
Poor Serial Guy. I wonder if they're aware a user can't even see if they've been downvoted.
At $450 these are crazy expensive but I’ll I care about is their release driving down the price of the 512GB cards. 400GB cards were like $200 and already have dropped down to like $80. If I can get a 512GB for $100 or less I’d be ecstatic. Almost filled my 200GB card and with all these awesome games coming in 2019 I’m going to need a bigger card.
@OorWullie Well, as long as it doesn't turn into a SkyNet situation, I'm all for it. Still don't completely trust autonomous cars, though...
The real question is are you able to get one that isn't a counterfeit.
Yeah, think I'll stick with my 200GB for now.
If anything I might eventually pick up a 400GB card, but I'm in no rush.
@Octarian Professional videographers most likely. That's a good amount of 4k/60Hz video to capture without changing cards if the shoot depends on it. That's who these sorts of things are really marketed to (at least until they become commodity priced in 5-8 years.) And if it's for business, it's a justifiable expense, just add it to the labor cost for the customer. I don't think they really expect many people to buy it for their music and video game collections.
@NEStalgia I was really just talking about gamers
Way too rich for my blood, at least for my uses. I'm just hoping the existence of these drives down prices of the 400 and 512 gig cards a little more. I can afford them now, but cheaper is cheaper. Lol
Yeesh. I expect that price will drop quickly, but that's out of my comfort range for now. I don't ever anticipate needing that much Switch storage anyway.
@LunarFlame17 Exactly, it's useless
I've been making due with my 128GB microSD card, but I Archive/Cloud Save like a demon and been surprised how much room I've saved. I guess eventually this will become an issue for me, so I'll cross that road when I get there.
I really wish Nintendo would allow storing onto external HDD's. I'm not bothered about transferring data to it and from the console, I'll gladly put up with it if it means I don't have to continually spend money on new micro SD cards.
I have a 2TB external HDD just sitting collecting dust here!
Absolutely ridiculous price.
$450 is not worth the 1TB of storage.
@TheFatPlumber i agree with you. Nintendo needs to add support for external hard drives. and do a better job of it than they did with the Wii U. i have at least a dozen external USB hard drives. it would be nice to be able to use them once again.
Cool, and in a few years I might be able to actually justify buying one!
Too much Expensive and wasted money. My wallet Doesn't feel so good. Because Micro SD Card easily to break and lost read file format very doomed.
External Hard Drive the way it's better to be true connect Nintendo Switch Dock.
400GB sd cards are costing the same as a 2DS in my country, i might get one for me. 1TB will probably cost an arm and a leg with all the import taxes we have here.
I wish the dock supported external HDD, it would be way cheaper for me since i play mostly at home.
I'm all over this. Will wait for prices to drop though
@SwitchForce planning ahead is being smart
It's cool to see this finally happening. I still have a good amount of space on my 400GB card, but definitely will get the 1TB card when I need to upgrade since I've been going pretty much all digital. Hopefully by then the price drops.
@duffmmann yeah i know, the crazy thing about it is that 1TB not even a thing now look at where we are.
they have finally fit 1TB in a tiny micro SD card, crazy.
@Rayquaza2510 lol in mine a 400gb card is over 200€... lucky you
You no doubt would have to wait for a sale like most of us did with the 400G card!
My 128GB card is full. Guess I'll invest in the 400GB card since it's actually affordable now.
I'll wait until the 1TB goes down in price.
@stevenw45 "$450 is not worth the 1TB of storage.
@TheFatPlumber i agree with you. Nintendo needs to add support for external hard drives. and do a better job of it than they did with the Wii U. i have at least a dozen external USB hard drives. it would be nice to be able to use them once again."
And one would spend that much on alcohol without a thought. What kinda dumb idea is that to make ext HDD support it was made for portable on the go and docked. Why else would the specs stay up to 2tb microSD card. Sounds like someone lives in the stone age doesn't have concept of portability at all.
@duffmmann "planning ahead is being smart"
Like said the NEW 3DS XL was on track with microSD cards so one would expect their future uses would be with the Switch since it was portable and could save space for them. This most likely was in the works during the NEW 3DS XL when they Switched(pun) to the microSD cards they already knew this was the future of gaming on the NX now the Switch.
@SwitchForce
thanks for the negative coment, but not everyone travels around with their nintendo switch system. and as it is you can attach the external hard drive to a nintendo switch case for when traveling.
and why are you thinking so much into the comment. you don't have to nickle and dime everyone's ideas. just enjoy them.
Am I the only one who realizes that there's no need to keep getting bigger SD cards because the Switch handles multiple cards with no problem whatsoever? Want to play a game not on your current card? Turn the Switch off, change cards, turn it back on. It takes less than a minute. You can buy a carrying case on eBay for five bucks, or whatever your local currency is, that's the size of two credit cards stacked, which means it easily fits into the Switch case that anyone who carries it around obviously has. When my second card fills I'll buy a third, but you can be damn certain it won't cost more than any of the games it will hold.
@SwitchForce I didn't say I didn't expect it, I just said they were smart to use the same format with the Switch.
No. 400GB is fine since I still own a Wii U, and don't need to buy ports.
@Handsomistic15 You go on and listen to your new-fangled CDs, my cassettes work just fine, thank you very much!
If it goes down to $200 around Black friday... maybe. I have a 120 gig, 200 gig, and a 400 gig. I have AMPLE space 😋
I think Ill just grab the 400 for $80. My 128 is already maxed, and thats with a lot of stuff archived.
@NintyNate because its new tech, i worked for staples in the UK from 2007 and when the 500mb cards were the norm, the top end size (16gb i think) was £120. only a few years ago the 256gb were still over £100, glad to see sizes moving forward again (16gb the minimum now, will be 32gb as the smallest card next)
@MisterDevil that sucks even more, damn
@Lionyone there might be a few games (cuphead, the excellent Ori) that get ports and involve downloads, but for the most part, Xbox game pass will be a streaming service.
@Rayquaza2510 yeah... I can't even imagine the price of the new 1 TB one... will be all over the roof
Guess this is why I hooked an external hard drive up to the console and just kept a small SD card in the other part...not many games I'll play on the go, so no worries there, but YIKES to the price. This was the same kind of thing that drove me away from the Sony Portables, now it seems nintendo is going the same way. Starting to wonder if I can just take the system on the go with the external attached to it...may be clunky then, but don't have to worry about buying expensive SD cards. Anyways, for that kind of money on SD cards, imagine how many games you can get instead? It's sad with game consoles anymore on how they get your money...buy an expensive console, buy expensive controllers (because we can't come with 2 anymore), then buy expensive memory for your console (because none of them can come with enough anymore...didn't take long to fill my PS3 or PS4 up to where I had to upgrade the internal...actually bought an external for the PS4 and XBONE and eventually for the Switch). Just amazing how companies want all of our money!!!!!
@Frurry it doesn't justify the price though
@SwitchForce
Well its not a dumb idea at all. If you read the comment I made I said about using one for storage to be able to transfer games to and from a HDD to save the costs of continually buying micro SD cards that can very easily be filled. Thus the element of portability is retained. And so is the choice of playing docked mode like a home console does with memory that can accommodate everything the user needs.
So you can take your ill judged comment right back to the stone age and stay there with it.
And you're also aware that you contradicted yourself in your insult, right?
"What kinda dumb idea is that to make ext HDD support it was made for portable on the go and docked."
@leo13 Thank you for letting me know!
I'm such a Switch Noob...
Picking one or two up once released; what a time to be alive, especially considering this sort of storage and tech has been the talk of science fiction for decades. Groovy.
At $450, I can buy as many as eight or nine physical games for the Switch without the need to worry about storage space. The micro SD card in question offers no games at all, and the download versions of most big games are more expensive than physical copies, so this is a no-brainer for me.
Tap here to load 123 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...