File Sizes For Multiple Upcoming Switch Releases Seemingly Revealed

Switch Sports will likely take up quite a bit more space than that considering that it will be unfinished at launch. What is it with Nintendo this generation releasing virtually all of their sports titles incomplete?

@Silly_G Not just sports, I'd say all their competitive multiplayer games launch without a substantial amount of content. Splatoon 2, ARMS, Mario Party...

Smash Bros. is like the only exception I can think of.

Well these file sizes were basically what I was expecting them to be.

@Not_Soos Smash launched without the Home Run contest, the VR mode and the stage builder

Nintendo Switch is at 107 Million units sold! Can't wait for it to outsell the gameboy/gameboy color THIS YEAR!

Switch Sports needs to add at least 3 more games to make it really worth it, after the great Resort. The file size won't be any problem, that's for sure!

If the file size is smaller, does that mean Splatoon 3 has less content than 2? (I know this is a really stupid question, I just wonder if anyone here can explain why it is as it is)

@Not_Soos : Smash Bros. is the opposite of an exception. Smash has had constant updates/DLC additions since launch, and only recently have they stopped updating it (and I wouldn't rule out the possibility of further tweaks/nerfs and spirits to be added).

Super Mario Party was at Version 1.0 for a fair while (or 1.1) if not close to 2 years, with online multiplayer added much later (possibly as a training ground for their development team in preparation for Super Mario Superstar's out-of-the-box online modes).

And when referring to sports games, I was referring to ARMS as among them.

Welp that cements me getting xenoblade 3 physical (if I get it.). Only bought Torna digital. I am down to 400GB left and I refuse to buy a third Microsd.

@chapu2006 : File size rarely has anything to do with content as far as the player is concerned. The game's engine, graphical assets, audio compression, supported languages, among other things, can drastically influence a game's overall size.

Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee are about 4.2GB each while the previous games Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon were about 3.6GB in size, and the Ultra games had a hell of a lot more content (with over 700+ Pokémon compared to Let's Go's 153).

It's also worth bearing in mind that Splatoon 2 was smaller at launch, and that the 6GB file size factors in software updates issued after the fact, and it's extremely likely that Splatoon 3's file size will grow throughout its life, so if anything, the launch file size suggests that there may be more content in the base build of Splatoon 3 than what Splatoon 2 had at launch.

You can't really quantify game's content against its overall size without data-mining and breaking down the game's individual elements.

Splatoon 2 was 5.5 GB at launch. Content updates over the years have brought that figure up to 6.1 GB.

@Silly_G I personally don't mind since they're virtually free and as long as the base game has quite enough content (for me at least but some might think otherwise) and the staggered updates just makes the game feel fresh for months to come (gives me something to look forward to). If these were paid updates a la EA then that's an entirely different discussion. I personally enjoyed vanilla ARMs and Splatoon 2.

It's always physical for me where available.

@Silly_G True it's unfinished (and that's one reason I haven't bought Sports), although I imagine so much of the base game is there already, that the extra download file size won't be much.

@westman98 And with Octo Expansion, 8.1GB.

Now, I don't think filesize really matters for Nintendo games. Nintendo has done some magical compression work in the past, and the relatively low-poly assets and low-resolution textures help the games fit into a small filesize even with huge amount of content.

@Not_Soos It doesn't even stop at that. Even some games that are mainly single player adventures launched unfinished like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Kirby Star Allies.

@Silly_G Thanks for explaining

Splatoon 3 size isn't too bad, my 256gb sdcard still has about 50% empty storage.

Incredible, I'd wish PS5 games would take such low space. GT7 almost 100GB, Uncharted Collection 70GB...
Switch games are cute in comparison

This is why I go physical.. even if it means imports, expensive collectors editions or Limited Run Games.

Is the leg strap the same that came with the ring fit game? Of so I already own that so I’ll probably get the game digital since its one of those party game you want to have with you at all times

Initially I thought the Switch Sports file size wasn't bad at all until I remembered they're adding pieces of the game post-launch. Splatoon 3 is what I'd call a reasonable file size, but Xenoblade Chronicles 3 I'm definitely grabbing physical.

@NintendoEternity just yesterday I was wondering how many total units have sold. Think there's time to break 150?

Another justification of why you should choose physical over digital on the Switch. It actually saves space, and that large microSD can only do so much for you.

Splatoon 2 is the biggest game I have on my Switch as of now so I'm not too shocked the sequel is basically about as big in data size. Switch Sports being only 1.4GB surprised me though, I thought it would be about 3GB to be honest.

@chapu2006 It could be a matter of refining data compression methods. For example, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is only half the file size of the original, yet has a similar amount of content.

The file size of Switch Sports could fit on a GameCube disk (that format holds up to 1.5gb)!

@chapu2006 Splatoon 3's file size is larger than Splatoon 2's starting file size, it's only smaller than Splatoon 2 + all free content updates.

But on top of that, Splatoon 2 was the second game Nintendo released on the Switch. They've definitely improved file compression for the system since then.

And finally, certain types of content take up disproportionate amounts of file space. For example, you could triple the length of the single player campaign by reusing existing assets, and compensate for all that content by simply removing a few weapons (not weapon types, just specific weapons). So as it's likely they'll again rollout weapons constantly for the next couple of years, we can assume there will likely be less starting weapons than Splatoon 2's finished count.

My struggle with not having enough space for physical games but also wanting to save space on my SD Card is constant with these games that large files.
I'll definitely be getting XC3 physical because of this ha.

@link3710 @Salnax Thanks for replying. I did think about data compression but I wasn't sure by how much it would have improved in 5 years. And I definitely should have considered updates.

@Silly_G When the sport not launching at launch already has a solid alternative from Nintendo on the Switch as it is, complete with optional motion control (I'm talking Mario Golf), I can kinda get why that sport wasn't rushed to make it at launch with the rest of the game.

The SD card I use as my main card will be able to take Splatton 3... Initially. I wonder what it will be after a few months? I was hoping my current card would get me through the entire Switch's life, but I might need an upgrade.

@AndyC_MK111
That's the fun of it!

@chapu2006

Typically speaking as a console ages, developers get better at leveraging the hardware’s feature set.

Chances are the Nintendo of 2022 has improved the compression algorithms over the Nintendo of 2017.

@Nintendo4Sonic

Same here bud.

I have both and it’s crazy comparing the size differences.

On my PS5 I have a 1 TB external HDD completely filled with games (I move them back and forth) and I’ve currently got around 40% of my SSD free.

I’m planning on getting a 2TB M2 SSD later this year to add to my storage.

@OrtadragoonX I already enhanced with a 1TB M2 SSD and it's way more comfortable. But still, some games are so huge that the standard SSD is way tot small.
But I can't blame Sony, for the price and hardware they offer for 500 bucks, it's still a good deal

@Silly_G it’s not gonna realistically add much more memory though. The base game is barely a gig

@Nintendo4Sonic

The biggest offender for me was Black Ops Cold War.

There’s no reason just the multiplayer and zombies should have been 190 gigabytes.

Glad I got burned out on it. Saved a ton of space.

Biggest game I have installed right now is Forbidden West. It’s about 86 gigs.

@OrtadragoonX yeah absolutely, I still have Black Ops Cold War installed. It's way to huge.

@SilverM That's true--I forgot it was missing those basic features. (Though the VR one isn't something I would've expected at launch.) It still felt like a complete experience on its own, though, which is the point I was trying to make, @Silly_G. Everyone expected Super Mario Party to get DLC because the content was so sparse, but it never happened. Instead of Nintendo finishing that game later with updates, it kinda just feels like they never finished it.

@MajorTom I forgot about New Horizons; it was my first serious foray into Animal Crossing, so I didn't really have a frame of reference in terms of content. Star Allies was the only single-player game that stuck out to me as being barebones at launch, but yeah, it was pretty bad. I'm a bug Kirby fan, but I honestly hated that game. Even with the updates, it just felt like a waste of 60 bucks to me.

@Joe-b I really think so, as long as Nintendo is Smart about it. Release Nintendo Switch Advance with Breath of the Wild 2 in 2023 and BAM! Ps2 and ds will both be dethroned!!

@Nintendo4Sonic I agree! My External hard drive is filling up fast on my Xbox Series S already!

@NintendoEternity especially if it's backwards compatible. I don't think it needs BOTW2. that wouldn't be a reason I hop the fence. I say Switch can easily keep it up if they released Pikmin 4 and pick a few other AAA Nintendo titles.

Nintendo are master of compresion, when most games take up to 100GB and more in your console, Nintendo manage to keep it games under a very small file size.

@Not_Soos Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a better introduction to a Kirby fan, yes you are right, after the amazing Kirby Planet Robotbot, Kirby Star Alies was very barebone.

@Silly_G comparing games on the same platform would be more appropriate. Just the graphics could account for a big difference in the 3ds games vs switch games.

@Giancarlothomaz most games take up to 100GB? Only a few rare, huge games take 100GB, & none of those are on switch, so that's kinda misleading, IMO. The switch has nowhere close to anything that would take 100GB, because the graphics assets don't take near that much for the resolution available on switch.

@twztid13

It’s pretty common on PS5 for AAA games to be about 85-90 gigs. So it’s close to 100GB.

God forbid you enjoy NBA 2K or Call of Duty. Those games are size hogs.

@OrtadragoonX name one, that would be on switch also.

@twztid13

Far as I know the Switch doesn’t have any 100 gig games. Like you said, texture resolution and asset quality is much lower in Switch games. They also tend to have their audio heavily compressed compared to Xbox or PS titles.

Largest Switch game I personally looked at was Bioshock the Collection. I think it’s around 35 gigs or so. Could be wrong on that though.

@OrtadragoonX that was my point. To claim Nintendo is a master of compression because games are up to 100GB, doesn't make sense, when none of those games would be on switch. Sony is actually doing great on compression, too, i hear, but it's still not apples to apples comparison, because Nintendo isn't compressing things in a manner we can compare to others, since all their games are much smaller due to other reasons, not necessarily compression.

@twztid13

For Sony it depends on the game. Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart is probably the compression king of modern gaming in my opinion. The quality of that game’s assets is INSANE. All of the metals are at insanely high resolution and it honestly looks like real metal. Final installation size is only around 47 gigs.

I’ll be buying Splatoon 3 digitally and as a physics copy providing there is a steelbook version. There’s also sure to be a third Art Book too! Xenoblade Chronicles 3 as a digital copy. Thing about memory, is that it’s cheap. I have probably 160+ games downloaded including the Nintendo and sega app games and still have 149GB of space left of a 256GB card. I’ll be getting a 512gb soon.

@chapu2006 Splatoon 3 is going to get more content in the future so the fact that it is similar size is fine. Plus the devs confirmed that all the weapons from splatoon 1 and 2 are returning so there will be plenty of content.