On Friday, retro and arcade game publisher ININ Games surprisingly announced it’s been able to “recalculate production” on offering a physical version of R-Type Dimensions III for the Switch 2 because “Two days ago Nintendo announced two new smaller cartridge sizes for Nintendo Switch 2.” Physical games on the Switch 2 have been something of a contentious topic; full physical games are reportedly expensive for developers, while game-key cards don’t actually have the game on the cart.
But later in the day, ININ removed that line from its post and published a significant correction: “There has been no official announcement or confirmation from Nintendo concerning cartridge storage capacities. Any references to specific storage sizes should not be interpreted as official information from Nintendo.” However, it will still be able to offer the physical Switch 2 version of R-Type Dimensions III, though by tacking on €10 to the retail price.
Nintendo didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. Solid information about why more developers don’t offer games fully on-cartridge is hard to find, though it may come down to cost. In May, a Brazilian Nintendo journalist reported that, based on leaks from Arc System Works, Nintendo only offered two types of physical games for developers: a 64GB cartridge and the game-key card. The YouTube channel Physical Paradise has also reported that the cost of a physical cartridge is “about” $16, “which is quite expensive.”
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, replying to ININ Games’ initial announcement about the new cartridge sizes, said on X that “cost was always the primary factor between key cards vs full cart releases.”
It’s unclear exactly how much more affordable additional cartridge capacity sizes could be or why the company might offer them to developers now. New York University games professor Joost van Dreunen tells me it could be because of the rising cost of memory; his two cents is that this “is in anticipation of memory going up in cost soon, allowing Nintendo to charge a more reasonable price especially for third-party games.”