I took advantage of a day off to fully watch the Nintendo Direct dedicated to showing off the Switch 2 and well, I liked it! I don't usually watch these press events, opting to read the highlights elsewhere (usually on NintendoLife or Eurogamer) or preferably listen to Kris and Dan's take on the Stone Age Gamer podcast.
For something like this—the next iteration to a system that properly got me back into gaming among other things—I was glad to be able to catch the entire Direct live. The specs were impressive and it was clear during the entire show that the team was proud of what they accomplished. Mario Kart World feel to me like it might eclipse the already impressive Mario Kart 8 Deluxe—a hard act to follow as a game that started life on the Wii U, ending up with an entire pass of downloadable content which finished up only two years ago—and it's nice to see Yakuza 0 being one of the early titles. Of course, I'm most excited for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which will be a souped-up game to a title long-slated for the previous Switch!
There's a major problem though, but not one which is price-related. Considering America, I expected the price-tag to take a jump from the modest US $300 for the first Switch. I even bought a one terabyte Micro SD card a week after that election to help ease the cost a bit—and to be able to bring my Switch library over while having enough room for the games to come.
I cheered when the Switch 2's internal storage turned out to be two-hundred fifty-six gigabytes. I scowled when they later announced that only "Express" cards would be compatible.
Of course, like anyone else on the Internet, I briefly ranted about it as well.
Thing is, out of everything the Switch 2 has to offer, it had me at backwards compatibility. I thought that with the new console, migrating my digital library would be more or less a cinch. Yes, I could technically transfer the data from my initial SD card to the new one, but unless I was a full-on Windows user, I'm screwed either way...
...and now, so are many others, regardless of operating system preferences. I feel like this requirement for a new Micro SD Express card will actually be the Achilles' heel of the Switch 2.
Considering a line-up which includes Cyberpunk 2077 and how much space Switch games like Final Fantasy X & X-2 and Skyrim take already, this should be a no-brainer as to why. Heck, the latter was the reason why I started buying more physical games so that I wouldn't burn through my own two-hundred fifty-six gigabyte SD card on digital games that would just sit in my backlog untouched for months (or in some cases years).
Ideally, if I love a game like Stardew Valley, I'll end up getting a physical copy. If it's from a series that I already enjoy, like Shin Megami Tensei, I'll just go straight for the corporeal plastic casing (or in my case, a steel book).
Doesn't mean I don't like my digital collection, but it's convenient to not only get Skyrim while it's half off at US $30, but also to be able to play it with just a scroll and a button tap. Same thing with retro anthologies for game series that I'm interested in, but not fully invested in—see Street Fighter—or indies that don't have a physical equivalent.
More importantly, these aren't e-books, audiobooks, mobile web apps, or even games like Balatro that take up a minuscule amount of space. They can all be easily downloaded again for the most part—wi-fi, ethernet, internet provider, or DRM-locks notwithstanding—compared to something like the story of Blitzball player Titus or the Dragonborn's epoch, which might take hours or even a day to fully take up space.
The other big thing is that, well, there aren't many options with regards to Micro SD Express cards outside of SanDisk and Lexar. The linked Polygon article no longer has the Lexar cards listed at time of writing, but I'm unfamiliar with the brand so I'm not sure if it can be trusted.
Sadly, this is more of a wait and see thing for now. If I manage to get one of the Nintendo Store invites for a pre-order slot in May, I'll see if they have a one terabyte Micro SD Express card I can buy as well. Otherwise, we'll all find ourselves with clogged backlogs pretty quickly this generation and sadly, physical isn't exactly safe either. Not to mention the fact that we don't know how we'll transfer data from one Micro SD Express card to another—as in, will it be easier for not just Windows users, but for everyone this time?
Even if I do get a Switch 2, I might hold off on even playing it until the Micro SD Express situation improves. Right now, this reminds me more of the 2015 12-inch Macbook than a full-on Steam Deck competitor...
...and it's sad when you spend the following morning looking at the Steam Deck's landing page.
