Macronix, Nintendo's Main Cartridge Manufacturer, Exits The Physical Production Business For A.I.
Switch 1 carts more heavily impacted
"ColonelFancy" Mike Lind
11/10/20261 min read
Nintendo loses one of its major providers of Switch physical cart manufacturing. Taiwanese semiconductor company Macronix announced on November 3rd that they will be exiting the ROM industry, which will effectively discontinue the production of Switch game cartridges. The reporting comes from analyst David Gibson (courtesy of Twisted Voxel), who says their decision was made in the wake of the decline in ROM sales. Macronix will instead focus on the increased demand for NOR, a flash memory used for data centers.
Gibson noted that while Macronix may be the major provider of Switch carts, Nintendo still has other main providers and manufacturers in the industry. It may indicate that there could be a greater reliance on Switch game key cards or fluctuating prices.
PHYSICAL GAMES MAY BE SAFE, FOR NOW...
In an update, Gibson clarified that Macronix's decision does have a greater impact on the original Nintendo Switch than the newer platform. The Nintendo Switch 2 utilizes NAND flash storage for its internal storage and game cart mediums. Macronix still supports this format, so for the time being, collectors of physical Switch games can breathe a sigh of relief. When it comes to digital vs physical, Nintendo fares better than Xbox and PlayStation, with a close to 60-40 ratio, though that number can vary.
The eShop traffic continues to rise, however. Nintendo states they will continue to support both offerings for fans, but if the climate in the market shifts radically enough in the direction of digital memory and storage, will Big N have their hand forced?
SOURCES: David Gibson (Twitter/X), Twisted Voxel