Nintendo's Biggest Chip Manufacturer Officially Exits Business
The biggest manufacturer of Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 chips is exiting the ROM business, making it harder for Nintendo to make Switch cartridges.
Nintendo's key chip provider, Macronix, has announced it will cease its partnership with the company, marking an official exit from the Switch business. This decision comes as players grapple with Sony's announcement of discontinuing physical game discs in 2028. David Gibson, a senior analyst at MST Financial, notes that Macronix's main memory chip production for physical Switch 1 and 2 games is decreasing significantly.
ROM sales fell to 5% of Macronix's Q3 sales, down from 26% a year ago, prompting a shift towards NOR and eMMC memory chips. While Gibson believes Nintendo's physical cards will continue, digital sales are expected to rise, with digital games accounting for 61.5% of Nintendo's software sales in the first quarter of 2023, a 2.2% increase from the previous year.
Nintendo executive Bill van Zyll stated that the company will continue supporting physical media, acknowledging consumer preference and the recent launch of the Switch 2, which supports both digital and physical content. However, concerns remain about the long-term viability of physical games as game preservation becomes increasingly reliant on digital platforms.
Written by urgent.news from Polygon's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
