Nintendo and Western Digital have teamed up together for the release of the Nintendo Switch SanDisk memory cards, which are due for release this October. The memory cards will come in two formats, 64GB and 128GB when they hit retail shelves this fall.
The VP of strategic initiatives at Nintendo of America, Tom Prata, explained that Western Digital seemed like the perfect choice to partner with for officially licensed Switch storage accessories, saying in the press release…
“Western Digital is a global leader in memory storage, and its SanDisk brand microSD cards are trusted by consumers around the world,”
“These new Nintendo-licensed memory cards provide significant additional storage for digital content, and in many retail locations they will be conveniently displayed alongside Nintendo Switch games and accessories.”
The licensed accessories will likely set you back by a pretty penny. You don’t have to buy the licensed peripheral at all, but people who aren’t real gamers – likely casuals and parents – will been keen on picking up extra storage for their kids due to the limited 32GB space available on the Switch.
Nevertheless, you don’t have to buy into the corporate high-priced shenanigans that will likely rape your wallet harder than a group of migrants targeting party-goers at a New Year’s eve party in Cologne, Germany. You can actually make use of non-officially branded storage cards from SanDisk, such as the 64GB microSDXC card from Best Buy for only $30, or the Class 10 512GB card for only $60.
Given how places like GameStop and Walmart have been overcharging for Switch hardware, it wouldn’t be surprising if they continued that trend with the storage cards.
For instance, GameStop is still forcing Switch units into higher price points by bundling them with useless stuff in order to charge people more, while offering very limited supplies of the $299 unit. For example, they have a Nintendo Switch Monopoly bundle for $399.99, which is $100 more than the standard unit, or there’s the Minecraft and charger bundle for $429.99. All the basic $299 units have been sold out since May.
So don’t be surprised if there are markups on the official SanDisk Nintendo memory cards.
If you do need additional storage, you’re probably better off going with the non-branded or unofficial microSDXC units.
