During yesterday’s hour-long Nintendo Direct, Nintendo revealed new information about the Switch 2, including its June 5 release date, $449.99 price tag and full specs. One of the important details mentioned was that the new console will be compatible with microSD Express cards for external storage. On the flip side, conventional microSD cards will not be supported (with the exception of loading screenshots and videos).
The good side of this change is that microSD Express cards have far greater read and write speeds than standard ones. The not-so-great news is that they are expensive and less widespread. As a result, it hasn’t taken even a single day for scalpers to latch onto them.
Game*Spark reports that most online retailers in Japan have already sold out of microSD Express cards. Instead, the Switch 2-compatible memory cards are appearing in large numbers on Amazon and local e-commerce platforms. It goes without saying that listings can go to up to double the standard price.
While Nintendo has introduced an array of countermeasures against scalping of the console itself (including a region-locked Japanese version and strict pre-order conditions), it seems scalers have decided to prey on peripherals instead, as people who want extra storage will have no choice but to purchase microSD Express cards. Hopefully, the supply of memory cards will stabilize by the time the Nintendo Switch releases on June 5.
