The Nintendo Switch 2 launched earlier this year. So far the big titles exclusive to Nintendo’s follow-up to one of the company’s most successful consoles in its history include Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, and—in just a couple short weeks—Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. While that’s not a tremendously long list just yet, the Switch 2 does support backwards compatibility which means it can play all 8 years worth of Nintendo Switch games that have graced the console with its presence. If you’re gifting the Switch 2 to a loved one this holiday season (or are just picking one up yourself as an end-of-the-year treat), the base system storage may not be able to hold everything new you want to play along with your whole OG Switch library.
No worries, because it is user-expandable. You just need the proper microSD card, and right now, Amazon has the Samsung P9 Express 512GB memory card on sale for 25% off ahead of Black Friday. The card is normally selling at retailers for the full price of $100, but some rudimentary Brain Age math will tell you that 25% saves you $25, bringing the price down to just $75 for a limited time.
With the new system architecture employed on the Nintendo Switch 2, the console is capable of better processing and faster load times than the previous generation. Though that new bar set by the new console can’t be met by the same microSD card’s that worked on your Switch 1. You now need to make sure you pick up an Express microSD which is capable of meeting the faster requirements of the Switch 2. The do come a tad more expensive, which is why it’s great to keep an eye out for sweet deals like this one for the Samsung P9 Express happening right now.
Triple Your Storage Limit
Out of the box, the new Nintendo Switch 2 has a storage capacity of 256GB. That’s at least what its says on the box. In practice, it’s actually a bit lower than that since much of the drive needs to be dedicated to system software that makes the console actually run. Still, that number is a good jump from the original Nintendo Switch’s abysmal storage capacity of 32GB. Now Switch games don’t eat up as much space as many of the titles you’d find on an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, but that 32GB still went away pretty fast.
The 256GB is significantly better starting point, but also bear in mind Switch 2 games comprise of much larger file sizes. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, for example, alone is over 20GB.
Setting yourself up with the Samsung P9 microSD Express will set you up for the future as the new generation games start pouring in. You’ll be tripling your storage capacity which means it’ll be a long time before you need to consider which games you should delete to make room for whatever new titles Nintendo has in store over the next decade. Here’s to hoping for a new StarFox.
