The Memory Shortage Could End the Era of Physical Games

The memory shortage has made PC gaming untenable to all but those with extremely deep pockets. Soon, the skyrocketing price of RAM and storage could stymie any hope of maintaining a semblance of physically owning your games. Nowhere is this more concerning than with the Nintendo Switch 2. The console’s game cards may eventually become a rarity—or merely a collector’s item.

According to Nintendeal, which has a relatively reliable track record reporting on Nintendo products, there are smaller Switch 2 game card sizes now in production, though it would still take time for them to actually become available to developers. Game developers have anonymously suggested that the only size available to them was an expensive 64GB game card. These newly developed smaller game cards could not have come at a worse time. Memory costs are ballooning across every industry, and it means game publishers have far fewer reasons to pay for physical game cards when there are cheaper options available.

Game-key cards may be the only game in town

The Switch 2 supports three distinct ways to buy games (four, if you count the dreaded “code in a box,” which is just a piece of paper where a cartridge should be). First is the digital copy that remains connected to a Nintendo account. The next is a traditional game card that includes the whole title stored on ROM flash memory. The last and most controversial is a game-key card, a physical card with very little storage inside. They instead act as a “key” (hence the name game-key card) for the Switch 2 to download the game. And then after downloading the game you ostensibly bought, you can only play it when it’s inserted into the console. It’s truly the worst of both worlds.

Game-key cards are more attractive to publishers since they cost less to purchase. They also let publishers get away with larger file sizes (some devs have claimed their games simply won’t work with a physical game card). The more storage a game card has, the more it costs publishers. Publisher Inin wrote in a blog post this week regarding demands for a physical copy of its Switch 2 port of R-Type Dimensions III. The company claimed a physical run of cartridges would force the company to increase the cost of its game by 15 euros, or close to $18.

AI data centers have created a massive demand for memory, and they’re willing to pay so much that the major memory makers across the semiconductor industry have shifted focus to make sure our chatbots keep chatting. The shortage in memory will only get worse going into 2026. Some companies have suggested we may not see an end to the shortage until 2028. Nintendo may be able to eat the cost with its first-party games, but smaller publishers and the memory makers themselves will have a much tougher time.

Game card makers are going to have a tough time

Things are about to get technical, so bear with me. Past teardowns from YouTuber Spawn Wave showed us the new Switch 2 game cards are made by Japanese semiconductor company Rohm. Nintendo Patent Watch, a Bluesky account and blog that has been tracking the game card situation, suggested that Taiwanese brand Macronix—which previously made original Switch game cards—may be one of the few companies making the smaller flash memory for Switch 2.

The company’s last financial report from October suggested it expected ROM and NAND sales to pick up going into next year. A report earlier this year from Chinese-language outlet UAnalyze suggested Macronix would switch to using a type of NAND memory for lower-end Switch 2 cards.

Smaller ROM storage will be slower, according to Nintendeal. This means you may only see smaller indie titles use the tinier game cards. Indie devs will have a much harder time justifying the price of cards with ballooning prices.

Cameron Crandall, the datacenter SSD business manager for memory maker Kingston, told the host of the Full Nerd Network podcast that NAND flash storage will get way, way worse in the next 30 days. Kingston reported that NAND prices have soared by 246% compared to the beginning of 2025. “We’re going to have price increases unlike we’ve ever seen in the past,” Crandall said.

Past data showed close to half of original Switch games sold were physical. Compare that to PlayStation 5 games, where nearly 80% are digital sales. For a more recent example, nearly 75% of Cyberpunk 2077’s early sales on Switch 2 were for the physical copy. The Switch 2 may end up costing more next year due to the ongoing memory shortage, so it wouldn’t surprise us if games follow suit. As much as gamers want them, we may see physical games get rarer and rarer. So long to the age of actually owning the games you buy.