The Nintendo Switch 2 uses MicroSD Express cards—a faster and better version of the old MicroSD cards used on the Switch and other devices—to store downloaded games. But it might be tricky to buy one of these tiny storage chips, as they have started selling out since the Switch 2’s reveal.
Earlier this month, Nintendo finally unveiled the Switch 2. The new console will cost $450 and will feature a bigger screen, more powerful hardware, and will have a fancy new button dedicated to chatting with friends online. The Switch 2 will also be able to play more visually impressive games, like Cyberpunk 2077, and will sport shorter loading times, too. However, to pull this off, Nintendo upgraded the Switch 2’s storage and now the upcoming device requires faster MicroSD Express cards. And people are buying up so many, so quickly, that some stores are running low or completely selling out of the storage cards.
As reported by Tom’s Hardware, shortly after the Switch 2’s reveal on April 2, physical and online stores began seeing their stock of Express cards sell like hotcakes. Staff at one store in Japan claimed that they were selling over 330 cards ever hour after the Switch 2’s announcement.
MicroSD Express card aren’t new tech. They have been around since at least 2019 and have generally been pretty easy to buy over the last few years. However, there really wasn’t a need to upgrade to the faster cards, and the high prices on them—they often cost more than twice as much—meant they had never really become popular among consumers. So this sudden wave of interest in Express cards from people planning to buy a Switch 2 has likely caught stores, factories, and suppliers off guard. That has led to shortages, delays, and places selling out entirely.
I checked Amazon and found many Express cards out of stock. Best Buy seemed to have some, but that could change as Switch 2 pre-orders go live next week and more people start committing to upgrading.
And we likely can’t blame scalpers or resellers entirely for the shortages, as it’s reported that 80 percent of customers are just buying one card. It’s more likely that a product that had never seen mass adoption from consumers is now selling out as there wasn’t a ton of stock sitting around. And with the ongoing threat of President Trump issuing more tariffs, it might continue to be hard to get your hands on a MicroSD Express card for your Switch 2.
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