When Nintendo first unveiled the Switch 2, they revealed a crucial detail: users would need microSD Express cards for expanding storage. This announcement set off a buying frenzy both online and in stores. At Hermitage Akihabara in Japan, employees reported selling over 337 cards every hour. This caught everyone off guard, mainly because microSD Express cards come with a hefty price tag compared to their regular counterparts.
### You’ll Pay a Premium for microSD Express
Take the Lexar 1TB Play microSD card, for example. Normally priced at $129.99 on Amazon, it was discounted to $69.99. Its read speed tops out at 160 MB/s, while its write speed reaches 100 MB/s—not bad, though not as fast as internal memory. Now, compare this with the microSD Express version. It boasts an impressive read speed of 900 MB/s and a write speed of 600 MB/s, making it significantly faster. But this speed comes at a cost. The Lexar 1TB Play Pro microSD Express card originally costs $199.99 on Amazon. Even with a current discount to $172.63, it’s still more than double the price of the non-Express variant.
### No Scalping Here
Despite the financial hit, fans eagerly snapped up these cards after Nintendo’s announcement. Interestingly, this isn’t a scalping scenario. Reports suggest that around 80% of buyers purchased just one microSD Express card, with three being the maximum quantity for a single buyer. Most likely, these are genuine users planning for their Switch 2 rather than opportunists looking to resell at higher prices.
The microSD Express standard has existed since 2019 but hasn’t become widely popular. The high cost compared to regular microSD cards and SSDs for larger, fixed storage likely kept it niche. While many gaming consoles allow internal memory upgrades via SSD replacements, that method isn’t exactly straightforward. You usually need to remove the backplate and tweak some settings.
Nintendo prefers users not to fiddle with its console hardware, so using a microSD Express card remains the most user-friendly way to boost the Switch 2’s storage. This upgrade might be necessary, given the number of upcoming AAA titles that could quickly fill up its 256 GB internal storage. With microSD Express, you’ll be able to have all your favorite games easily accessible whenever you pick up your Switch 2.
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