Bofferbrauer2 said:
Yeah, they're noting the problem themselves in that article: The memory inside ain't the expensive thing anymore, but cost difference in producing the cartridge itself. Hence why I said that the 32GB cartridge ain't far behind in price. Now, I don't know how expensive the cartridges themselves are, that depends on so many factors, like how many are produced, for instance. But the memory chips inside ain't what makes them expensive anymore. And they certainly don't warrant a 10$ price hike compared to the other versions anymore, especially not on the 16GB versions |
It also said: "Compared to discs, Nintendo Switch cartridges are not easy to produce in mass quantities. On one hand, a Switch cartridge is flash storage, not unlike an SD card. On the other, Switch cartridges have a unique shape and size. Discs — whether they're CDs, DVDs, or Blu-Rays — pretty much take on the same form. The Nintendo Switch cartridge format, however, is a unique beast. If a Switch cartridge looked like an SD card, Nintendo could take advantage of the countless manufacturing facilities pumping those cards out. But it's not. So Nintendo must work with partners to create this very special type of flash storage card, and that makes the process more expensive.
It's the downside of choosing a proprietary storage format. And it's why you sometimes see new Switch games that cost $10+ more than their Xbox One and PlayStation 4 counterparts.
The cost of a Switch cartridge becomes an even bigger factor when you consider the size of different games. According to Eurogamer, Nintendo Switch cartridges come in 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB flavors. The smaller-capacity cartridges don't cost as much as the larger ones, which works out for tinier games. Then again, those games are often indie titles that opt for an eShop-only release, negating the cartridge entirely."
So both data size and the production of cart played a part in this matter.
