Or they could've make that gamecard port compatible with U3 SD Cards as well, which, for 32GB, in quantities that games ship, go for ~$1-2...if that.
U3 is rated at minimum of 30MB/s read speed. Know what else is rated at ~30MB/s? PS5 BluRay. So in that alternative timeline, you could've had 2 physical options - one that is equivalent of CD/BD, which is slow, so you need to install game on internal storage, and one that is equivalent of cartridge, which is plug and play. Appropriate pricing, of course, so take your pick.







