When Nintendo revealed its Nintendo Switch 2 last week, the company confirmed the console exclusively supports expandable storage through MicroSD Express cards. While this decision creates inconvenience for users with existing MicroSD card collections, it represents a smart technical choice – MicroSD Express delivers dramatically superior performance.

Why MicroSD Express Matters

These advanced cards achieve read/write speeds comparable to the Switch 2's internal UFS (Universal Flash Storage), enabling games stored externally to load nearly as quickly as internally installed titles. The tradeoff comes in compatibility – standard MicroSD cards won't function with the new system.

The Evolution of MicroSD Speeds

Storage technology has advanced significantly since early SD cards offered just 12.5MB/s transfers. Modern standards now deliver exponentially better performance:

• Traditional UHS-I MicroSD cards max out at 312MB/s
• MicroSD Express utilizes PCIe 3.1 interface (same as NVMe SSDs)
• Full-size SD Express reaches 3,940MB/s
• MicroSD Express cards achieve up to 985MB/s (3x faster than non-Express variants)

Nintendo's Storage Strategy

While Nintendo hasn't publicly detailed its rationale, several compelling factors explain the MicroSD Express requirement:

1. Performance Alignment: Matches speed of internal UFS storage
2. Future-Proofing: Allows for upcoming storage advancements
3. Experience Consistency: Prevents performance bottlenecks

Early tests show significantly improved load times – up to 3x faster initial loads and 35% better fast travel times – benefits that could stem from multiple hardware improvements including storage, CPU, and GPU upgrades.

Current MicroSD Express Availability

The storage market will likely expand significantly following the Switch 2's launch, with more capacity options expected from manufacturers like Samsung in the future.