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Nintendo Switch comes with 25.9 GB of free space

So, how do you fit a 40+ GB game?

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The leak that landed just a few hours ago showing the first footage from the final Nintendo Switch user interface has provided several details which were unknown up until now, be it because Nintendo hasn't specified them yet or because the press only had access to pre-loaded games thus far.

In the menu of a new, just unboxed and switched on system, you can clearly spot that there's 25.9 GB of free internal memory space available. This means the operating system and other pre-installed applications take as much as 6.1 GB. So far Nintendo had only pointed out that the Switch has "32GB of internal memory, a portion of which is reserved for use by the system".

With these figures on the table, one might be thinking of how to manage storage. It's worth noting this is a portable system, and thus it makes little sense to carry a USB HDD around, even if the system is ready to support them in the future. Its 32 GB of internal memory, 25.9 available Day 1 (a capacity that could grow or shrink with time) is fast-access flash memory. You might then ask yourself "how can I install one of those AAA titles weighing in 40+ GB?" Or, in the same sense, has Nintendo essentially limited developers in terms of file size?

For both questions it's important to remember that Nintendo Switch works in a different way compared to other chunkier traditional home consoles. First off, its total storage capacity, as unveiled by Gamereactor, can be expanded up to 2 TB via microSDXC, and with a more common microSD of, say, 32 GB, it would double its default capacity.

A pity then that Nintendo is not including one of those SD cards with the system, so they can't assume that every user will have access to more disk space, right? It's in this part of the equation that the last piece of the puzzle comes in: the game cartridges. Nintendo Switch doesn't use optical discs, but rapid-access game cards, similar to those of the 3DS, and this allows them to avoid the need for software installs, thus saving memory space.

These game cards are reportedly manufactured in 16 GB (most common), 32 GB or even 64 GB variants, which would allow devs to launch significantly sized titles without factory limitations. However that limitation would still be there for full downloadable games from the eShop, updates, patches and downloadable content, which will gradually eat up both internal memory available and the expanded capacity added by a microSD.

What do you think of the memory size taken by Nintendo Switch's operating system and default apps and of Nintendo's memory solution?

Nintendo Switch comes with 25.9 GB of free space
Beneath the Switch's kickstand you can find the microSD expansion slot.
Nintendo Switch comes with 25.9 GB of free space


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