Listings on Amazon Japan have revealed officially branded SD cards for use in the upcoming Nintendo Switch, and the prices are…not pretty.
Nintendo has partnered with hardware manufacturer Hori for the cards, and according to their listed prices on Amazon Japan, a 32GB card will run you ￥ 5,980, or about $52. The 16GB card will similarly cost about $40. This is in contrast to prices reported on earlier today that sat at $70 and $65 just hours before this writing.
These prices are miles ahead of your average price for an SD card these days. Sandisk, the most popular maker, sells a 32GB “Ultra” card for only $12.96, or about $23 through Amazon Japan. For comparison, you can pick up a Sandisk 200GB card for only $20 dollars more than Nintendo’s 32GB card.
The “Ultra” moniker refers to the card’s advertised faster read speed, which means pulling up its stored video/pictures/save data is theoretically quicker than cheaper options. It’s unknown if Nintendo’s cards will similarly boast an impressive read speed, but one would hope it’d offer something more to justify its price.
The company has made it clear that any SD card will function the same for storage on a Switch, so there’s nothing stopping someone from ignoring their official offering and opting for a cheaper card.
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