Hardware Nintendo not sure about Switch HDD support

[LightyKD]

According to GoNintendo, Nintendo isn't sure about allowing HDD support on Switch due to portability. Really?! Have we forgotten about active memory and SD cards? They could simply have the game copied to a SD card in the background. During "TV to portable" pullout, the area the player is at in game could still be active in the active memory of the console and a few seconds after undocking, the game can begin to play off the SD card copy. Portability solved. I'm thinking something to the Wii's SD menu where WiiWare games were temporarily copied to the Wii Console and then deleted when that temp copy was not needed. Any thoughts?

 

[Futurdreamz]

Honestly I really wished they went with a full sized SD card. Using an adapter is trivial (and they can include one if they have concerns), but a full sized SD card is available in higher capacities and is a little bit cheaper. I need at least 400GB for my Wii U collection, and that was supposedly a failed console.

I'll admit a USB drive in the dock would be useful if swapping games to the switch from it is easy.

 

[LightyKD]

Honestly I really wished they went with a full sized SD card. Using an adapter is trivial (and they can include one if they have concerns), but a full sized SD card is available in higher capacities and is a little bit cheaper. I need at least 400GB for my Wii U collection, and that was supposedly a failed console.

I'll admit a USB drive in the dock would be useful if swapping games to the switch from it is easy.

Yeah the whole "everyone will need an SD card" thing is going to get expensive. I have a 500 GB HDD for my Wii U and I think I'm already pushing 350 GB. I'll have to double check that figure. That being said a SD card that is nearly 250 GB isn't cheap. Sure, 1 and 2 TB cards are coming but at last check, they cost more than the damn Switch. Guess people will be relying on those game cards for a while. At minimum Nintendo should leave enough space on those things for DLC and regulate saves to internal storage.

 

[grossaffe]

They could simply have the game copied to a SD card in the background. During "TV to portable" pullout, the area the player is at in game could still be active in the active memory of the console and a few seconds after undocking, the game can begin to play off the SD card copy. Portability solved. I'm thinking something to the Wii's SD menu where WiiWare games were temporarily copied to the Wii Console and then deleted when that temp copy was not needed. Any thoughts?

I'm not quite sure I follow your plan here.

 

[A Plus Ric]

Yooooo.........yall games are CARTRIDGE based......meaning u can put 20 in a small case on the go. Why u need em stored on the SD or HD if they are already on small tiny cartridges?

 

[kehkou]

I'm not quite sure I follow your plan here.

Basically he means the game that would seamlessly transition from reading from an external HDD to reading a copy from the SD when you pull the console from the dock.

 

[grossaffe]

Basically he means the game that would seamlessly transition from reading from an external HDD to reading a copy from the SD when you pull the console from the dock.

If it's on the SD card, then you don't need the HDD.

 

[Jiehfeng]

https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/5nv8pl/nintendo_switch_supports_up_to_2tb_micro_sd/

 

[AlexanderLS]

https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/5nv8pl/nintendo_switch_supports_up_to_2tb_micro_sd/

Theoretical maximum is not the same as what can really be obtained.
Right now you can obtain up to 256GB MicroSD.
A 1TB full sized SD card has recently been debuted but still is not commercially available.
It will likely be many years before we have 2TB MicroSD cards.
Honestly though, the switch has such a limited launch window lineup I doubt people that actually buy it will have any issues running out of space.

 

[darkten]

It makes sense. How would this work if you were playing something and wanted to undock and it was on an External HDD? That would be...sub-optimal.

 

[JoostinOnline]

Yooooo.........yall games are CARTRIDGE based......meaning u can put 20 in a small case on the go. Why u need em stored on the SD or HD if they are already on small tiny cartridges?

1. Not everyone likes carrying those around. They're easy to lose.
2. Patches alone take up a lot of space. It's not uncommon to release day 1 patches.
   
3. Don't forget DLC.
4. Most games these days don't even have physical copies. eShop exclusives are very common.

 

[Bladexdsl]

they don't want to allow HDD support to try and stop loaderz but peeps will just use an sd card

 

[schrmh]

When they include support for 2.5" drives users could also use SSDs.

 

[Thulinma]

The official carrying case has special cases/slots for MicroSD cards.
Clearly they intend people to use more than one of them, and carrying around, say, multiple 128GB cards is not that expensive or weird.
You could easily fit ten or more games on one such card, and if you carry four of them around (the amount that fits in the official carrying case) plus a fifth in the Switch itself, that means 50+ games you can easily carry with you in next to no storage space.
A single 128GB MicroSD will currently set you back about 40 USD, and prices are constantly dropping. Considering you will not immediately need that much space and by the time you'd need to buy more cards they would be even cheaper... that's not bad at all, IMHO.

 

[JoostinOnline]

The official carrying case has special cases/slots for MicroSD cards.
Clearly they intend people to use more than one of them, and carrying around, say, multiple 128GB cards is not that expensive or weird.
You could easily fit ten or more games on one such card, and if you carry four of them around (the amount that fits in the official carrying case) plus a fifth in the Switch itself, that means 50+ games you can easily carry with you in next to no storage space.
A single 128GB MicroSD will currently set you back about 40 USD, and prices are constantly dropping. Considering you will not immediately need that much space and by the time you'd need to buy more cards they would be even cheaper... that's not bad at all, IMHO.

Or you could get a 500GB drive for $40, and just save the games you want to be portable on your internal storage.

 

[Thulinma]

Or you could get a 500GB drive for $40, and just save the games you want to be portable on your internal storage.

True! And I also like the idea of attaching a HDD, but the problem is obvious as well: you can't just unplug the main storage at any point without interrupting a ton of system processes. This means you would only be able to remove it from the dock when not playing a game, which is removing a major feature.
Now, people that understand the nature of technology will know this and not unplug it mid-game when playing from an HDD - but will the average consumer understand this? And what about little kids? And unplugging a drive mid-write can have disastrous results sometimes...

All I was really saying is that sticking to MicroSD cards to keep the entire console portable at all times, is not such a bad thing.
Yes, harddrives are better when you stay stationary. But the portable alternative Nintendo is giving us now, is not horrible, and something I can live with.

 

[JoostinOnline]

True! And I also like the idea of attaching a HDD, but the problem is obvious as well: you can't just unplug the main storage at any point without interrupting a ton of system processes. This means you would only be able to remove it from the dock when not playing a game, which is removing a major feature.
Now, people that understand the nature of technology will know this and not unplug it mid-game when playing from an HDD - but will the average consumer understand this? And what about little kids? And unplugging a drive mid-write can have disastrous results sometimes...

All I was really saying is that sticking to MicroSD cards to keep the entire console portable at all times, is not such a bad thing.
Yes, harddrives are better when you stay stationary. But the portable alternative Nintendo is giving us now, is not horrible, and something I can live with.

You make a fair point, but I can't afford multiple micro SD cards on top of the console and games. If they don't add USB storage, I don't think I'll be getting the system.

Of course even if they don't, I'll probably hate not being able to play Breath of the Wild and go back on my statement.

 

[LightyKD]

Another thing many of you forget: not everyone plans to use the Switch as a portable and Nintendo has constantly said that this is a HOME console. If and I mean IF I do buy a Switch in the future, that sucker is NOT leaving the house, therefore a local HDD makes sense.

 

[Enigma Hall]

Well it could support wireless hdds maybe.

 

[Futurdreamz]

Did anyone notice the USB 3.0 port hidden inside the dock next to the power and HDMI ports?