When the Switch 2 was announced, fans were worried that Nintendo would use every bad business practice from other publishers. Part of that came true when game prices were revealed, revealing some of the first $80 titles in modern gaming. At the least, Nintendo seems to be going easy on storage, as game file sizes aren’t that big.
Not yet, anyway.
Some of these file sizes aren't bad for first-party Nintendo games on a brand-new system. Mario Kart World will be 23.4 GB, which is practically nothing compared to some of the game sizes we’ve seen on PS5 and Xbox Series systems. Donkey Kong Bananza is also a measly 10 GB, and that game looks gorgeous, taking advantage of that new hardware.
It is worth noting that these are the Switch 2 games developed by Nintendo and not third-party developers. CD Projekt Red confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will use the full 64 GB game card, which will be a big one. Street Fighter 6 is around 60 GB on Steam Deck, so we expect a similar size for Nintendo’s new system, if not bigger.
The size of game files became a huge issue recently, with Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat taking up 100 GB or more. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are also around the 100 GB line, with the latter even needing two discs on Sony’s PlayStation 5. We’re surprised that Mario Kart World isn’t a full-blown 100 GB, even a decent 50 GB.
Although the Switch 2 game sizes aren’t too bad right now, they can always get worse in the future. Nintendo’s next open-world Zelda game is only a matter of time, and we imagine it will go over 20 GB or more, maybe even reaching the hundreds. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hasn’t revealed its file size yet, but we hope it’s small since the game is still coming out on the first Switch.
Nintendo's new handheld will only use express SD cards, making this more of a hassle. This will ensure that these games will look and run well on the hybrid console, but it doesn’t change how expensive these items can be. This doesn't look good because Valve’s Steam Deck can still run with regular SD cards, and that system is arguably on par with Nintendo’s new toy.
click to enlargeWe hope Nintendo proves us wrong and keeps Switch 2 games in the 20 GB to 50 GB range. After all, they’re the ones who brought back game cartridges, and it would be sad to see one of their new games in a game-key card. Even if those items can be reused repeatedly, it’s not a good sign for game preservation.
How long will Switch 2 game file sizes stay manageable? We’ll see. It will be over if the new Zelda game goes above 100 GB.