With a growing number of digital games, DLC, patches and updates, the Nintendo Switch 2 storage could quickly run thin. AGI are on hand to ease memory woes with the TF338 microSD Express card. How well does the TF338 perform and is it worth investing in additional storage?
Many moons ago, players didn’t need much additional storage to fully devour their game catalogues. A miniscule 256kb Nintendo 64 memory card in 1996 was perfectly fine to get by. Over the years, though, there has been a sizable, significant shift from the plastic cartridges of old to digital gaming.
It is arguably far more convenient to be able to toggle between Nintendo Switch 2 games digitally than a need to hot swap physical cartridges. The latest releases are easily downloaded and playable within minutes – all from within the comfort of your own home. Of course, there is also an argument toward physical preservation, though, but that’s a topic for another day!
Digitally downloaded games aren’t small by any means, with several Nintendo Switch games soaring past 10 GB a piece. With Nintendo also serving up more DLC and Nintendo Switch 2 editions, this can also easily contribute towards the storage tally.
The Nintendo Switch 2 headliner, Mario Kart World, alone sits at 21.9GB. It’s followed closely by Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World at 16.6GB and Donkey Kong Bananza at the lower end, clocking in around 8.5GB. Long story short, the need for additional space on Nintendo Switch 2 is likely once several games have been installed.
Unlike the original Nintendo Switch, which only had 32GB of internal storage, its successor boosts that number around eight times. Each Nintendo Switch 2 model comes equipped with a 256GB of internal storage, allowing for roughly 10-15 regular original Nintendo Switch releases to sit comfortably. However, several Nintendo Switch 2 games take up a significantly bigger amount of space – especially from second and third parties.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition clocks in at around 60 GB, Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment said to eat up 45GB, Metroid Prime 4 at 32GB and Kirby Air Riders at 25GB. Games are getting bigger!
The TF338 microSD Express card complements the internal storage with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB variants available. Each card boasts theoretical maximum 800MB read speed and 500MB write speed for nifty data transfer, especially when moving titles from internal storage to microSD. Of course, real world speed will ultimately differ depending on device and what you’re transferring.
Like the original Switch, games on Switch 2 can run directly from microSD storage and the TF338 runs just as well. Testing load times for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, the TF338 falls in line with the internal storage, perhaps only just fractionally slower to boot up the game. Numbers for both internal and microSD average a round 7-8s to reach the Breath of the Wild title screen from tapping on the selected player account. Ultimately it does depend on the game, but it’s milliseconds or a few seconds more – a blink and you’ll miss it moment.
During gameplay itself, running software from the TF338 didn’t cause any noticeable hiccups or slowdown. Essentially it just works, and lets players easily boot up software directly from the card. Having the extra microSD storage is also useful for freeing up space on the main, internal drive – with the TF338’s write speeds allowing for games to be moved over in speedy fashion. Testing Breath of the Wild again – a 24GB game – it took approximately ten minutes to transfer across (around 40 MB/s – a sustained, real-world speed).
