Nintendo Switch 2 (5th June 2025)

[BowserBasher]

28 minutes ago, Julius said:

@BowserBasher @Dcubed do you guys not uninstall games after completing/finish them? No judgement here, but I feel like uninstalling a game after completing it (to whatever extent) is one of gaming's greatest dopamine releases! 

The only games I keep on my console beyond that are those I regularly revisit (weekly online sessions with friends, chill games to return to, etc.). Especially true on my PS5 where I do most of my gaming, current gen games are absolutely enormous (Forza and Oblivion from the past week are taking up nearly 300 GB combined!). 

My SD card on the OG Switch has mostly been for indies/downloaded titles and screenshots/videos, so the one I got when I picked it up back in 2019 has lasted the entire time I've had it. I suspect the same will be true of the SD Express I've ordered for my Switch 2, though I feel like whether that sticks is out of my hands and really depends on what third-party and first-party plans are beyond the launch period with all of this Game Key Card silliness 

 

20 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

No.  I hate having to delete games

Same sentiments as Dcubed. I think some of it has to do with the whole digital games/films/shows can be removed at any moment from said service and you don't always own it. So I want to keep anything I download, as such, I don't like deleting said games. Obviously I have had to archive a few games on the Switch as I just don't have the room on both internal and SD memory. But There's some games that would allow 7-8GB of free space that I just don't want to delete in that rare instance that I think "ooh I want to play that".

Another reason why I hate all this moving to all digital media. you feel like you just don't own anything anymore.

[Hero-of-Time]

43 minutes ago, Julius said:

@BowserBasher @Dcubed do you guys not uninstall games after completing/finish them? No judgement here, but I feel like uninstalling a game after completing it (to whatever extent) is one of gaming's greatest dopamine releases! 

Yup. I love it. As soon as the platinum is earned or game is complete, then away it goes. I like keeping my home screen games to a minium. I only have a couple of games on there at a time. Its stops me jumping from game to game and allows me to focus on the task at hand.

It confuses me why people say they need bigger storage. Just how many of these games that you have downloaded and taking space are you actually playing?

[nekunando]

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

No.  I hate having to delete games, it makes it feel like a wasted purchase for me.

I love having access to everything on the one console at once, and when I have to start emptying the fridge; it feels like I'm just throwing food away.  It's also a complete PITA to have to keep swapping games in and out, especially when you're having to wait hours to download those massive 100GB+ titles; makes it so that you can't just jump in and out of them as you please without any friction (which is half the point of having digital games in the first place!).

On other consoles, I don't have all that much of an emotional attachment to most games on those systems, but I value my Nintendo titles far more; especially since they're typically my primary consoles.

I'm pretty much with Dean on this one!

I like everything to be available if the mood strikes and there are, of course, many games that will always be there to go between throughout the lifecycle of the console (Mario Kart being one of the most obvious).

There are certainly games that don't need to be kept around and I'm happy enough to archive them when I'm finished. Red Dead Redemption was the most recent example of that for me!

I don't feel like the 512GB card is going to be anywhere near enough for me personally so I'll have to hold out until at least 1TB but ideally 2TB. I imagine that is a few years away, unfortunately, and the lack of storage will impact what Switch 1 games I bring along for the ride.

With all of the Game Key nonsense and whatever else, it's looking like digital is the way forward for me on Switch 2 and that too will have an impact on how little space is available.

Normally, I'd have the majority of first party releases on cartridge but those will now also be downloaded. Thankfully, Nintendo usually keep the file sizes down!

One relief I have is that I was tempted to buy a 1.5TB Micro SD last year on sale in preparation for Switch 2 but something told me that it just may not be compatible. That has turned out to be the case!

Having said that, I'd have been happy to sling it into my Switch OLED and have absolutely everything downloaded at last 😅

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yup. I love it. As soon as the platinum is earned or game is complete, then away it goes.

I bet some of your games take longer to download than they exist on your console the speed at which you get through them!

[Julius]

2 hours ago, Dcubed said:

No.  I hate having to delete games, it makes it feel like a wasted purchase for me.

I love having access to everything on the one console at once, and when I have to start emptying the fridge; it feels like I'm just throwing food away.

Ah, I suppose for me I view it more as having a hankering for ice cream (purchase/wishlist) and then grabbing the ice cream out the freezer (playing the game) – I'm going to have a great time, very likely finish it, and then throw it away when I'm done (I suppose in a digital sense I have the option to fish it back out the bin...but I'll leave the analogy there at the risk of a hygiene scare )

2 hours ago, Dcubed said:

It's also a complete PITA to have to keep swapping games in and out, especially when you're having to wait hours to download those massive 100GB+ titles; makes it so that you can't just jump in and out of them as you please without any friction (which is half the point of having digital games in the first place!).

I mean, I totally agree – though, genuine question, how many 100GB+ titles are on Switch? The 100GB+ games I download on my PS5 are either single player games which are played and then deleted, or multiplayer games I play with my friends and so stay on the console until I feel like I've not played it in a long enough time that deleting it doesn't hurt (unless it's Monster Hunter World because TWICE my friends have given up on that game, the traitors!). Having a launch PS5 did mean I had to pick up a 1TB SSD expansion during the Black Friday deals last year purely because two of those big multiplayer games being installed leaves me with no space for anything else, but 4 years into the console's life I found myself paying much less than those who forked out for the same thing early into the console's life (and a newer and faster SSD, at that). 

I don't mind it too much with single-player games, but you mention removing that friction, and I do find myself leaning towards digital purchases when it comes to multiplayer games these days for that very reason – purely because of the opportunity to pre-install, the fact that they can be in rotation, etc. It's always funny hearing my friends shuffle about for a disc for a game like GTA V  then again, some of them don't even use Rest Mode and so can sometimes spend the start of sessions installing a console or game update, so I don't know what to tell you 

I think Mario Kart World is a perfect example of a game I mulled over going digital for, but I just didn't play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online enough (read: at all) to feel like I needed it there all the time 

2 hours ago, Dcubed said:

On other consoles, I don't have all that much of an emotional attachment to most games on those systems, but I value my Nintendo titles far more; especially since they're typically my primary consoles.

I think that's totally fair 

(not that the rest isn't, by the way, but I guess I relate to this part specifically the most!) 

2 hours ago, BowserBasher said:

I think some of it has to do with the whole digital games/films/shows can be removed at any moment from said service and you don't always own it.

[...]

Another reason why I hate all this moving to all digital media. you feel like you just don't own anything anymore.

While I think it's exceedingly rare that a game is removed without any sort of warning (shows and films on streaming services seem to be in and out of rotation with fairly frightening frequency), I totally hear and agree with you on this. Am I right in thinking that both you and @Dcubed are mostly/all digital these days? I think I can understand wanting so much more space if that's the case, because you're right, that potential to lose access to things you've bought sucks. 

It's why I'm still struggling so much with the thought of transitioning to digital. Obviously when I delete a game these days, a lot of them do require access to the internet during reinstall for updates or to complete the download of the game (the Game Key Card situation is rampant on Xbox and PlayStation), and so really, there is still that potential to even lose access to physical games that you do "own". 

I think it's understandably part of the reason why so many people on here still keep their physical collections, and why the value of retro games only seems to be going up. I don't think it's just the catalyst that COVID was for every hobby to up its pricing, it's the fact that I can own something in an age where so much seems disposable. 

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yup. I love it. As soon as the platinum is earned or game is complete, then away it goes. I like keeping my home screen games to a minium. I only have a couple of games on there at a time. Its stops me jumping from game to game and allows me to focus on the task at hand.

Yeah, I think for me, it does exactly what you mention: it focuses me on what I'm playing now, or makes me give more attention to what I'm taking the time to install (even physical games can take their time installing these days!) and be more selective and purposeful with how I use that space. Every time I sit down to install a few games at a time to fill that space up, it really feels like I'm curating the next few games from my (physical or digital) shelf that I'm going to get to, or plan to get to in the not-so-distant future. 

You know, kind of like the folders that every platform holder decided to leave behind in the transition to this gen?  

1 hour ago, nekunando said:

Normally, I'd have the majority of first party releases on cartridge but those will now also be downloaded. Thankfully, Nintendo usually keep the file sizes down!

There are quite a few technical wizards in the industry these days and I really don't think their wizardry is given the appreciation it deserves. Nintendo's handling of first-party titles is super high on that list for me, it drops my jaw to think that a collection of PS1 remasters on modern systems take up nearly as much space as something like Breath of the Wild! 

 

I'm super curious to hear how others are handling their Switch/current systems storage, and plan to handle their Switch 2 storage in the future. I think these rare insights into how we all game a bit differently are always super refreshing 

[BowserBasher]

52 minutes ago, Julius said:

While I think it's exceedingly rare that a game is removed without any sort of warning (shows and films on streaming services seem to be in and out of rotation with fairly frightening frequency), I totally hear and agree with you on this. Am I right in thinking that both you and @Dcubed are mostly/all digital these days?

Totally the opposite with me. Sorry if that was confusing. If a game has a physical release then I’ll be getting that. There are only a few exceptions, one of the main ones was Let’s Go Eevee as that was bought with a eshop gift card. The others will be eshop only releases, or a few that went on a huge sale on the eshop that couldn’t be passed on. Recently I’ve bought two more just to use up the remaining gold points. 

[darksnowman]

4 hours ago, Dcubed said:

No.  I hate having to delete games, it makes it feel like a wasted purchase for me.

AGREED. Carts are within reaching distance and eShop games remain downloaded at all times. Demos join the download queue then eventually go in the archive to make way for more.

If I saw games as throwaway, I'd have stumped up for the Kingdom Hearts cloud editions.

1 hour ago, Julius said:

Ah, I suppose for me I view it more as having a hankering for ice cream (purchase/wishlist) and then grabbing the ice cream out the freezer (playing the game) – I'm going to have a great time, very likely finish it, and then throw it away when I'm done (I suppose in a digital sense I have the option to fish it back out the bin...but I'll leave the analogy there at the risk of a hygiene scare )

If it's not the fridge, it's the freezer.  

On 10/12/2007 at 10:16 PM, Helmsly said:

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/10/interview-perri.html

Quote

WN: Another issue that’s coming down the pipe as more and more content appears on Virtual Console and with Wii Ware coming out is the issue of space on the Wii. You can’t run stuff off of the SD card. It all has to be on the onboard memory. Are you looking at solutions to expand this?

PK: I think that Nintendo loves to have a really clean approach to what they’re doing, and the idea is to not have too much of a packrat syndrome, where you’ve got so much stuff stacked up that… you want to just have products that you’re actually going to continue to use. Virtual Console’s a really good idea. And it’s on the server, so one Chris Kohler purchases it, it’s always his. You can download it again. So it’s a matter of what do I want to play today. I think we also did the tradeoff: for the price, the size, the flexibility of the system, for us to do all kinds of things. Instead of having a huge box.

WN: At the same time, my memory is full. I went to download the Neo Geo games, and it’s like, “you need x blocks of memory.” So it’s like playing a puzzle game, and I have to look at all my memory and think, what do I not want anymore, okay, I’ll move it over here… And it’s a laborious process. There’s just no plans to change this right now?

PK: We’re always talking. But if your refrigerator’s full, you’ve got to pull something out and put something else back in. That’s just the normal issue of space. I mean, really, are you using every single thing on there?

[Dcubed]

3 hours ago, Julius said:

I mean, I totally agree – though, genuine question, how many 100GB+ titles are on Switch? The 100GB+ games I download on my PS5 are either single player games which are played and then deleted, or multiplayer games I play with my friends and so stay on the console until I feel like I've not played it in a long enough time that deleting it doesn't hurt (unless it's Monster Hunter World because TWICE my friends have given up on that game, the traitors!). Having a launch PS5 did mean I had to pick up a 1TB SSD expansion during the Black Friday deals last year purely because two of those big multiplayer games being installed leaves me with no space for anything else, but 4 years into the console's life I found myself paying much less than those who forked out for the same thing early into the console's life (and a newer and faster SSD, at that).

As far as I know, the largest Switch 1 game is NBA 2K24 Kobe Bryant Edition (Which is 59.2 GB).  The largest game I personally own is Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Mega Mix (Which is 39.2GB with all the DLC... That's actually pretty funny.  If you know, you know).  But this is a common problem I have to deal with on PC/Steam Deck; as games often go above 100GB there, and games of that level of file size will be common on Switch 2; as games start to incorporate PS5/PC level 4K resolution assets.

3 hours ago, Julius said:

While I think it's exceedingly rare that a game is removed without any sort of warning (shows and films on streaming services seem to be in and out of rotation with fairly frightening frequency), I totally hear and agree with you on this. Am I right in thinking that both you and @Dcubed are mostly/all digital these days? I think I can understand wanting so much more space if that's the case, because you're right, that potential to lose access to things you've bought sucks. 

I do primarily buy digital, but I'm also one of those weirdos who likes also buying additional physical copies as well for collection/archival purposes.  I have a complete digital and physical collection for all of my 3DS and Wii U games, and I'm glad I went that route (I actually switched from physical to digital halfway through the generation).

Quite frankly, I just find myself actually playing and enjoying games much more in digital form; because it really does take that friction away that you mentioned earlier.  It's just so much more convininent and it encourages you to just enjoy playing more games.  It's also a godsend for a handheld device in particular; since you can carry your entire game collection with you so easily.

But I said to myself early on in the Switch's life that I would go all digital this time and just wait until the end of the generation to scoop up the physical games I want on the cheap, and when you have reprints that include all the post-release updates and DLC on the cart already.  That proved to be 100% the right decision for me.

In fact, I actually do the same with my retro consoles, as I have my full personal libraries of games for all of my older consoles also ripped and available to play digitally on modded devices; like my ODE modded GCN...

Welcome to the future!

... but at the same time, I still have all my original GCN discs that I can just pull down from the shelf and use with my unmodded console as I please...

Those shelves go deep...

At a certain point, it just starts to become a PITA to actually rummage through the shelves to actually get to the games you want to play; especially when you're in the mood to just play a quick game of something like Super Monkey Ball.  It's why I also own Everdrives for the GB, GBA and N64; and I also have a MiSTer and Analogue Pocket for all of the platforms supported on there too (plus the ability to play ROM hacks on real hardware is nice too of course!).

I get to have the best of both worlds.  The convinience of digital, but also the permenace, collectability and furniture vibes of owning physical games.  I feel it's a bit sad to have a huge library of games, but not have anything tangible on your shelves to admire/lend/pass down/enjoy; but at the same time? I acknowledge that when I actually want to play one of my games, I'm much more likely to play the digital copy instead because it's just so much more convinient.

3 hours ago, Julius said:

There are quite a few technical wizards in the industry these days and I really don't think their wizardry is given the appreciation it deserves. Nintendo's handling of first-party titles is super high on that list for me, it drops my jaw to think that a collection of PS1 remasters on modern systems take up nearly as much space as something like Breath of the Wild! 

Yup, it's something Nintendo have always been good at, and it will continue paying dividends on Switch 2 going forward.

3 hours ago, Julius said:

I'm super curious to hear how others are handling their Switch/current systems storage, and plan to handle their Switch 2 storage in the future. I think these rare insights into how we all game a bit differently are always super refreshing 

I love a good games room showcase, but I'm hopefully due to move out this year into somewhere a lot bigger where I can really make a proper setup, so my showcase will probably have to wait a bit longer.

Edited yesterday at 07:01 PM by Dcubed

[RedShell]

10 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

But this is a common problem I have to deal with on PC/Steam Deck; as games often go above 100GB there, and games of that level of file size will be common on Switch 2; as games start to incorporate PS5/PC level 4K resolution assets.

Not sure how legit this list is, but these are apparently file sizes for the following Switch 2 titles:

Quote

• Deltarune – 650 MB
• Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour – 2.0 GB
• Tamagotchi Plaza – 2.2 GB
• Survival Kids – 2.5 GB
• Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics – 3.5 GB
• Fast Fusion – 3.9 GB
• Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 S – 3.9 GB
• Shine Post: Be Your Idol! – 7.4 GB
• Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar – 7.8 GB
• Donkey Kong Bananza – 9.7 GB
• Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars – 10.7 GB
• Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster – 11.0 GB
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World – 11.4 GB
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess – 11.7 GB
• Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV – 13.0 GB
• Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army – 17.0 GB
• Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma – 18.5 GB
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 19.9 GB
• Mario Kart World – 23.4 GB
• Sonic X Shadow Generations – 23.4 GB
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 24.1 GB
• Sonic X Shadow Generations Digital Deluxe Edition – 24.4 GB
• Fortnite – 29.2 GB
• Yakuza 0 Director's Cut – 47.0 GB
• Street Fighter 6 – 48.8 GB
• Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition – 56.8 GB
• Hitman World of Assassination – 61.5 GB
• Split Fiction – 73.0 GB

Pretty impressive compression if true.

15 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

I have my full personal libraries of games for all of my older consoles also ripped and available to play digitally

I'm currently in the process of doing this myself, just recently finished doing all of my GBA and GCN stuff (luckily there seems to have been no disc rot) and am moving on to Wii next.

Was really chuffed to get all of my original save data backed up as well.
The weeds in my Animal Crossing town though!

[Dcubed]

14 minutes ago, RedShell said:

Not sure how legit this list is, but these are apparently file sizes for the following Switch 2 titles:

Pretty impressive compression if true.

I'm currently in the process of doing this myself, just recently finished doing all of my GBA and GCN stuff (luckily there seems to have been no disc rot) and am moving on to Wii next.

Was really chuffed to get all of my original save data backed up as well.
The weeds in my Animal Crossing town though!

Nice! Are you using a modded Wii U to play them by any chance?

One of my Wii Us is modded to have all of my ripped GCN and Wii games running off the Wii U Menu, and it's so sick!

Not my photo, but you get the idea of what it looks like

Obviously, the Wii U includes real Wii/GCN hardware; so the games all just run perfectly.  You even get full Wii U Gamepad support for the GCN games too (buttons and all!).  They all load up as if they were official Wii digital titles from the eShop, so it all looks and feels 100% OEM official.  It's quite a bit of work to get it all up and running, but totally worth the effort!  Absolutely the best way to play Wii games currently 

Edited yesterday at 07:53 PM by Dcubed

[Ashley]

12 hours ago, Dcubed said:

One of my Wii Us is modded to have all of my ripped GCN and Wii games running off the Wii U Menu, and it's so sick!

Does it make the GameCube startup sound? If not it's a downgrade. 

[RedShell]

15 hours ago, Dcubed said:

Nice! Are you using a modded Wii U to play them by any chance?

Nope, only Dolphin on PC. Can still use official GCN/Wii controllers with it though so it feels mostly like playing on original hardware.
I recently started dabbling with RetroArch as well, which provides more organised and visually appealing ways of sorting multiple systems/games, lots of options though, perhaps too many. Some fantastic filters on there also, including a few incredibly authentic looking CRT ones.

I do like the look of that modded Wii U setup you posted, but no longer have the patience to get something like that up and running. Very cool though.

 

Anyway, just to chime in on the topic of uninstalling games upon completion, as far as Switch goes, I mostly remove anything I've already completed.
The games that I keep permanently installed are Smash Bros. Ultimate, Animal Crossing, Super Mario Maker 2, and the NSO stuff. Everything else has been archived. In fact, I don't think there's even enough space on my micro SD card to have everything installed simultaneously. 

I imagine I'll follow a similar routine on Switch 2. However, with the new exorbitant software prices, I might end up not having to delete anything at all.

[Cube]

14 minutes ago, RedShell said:

Nope, only Dolphin on PC. Can still use official GCN/Wii controllers with it though so it feels mostly like playing on original hardware.

And, if you have a BIOS linked, you get the startup sound as well. 

[Dcubed]

5 hours ago, Ashley said:

Does it make the GameCube startup sound? If not it's a downgrade. 

Yes it does actually!  The GCN startup sound just so happens to be the perfect length for the loading screen… almost as if Nintendo originally intended to make this an official Wii U feature before the system’s life was cut short…