After months of anticipation, leaks, and speculation, the Nintendo Switch 2 is officially here. Unveiled on June 5th, the new hybrid console marks a significant leap forward for Nintendo, promising gamers more powerful hardware, sharper visuals, and a richer lineup of titles. The system launches alongside a wave of significant updates and re-releases, including enhanced versions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
What’s quickly becoming clear is that Switch 2 is not just a hardware upgrade—it’s a redefinition of Nintendo’s ecosystem. New features like GameChat (a Discord-style voice interface) and the revamped Pro Controller signal a more social and competitive direction, while the shift in physical game media may be the most disruptive change of all.
Game Cards Shrink, Downloads Grow
Nintendo is pushing a new hybrid release format with “Game-Key Cards”—small cartridges that primarily contain activation data, requiring users to download most of the game’s actual content. While convenient for publishers, it creates a new burden for players: massive file sizes. For example, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom clocks in at 16.3 GB, while Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition weighs a hefty 59.4 GB. The direction is clear: as games grow more ambitious, so too will their storage demands.
To keep up, Nintendo has opted to support the SD Express 7.1 standard for memory expansion—a significant departure from previous generations. This new technology, built on PCIe Gen3 x1 and NVMe, supports blistering read/write speeds, outpacing traditional UHS-II microSD cards. It’s a move designed to reduce loading times, accelerate downloads, and future-proof the console against ever-larger game assets.
ADATA’s SD Express Card: Built for the Switch 2 Era
Among the early memory card options already confirmed to be compatible with Switch 2 is ADATA’s Premier Extreme microSDXC SD Express 7.1. Featuring read speeds up to 800MB/s and write speeds up to 700MB/s, the card is tailored for high-performance scenarios, like installing updates for large open-world games or capturing 4K gameplay clips without hiccups. Internally, it uses the Silicon Motion SM2708 controller and has already passed Switch 2 compatibility testing.
But the real story isn’t just speeds and feeds—it’s what that performance enables. With more third-party studios turning to fully digital releases, and more titles supporting expansive DLC and multiplayer features, a card like this transitions from “optional upgrade” to “essential companion.” Especially for players planning to juggle Fortnite’s multiplayer, No Man’s Sky’s cross-platform support, or frequent system updates for titles like Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Echoes of Wisdom, that extra bandwidth will be vital.
Performance Updates Across the Board
Nintendo is also rolling out a wave of performance patches for existing titles. Games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, and Super Mario 3D All-Stars are receiving Switch 2 optimization updates aimed at improving frame rates, stability, and overall gameplay smoothness. Though the company hasn’t detailed the technical changes, the upgrades appear focused on taking advantage of the console’s beefed-up internals.
As the dust settles from launch day, it’s becoming clear that Switch 2 represents more than a hardware refresh—it’s a platform evolution. With sharper games, bigger downloads, and an ecosystem leaning heavily into digital and connected experiences, players will need speed, space, and stability to keep up.
