Still limping along
This doesn’t mean that Nintendo is following Sony into a world without physical game production. On the contrary, the Switch manufacturer said last month that it had no plans to abandon game cartridges in the near future. But these cartridges may become more expensive to produce as Nintendo is forced to rely on suppliers like Rohm and Lapis Semiconductor for its remaining ROM chips.
That could have an impact on the prices that publishers also charge for physical Switch cartridges. Earlier this year, Nintendo began charging more for some physical games than for the equivalent digital download. And last year, the Japanese publisher Inin only committed to a full Switch cartridge release R-Type Dimensions III after it said “two new smaller cartridges [storage capacity] Sizes for Nintendo Switch 2″ have the cost to produce these carts.
On the other hand, Gibson notes that the sale of digital software represents 61.5 percent of Nintendo’s business in the second calendar quarter of 2026, slightly more than the previous year. If this number continues to rise, less demand for ROM-based Nintendo cartridges may eventually offset the costs involved over time.