Nintendo's physical game cartridges may be facing another major change.
Macronix is a major supplier of ROM chips for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 game cartridges, but the company is currently planning to exit the ROM chip production business.
Macronix Plans to Exit the ROM Chip Market
Production halt: Macronix plans to stop producing ROM chips used in Nintendo game cartridges.
Final report: The third quarter of 2026 will be the last quarter in which the company separately reports ROM chip sales data.
Reason for exit: Continued decline in ROM business revenue, coupled with limited production capacity, has prompted the company to shift its investments to other areas.
ROHM takes over: ROHM will continue to supply ROM chips for Nintendo Switch 2 game cartridges.
What Will Be the Impact?
Nintendo may rely more heavily on other cartridge suppliers.
The importance of Game Key Cards and digital downloads may further increase.
Players may find it increasingly difficult to buy traditional physical cartridges containing full game content in the future.
This does not mean that Nintendo's physical games are about to disappear, but this change in the supply chain has once again raised concerns about the future of physical games.
Are physical game cartridges gradually becoming a thing of the past?
