Macronix, a major producer of physical cartridges for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, has announced that it will no longer develop new ROM products. The company has supplied ROM chips for the original Switch for years, with production continuing for Switch 2.
In its financial report, Macronix said ROM made up 5 percent of sales, down from 26 percent a year earlier. Its chairman said the company’s capacity is limited and is being directed toward NOR and eMMC memory chips instead. The third quarter will be the last for which Macronix reports ROM sales separately.
Analyst David Gibson noted that Macronix is not Nintendo’s only maker of game memory cards. Its decision therefore does not mean physical Nintendo games are being discontinued.
Gibson also pointed to the rising share of Nintendo software sales made digitally. Digital purchases represented 61.5 percent of software sales between April and June, up from 59.3 percent in the same period a year earlier. The share has ranged from 46.1 percent to 67.2 percent over the past year, with major physical releases able to affect the figure.
Sources: Nintendo Everything.