A Nintendo Game Card is a proprietary
flash storage
Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both use ...
-based format used to physically distribute
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s for certain
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
systems. The game cards resemble both smaller and thinner versions of Hudson's
HuCard
The is a ROM cartridge in the form of a card, designed by Hudson Soft for NEC's PC Engine and PC Engine SuperGrafx video game consoles, which were originally released in 1987 and 1989, respectively. In the United States, where the PC Engine w ...
, the storage medium for the
PC-Engine
The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, though ...
, and the
Game Pak
Game Pak is the brand name for ROM cartridges designed by Nintendo for some of their earlier video game systems. The "Game Pak" moniker was officially used only in North America, Europe, and Oceania. In Japan, as well as other Asian territories and ...
ROM cartridge
A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, electroni ...
s used for previous portable gaming consoles released by Nintendo, such as the
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
and
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
.
The mask ROM chips are manufactured by
Macronix
Macronix International Co., Ltd. (MCIX; often shortened to Macronix) is an integrated device manufacturer in the non-volatile memory (NVM) market. The company manufactures NOR Flash, NAND Flash, and ROM products for the consumer, communication ...
and have an access speed of 150
ns.
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS Game Card
Cards for the Nintendo DS ranged from 64
megabits
The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information. The prefix mega (symbol M) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 106 (1 million), and therefore
:1 megabit = = = 1000 kilobits.
The megabit h ...
to 4
gigabits
The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented a ...
(8–512
MB) in capacity The cards contain an integrated
flash memory
Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both us ...
for game data and an
EEPROM
EEPROM (also called E2PROM) stands for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or as a ...
to save user data such as game progress or high scores. However, there are a small number of games that have no save memory such as ''
Electroplankton
is an interactive music video game developed by indieszero and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console, handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan in 2005, and was later released in North America and Eur ...
''.
According to an
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
blog by
Backbone Entertainment
Backbone Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. The company was formed in 2003 as the result of a merger between developers Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine. In 2005, Backbone merged with The Collect ...
, the developer of ''
MechAssault: Phantom War'', larger (such as 128 MB) cards have a 25% slower data transfer rate than the more common smaller (such as 64 MB) cards; however, the specific base rate was not mentioned.
Nintendo DSi Game Card
In 2008, the
Nintendo DSi
The is a dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony In ...
was launched. The console offered various hardware improvements and additional functions over previous Nintendo DS iterations, such as the inclusion of cameras. While many Nintendo DS titles released afterwards included features that enhanced gameplay when played on the Nintendo DSi console, most of these games retained compatibility with the original DS iterations. However, a select few retail game titles were released that worked exclusively for the Nintendo DSi consoles for reasons such as requiring camera functions, and these titles have game cards with white-colored casings (all DSi-exclusive games are region locked). Examples of such game cards include ''
Picture Perfect Hair Salon''. While these white game cards can be physically inserted into original Nintendo DS consoles, their software did not function due to the missing hardware features and will display an error message. These DSi-exclusive game cards are fully compatible with the Nintendo 3DS family.
Prior to the release of the Nintendo DSi, Nintendo encouraged developers to release DSi-exclusive games as
DSiWare
This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 2011 ...
downloadables instead of retail game cards that would not function on older Nintendo DS consoles.
Infrared support
![Pokémon Black Version Translucent Cartridge Demonstration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Pok%C3%A9mon_Black_Version_Translucent_Cartridge_Demonstration.jpg)
Despite all iterations of the Nintendo DS line lacking native
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
support, certain titles made use of this type of communication function using game cards with their own infrared transceivers. These game cards are generally glossier and darker than common Nintendo DS game cards, and reveal their translucency when exposed to light. Examples of such game cards include ''
Personal Trainer: Walking'' and ''
Active Health With Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman, HonFIET (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh media personality, best known for appearing on the game show ''Countdown'' for 26 years from 1982 until 2008, as a newspaper columnist and nominal author of educational and diet ...
'', which connect to the included pedometers,
''Pokémon HeartGold'' and ''SoulSilver'', which connect to the included
Pokéwalker
This is a list of Nintendo DS accessories.
Accessories for the Nintendo DS often came in two forms: those that worked with Slot 1 as a regular DS cartridge, and those that worked in Slot 2 (for Game Boy Advance cartridges) known as a "DS Option ...
accessory, and
''Pokémon Black'' and ''White'' and
''Pokémon Black 2'' and ''White 2'', which connect DS systems facing each other.
Although all iterations of the
Nintendo 3DS family
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generation ...
support native infrared functions, Nintendo DS games still use the infrared-enabled game cards themselves when played on a 3DS system, reserving the native infrared for Nintendo 3DS-specific software.
Nintendo 3DS
Game cards for the Nintendo 3DS are from 1 to 8
gigabyte
The gigabyte () is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix ''giga'' means 109 in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one gigabyte is one billion bytes. The unit symbol for the gigabyte is GB.
This defini ...
s in size, with 2 GB of game data at launch.
They look very similar to DS game cards, but are incompatible and have a small tab on one side to prevent them from being inserted into a DS, DS lite, or a DSi.
Nintendo Switch
![Nintendo-Switch-Cartridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Nintendo-Switch-Cartridge.jpg)
The
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
uses non-volatile flash memory technology similar to SD cards that are officially called ''game cards.'' These are distinct technologies from volatile game cartridges that are similar to RAM boards. This iteration is smaller and has a larger storage capacity than its previous versions.
Despite its similarities, the Switch is not compatible with DS and 3DS cards. The game cards used in the Switch are non-writable and save data are stored in the console's internal memory, unlike DS and 3DS game cards, which are writable and able to store save data.
Because of their small size, Nintendo Switch game cards are coated with
denatonium benzoate
Denatonium, usually available as denatonium benzoate (under trade names such as Denatrol, BITTERANT-b, BITTER+PLUS, ''Bitrex'', and ''Aversion'') and as denatonium saccharide (BITTERANT-s), is the most bitter chemical compound known, with bitternes ...
, a non-toxic
bitterant
A bitterant (or bittering agent) is a chemical that is added to a product to make it smell or taste bitter. Bitterants are commonly used as aversive agents to discourage the inhalation or ingestion of toxic substances.
Examples of use
*The addit ...
, as a safety precaution against accidental consumption by young children.
Videos of users intentionally tasting game cards and reacting with disgust at the taste became a
meme
A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
prior to the console's launch, which originated from
Jeff Gerstmann
Jeff Gerstmann (born August 1, 1975) is an American video game journalist. Former editorial director of the gaming website ''GameSpot'' and the co-founder/editor of the gaming website ''Giant Bomb'', Gerstmann began working at ''GameSpot'' in th ...
's actions on a ''
Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...
'' webcast.
The cards come in a variety of capacities: 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB.
64 GB cards were planned to be introduced in the second half of 2018, but due to unspecified circumstances, Nintendo delayed the launch of this variant to 2019, and then delayed it again to 2020. The 64 GB cards were then released in 2020 after being delayed for two years and are made using XtraROM technology from Macronix.
References
{{Nintendo hardware
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo hardware
Nintendo Switch
Products introduced in 2004
Video game distribution
Video game storage media