Nintendo ROM chip supplier Macronix quits to focus on chips for AI data centers

The death of physical games could be getting closer as Macronix, one of Nintendo’s key ROM chip suppliers for Switch and Switch 2 game cartridges, is reportedly shutting down its ROM business to focus on manufacturing NOR and NAND flash chips to supply data centers, multiple reports claim. Storage is already becoming expensive, and Macronix’s move may force Nintendo to increase cartridge prices, produce more Game-Key cards, or lean more towards digital purchases.

"Nintendo's main memory chip maker is quitting the Switch business," MST Financial David Gibson reports on X. "Macronix, which makes the ROM chips in Switch 1 and Switch 2 game memory cards, is phasing out that business. There will be no new ROM products, and Q3 is the last quarter it reports ROM sales separately."