Macronics is one of the largest manufacturers of non-volatile memory chips on the planet. This Taiwanese company makes NOR Flash, NAND Flash and ROM memory, though Their sales differ widely from one type of integrated circuit to another. In the third quarter of 2026, its ROM chip revenue fell 39% year over year. However, its turnover from NOR and NAND memory sales increased by 158% and 768% respectively during this period.
NAND flash memory is used in SSD drives and some electronic devices as well as embedded systems and industrial storage solutions. They are currently in high demand in data centers. or flash chips are used in communication equipment, industrial electronics, cars and electronic devices. They are also in high demand by data centers
ROM memory, however, is used to store firmware and other permanent data of electronic devices, vehicles, PC motherboards, industrial equipment and telecommunications systems. They are also used in video game cartridges. Given the huge difference in demand for its NOR, NAND and ROM chips, Macronics has made a decision: it’s going to phase out ROM memory. And those are what Nintendo uses in its cartridges for the Switch and Switch 2.
Nintendo’s physical format is safe at the moment
Macronics won’t phase out production of ROM chips because they’re no longer viable; It is going to focus on the production of NOR and NAND memory because its production capacity is limited and it can make more profit by making these latest chips. All of this. The company has its own 8- and 12-inch wafer processing plants, but data centers, at the moment, are changing its priorities as the insatiable appetite for artificial intelligence (AI) changes. Like many other companies.
A reduction in the number of suppliers may increase cartridge manufacturing costs
So, what will happen to the Nintendo Cartridge in the short and medium term? At the moment everything seems to indicate that nothing will happen. Macronics is an important supplier of ROM memory for the Kyoto company, but Not the only company from which it buys such semiconductors. Nintendo is a client of Japanese ROHM and its subsidiary Lapis Semiconductor, so the supply of ROM chips seems assured for now.
However, the imminent absence of macronics from the market for these integrated circuits introduces additional difficulties in Nintendo’s supply chain and greater reliance on manufacturers that continue to produce these components. In addition, the reduction in the number of suppliers could increase the production costs of the cartridges, so there is a possibility, although it is only a guess at the moment, that physical format games for the Switch and Switch 2 will become more expensive.
I suspect that for many gamers the prospect of Nintendo finally deciding to abandon the physical format makes us shudder. Let’s hope this moment never comes. Or, at least, it takes a long time to arrive. The worst that could happen to us is that Lapis Semiconductor decides to follow in the footsteps of Macronics in the medium term and leave the ROM chip market. nevertheless, This semiconductor is essentialSo it is unacceptable that all chip makers stop their production. Nintendo, we’re in your hands.
Picture | Xataka
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