A Nintendo game card is a cartridge-based format used to physically distribute video games for certain Nintendo systems. The game cards resemble smaller, thinner versions of the Game Pak cartridges or other such as HuCard for previous portable gaming consoles released by Nintendo, such as the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance. The mask ROM chips are manufactured by Macronix and have an access speed of 150 ns.
Cards for the Nintendo DS ranged from 64 megabits to 4 gigabits in capacity The cards contain an integrated flash memory for game data and an EEPROM 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. According to an IGN blog by the developer of , larger cards have a 25% slower data transfer rate than the more common smaller cards; however, the specific base rate was not mentioned.
In 2008, the Nintendo DSi 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 sans enhanced features. 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. Examples of such game cards include Picture PerfectHair 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. 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 downloadables instead of retail game cards that would not function on older Nintendo DS consoles.
Infrared support
Despite all iterations of the Nintendo DS line lacking native infrared 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 and Active Health WithCarol Vorderman, which connect to the included pedometers, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, which connect to the included Pokéwalker accessory, and Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, which connect to other games. Although all iterations of the Nintendo 3DS family 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.
Game cards for the Nintendo 3DS are from 1 to 8 gigabytes 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.
The Nintendo Switch uses cartridges that are officially called Game Card. 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 is stored in the console's internal memory, unlike the DS and 3DS's game cards, which are writable and are able to store save data. Due to their size, the Game Cards are coated with denatonium benzoate, a non-toxic Bitterant, as a safety precaution against accidental consumption by young children. Videos of users intentionally tasting the cartridges and reacting with disgust at the taste became a meme prior to the console's launch, which originated from Jeff Gerstmann's actions on a Giant Bomb webcast. The cartridges come in a variety of capacities: 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8GB, 16 GB and 32 GB. 64 GB cartridges were planned to be introduced in the second half of 2018, but due to unspecified circumstances, Nintendo originally delayed the launch of this variant to 2019, then delayed again to 2020. 64 GB cartridges will use XtraROM technology from Macronix.
