Macronix to phase out ROM chips used in Nintendo Switch cartridges

Taiwanese memory chip maker Macronix has announced it will gradually phase out ROM (read-only memory) production and concentrate on NOR flash memory for data centers. As a result, Japanese video game company Nintendo will lose a major supplier of memory for its Switch console game cartridges. The Verge reported the news, citing the Taipei Times.

The company made the announcement during a quarterly earnings call. Macronix's ROM revenue in the third quarter of 2026 fell 39 percent from a year earlier. Revenue from NOR memory rose 158 percent, while NAND memory revenue climbed 768 percent.

Demand for data center memory

Macronix chairman and CEO Miin Wu said on the call that demand for NOR memory used in data centers is very strong, with customers seeking more capacity and asking the company to deliver more NOR flash solutions. The company also reportedly expects chip price increases to continue.

Nintendo and physical games

Sony has previously announced that it will stop producing physical game discs from January 2028. Nintendo, by contrast, recently said it has no plans to abandon physical games. In August, the company said physical titles made up 38.5 percent of its game sales, a higher share than at companies such as Capcom.

Macronix's move comes nearly a year after US company Micron shut down Crucial, its consumer RAM and SSD brand, to focus on meeting demand from AI data centers.