Saw this on one of the VGC's Zergnet ads:
Cartridges Mean Switch Games Will Always Cost More
The same game will cost more on Switch than PS4 simply because it is more expensive to produce cartridges than optical discs.
It's a bit older (2017) but it's still interesting. My question: Is this true? Aren't Switch carts just a proprietary flash card? Can't publishers reuse flash media if the games don't sell? Wouldn't that make the games less risky, resulting in lower prices?
Also there's this line:
Regardless of whether you burn 5GB or 40GB to a Blu-ray disc the media costs the same. Switch cartridges on the other hand, escalate in price depending on whether you need 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of storage. They also get more expensive per cartridge the smaller the batch ordered.
Now, I see a few problems here. First, aren't all BluRays at least 25 gigabytes? If so, isn't a 5gig game wasting a ton of memory? And don't disk manufacturers charge more for smaller batches? I know there's a set up cost to press disks; you wouldn't have that with a flash cart.