This year marked a significant advancement in portable gaming technology, with Nintendo championing the microSD Express standard for its new Switch 2 console. Introduced in 2019, this standard had previously remained largely underutilized, primarily due to the abundant availability of cheaper non-Express microSD cards that sufficiently met user demands, combined with the fact that many devices did not support microSD Express cards.
The new Switch 2, however, necessitated performance levels comparable to internal SSDs to efficiently handle games, especially as it competes with powerful systems like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and X, and various PCs that are equipped with SSDs. Consequently, other manufacturers are now exploring innovative solutions to enhance the capabilities of removable storage.
Technology News reports that Biwin, a Chinese technology firm, has created a “Mini SSD,” measuring just 15 by 17 millimeters and boasting read speeds of up to 3,700MB per second via a dual-lane PCI Express 4.0 connection. While the current microSD Express standard can support similar peak speeds when utilizing two PCIe 4.0 lanes, many existing cards only reach up to 900MB per second, the bandwidth limit provided by a single PCI Express 3.0 lane.
Initially unveiled in March, Biwin’s Mini SSD employs LGA (Land Grid Array) packaging to fit NAND chips and an SSD controller onto these compact cards. They are designed to slip into small metal trays, mimicking the insertion process of SIM cards. According to Technology News, two Chinese-developed AMD-based handheld gaming devices—the GPD Win 5 and the OneXPlayer Super X—are both promoting compatibility with these Mini SSDs, which are expected to offer storage capacities ranging from 500GB to 2TB.
Although the Mini SSD is not yet a recognized formal standard, it addresses a pressing need within the portable gaming sector—providing fast storage solutions that enable game loading speeds close to that of internal SSDs without requiring users to open their devices for upgrades.
Why are game sizes increasing?
A 2023 report by TechSpot revealed that the size of video games has grown at an average annual rate of approximately 6.3GB from 2012 to 2023. While titles exceeding 100GB are uncommon, they are increasingly likely to appear. This growth can be attributed to advancements in graphic fidelity and the demand for higher-resolution textures suitable for 4K displays. Furthermore, TechSpot emphasized that storage requirements for narrative-heavy video games, such as The Last of Us Part 1, are significantly influenced by audio files and multi-language support.
“In total, nearly 17 GB of storage is needed for [The Last of Us] data unrelated to graphics,” noted author Nick Evanson. “That figure surpasses the entire size of any game included in our 2010 analysis! This trend holds true for many of the most substantial games we reviewed, as titles with extensive cinematics, dialogue, and localization tend to be significantly larger than others released in the same year.”
For a contemporary example, consider the installation sizes for the Mac edition of Cyberpunk 2077. While its versions available on platforms like Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG require around 92GB, the version on Apple’s App Store stretches to an astonishing 159GB due to its inclusion of all available voiceovers across different languages, a necessity stemming from App Store regulations that mandate all potential files be included during the review process.
The growing demand for rapid storage upgrades that sidestep the need for total disassembly of consoles or PCs is evident. Whether the future will see broader adoption of this new Mini SSD, advancements in microSD Express technology, or the emergence of another innovative storage format remains to be determined.