# Nintendo’s biggest ROM chip supplier is bowing out of the business

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/nintendos-biggest-rom-chip-supplier-is-bowing-out-of-the-business/
- Published: 2026-11-04T22:47:51+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T00:05:41+00:00
- Original publisher: Ars Technica
- Original article: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/11/the-tech-memory-shortage-comes-for-nintendos-cartridge-supply-chain/
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming

## Key points

- Macronix is ending ROM chip production.
- Nintendo may need other cartridge suppliers.
- Physical Switch games could cost more to make.

## Summary

Macronix, described by an analyst as Nintendo’s main memory-chip maker for physical game cartridges, says its ROM chip production has reached its end and it will gradually leave the game industry. The change could make Switch and Switch 2 cartridges more costly to produce, with possible effects on the prices publishers charge.

Macronix’s ROM production fell 39 per cent over the past year and now accounts for 5 per cent of its business. The company says limited capacity and demand for more profitable NOR, NAND and eMMC chips are driving the shift; new capacity is expected to take at least a year to come online. Nintendo says it has no near-term plans to stop making cartridges, and may turn to suppliers such as Rohm and Lapis Semiconductor. Digital software made up 61.5 per cent of Nintendo’s business in the second quarter of 2026, which could eventually help offset cartridge costs if that share grows.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.