Nintendo Patents Watch

Three patents regarding the Switch 2 Game Card have been published. This thread is only a quick intro. Click the links at the end of the post for details.

The new Game Card includes two memory areas (#11 in image below), one for NS2 data and one for NS1, each with a different encryption.

The CPU (120; image below) inside card controller (12; image below) routes the data through NS2 circuit (121) or NS1 circuit (122) accordingly.

The two memory areas may contain:

• One program and data for NS2, and one program and data for NS1 (image 1 below)
• One program and data for NS2, and one universal program and universal data (image 2)
• One program and data for NS2, and one simple program and data to display incompatible error message on NS1 (image 3)

When Game Card 2 is inserted in NS2 console (image below):

• NS2 data is passed to SoC unaltered (52 & 53)
• NS1 data is converted from NS1 format to NS2 format by a converter (54), before being sent to SoC

When Game Card 1 is inserted in NS2 console (image below):

• All data goes through the converter (54)

When Game Card 2 is inserted in NS1 console (image below):

• Inside the card, only memory area 2 is accessed (11), and NS1 circuit is used (12)
• The console recognizes the card as Game Card 1, and uses it as normal

To maintain forward and backward compatibility, the pinouts of Game Card 2 (3rd column in image 1 below) and Game Card 1 (4th column) are identical except:

• Terminal 4 on NS2 is commend/response, and on NS1 is chip-enable
• All data pins switch between NS2 and NS1 data formats

As shown in Welcome Tour and the card’s design registration, there’s a small notch at the lower right on Game Card 2. The card reader on NS2 console contains a switch (P17 & 512; image 1 below) to detect it. When Game Card 1 is inserted in NS2 console, the card pushes the switch close (P17 & 512; image 2), thus identifying itself as Game Card 1.

And as in the Game Card 1 patents, these new patents also include an embodiment of GC 2 equipped with a card slot to support removable media, such as an SD card (11; image below). This is only to expand the coverage and protection of the patents, and does not suggest a real product.

Patents: WO2025169308, WO2025169309, and WO2025169310

[Originally posted on 2025-08-14 Pacific Time]

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Related posts:

• Game Card 2 Speed
• Game Cards 1 & 2 Compatibility