Regarding David Gibson’s sloppy report of Macronix (旺宏) phasing out Switch ROM business (img below, URL in alt text):
- First of all, let me assure everyone that the supply of Switch 2 Game Cards is not in jeopardy.
- Macronix does not supply Game Card 2—they are produced by Rohm (ローム) and another unidentified supplier.
- As I shared before, Macronix and MegaChips (メガチップス; they are partners in Nintendo ROM business) were unable to get their controller IC for Game Card 2 certified by Nintendo, thus shutting them out of the business.
- What being phased out is Macronix Switch 1 Game Card production, for which it’s just one of three makers, therefore not even the supply of Game Card 1 is in any danger.
Not only Macronix hasn’t been Nintendo’s “main” memory maker—as Gibson categorized—for quite some time now, but whether it’s “quitting” willingly is also debatable. In the company’s most recent earnings conference, Macronix executives cagily gave conflicting reasons for the discontinuation:
- VP Yeh: “due to being crowded out”
- Chairman Wu: “due to limited resources”
I think that it’s a little from column A and a little from column B. Since Macronix is unable to win Game Card 2 contracts (“crowded out”) and also fully selling out its NOR and eMMC productions (“limited resources”; thanks to the data center boom), discontinuing its ROM business is the logical conclusion.
IIRC, Macronix and MegaChips have been supplying Nintendo ROM products since 1994, so this is the end of an era. It also left MegaChips in a precarious position. The latter’s next earnings call will be interesting, to say the least.
P.S.: This is the level of work David Gibson—a real stock analyst—regularly exhibits. A few more examples below. Famiboards sleuths can cite many more.
Related:
- Physical Switch Games Still Outsold Digital in FY2026-03
- Furukawa Affirms Commitment to Physical Media
[Originally posted on 2026-11-04 Pacific Time]
