Taiwanese memory maker Macronix International is gradually exiting ROM chip production used in Nintendo Switch game cartridges, shifting wafer capacity toward NOR and NAND flash for data centers and other higher-growth products, according to coverage of its third-quarter results^1,2,3.

Ars Technica, citing Macronix's earnings and Taiwanese reporting, said the company described ROM production as having reached its end and said it would begin gradually decoupling from the game industry¹. Engadget and The Verge, citing the Taipei Times, attributed the phase-out to chairman and chief executive Miin Wu^2,3.

ROM sales have fallen sharply. Ars Technica and The Verge both reported a 39 percent year-over-year decline, with ROM now about 5 percent of Macronix's business, down from 26 percent a year earlier in Engadget's account^1,2,3.

The company posted a record third-quarter net profit of about $337 million, Engadget reported². The Verge said NOR revenue rose 158 percent and NAND revenue rose 768 percent year over year³. Wu said demand for NOR used in data centers is very robust, according to The Verge's account of the Taipei Times³.

Ars Technica framed the exit as part of a broader memory squeeze, saying Macronix capacity is stuck at 25,000 12-inch wafers a month and that about $1.2 billion in planned new capacity would take a year or more to come online¹.

The outlets differ on what that means for Switch 2. Engadget said Switch 2 cartridges use NAND flash, a segment Macronix is not phasing out, and that Macronix is not Nintendo's only cartridge partner². Ars Technica said ROM shortages affect Switch and Switch 2 cartridges and that Nintendo may have to rely more on suppliers such as Rohm and Lapis Semiconductor, which could raise cartridge costs¹.

Ars Technica also reported that Nintendo said last month it had no near-term plans to drop physical cartridges¹. Nintendo's own statement on Macronix was not quoted in the three accounts^1,2,3.

What remains unclear is how quickly ROM output will wind down, whether Nintendo has already dual-sourced remaining volumes, and whether physical-game prices or Game-Key Card use will change as a result^1,2,3.