Xenoblade Chronicles 3D Is Too Big For New 3DS' Memory Card

If you’re planning on going the digital route with Xenoblade Chronicles 3DS, you might want to invest in a new micro SD card for your shiny new portable system. As it turns out, the 4GB card that comes with the console simply isn’t going to cut it.

For those of you who haven’t gamed on Nintendo’s portable console, it’s probably easy to roll your eyes at the thought of a 4GB memory card ever being big enough to support a digital future. But here’s the thing: 3DS games are actually pretty dang small, with full games frequently taking up less than a gigabyte of space.

Back when I first got my 3DS, I decided to invest in a 32GB card on day one. After spending a year swapping hefty games on and off of my Vita memory card, I actually feared that I’d still be hurting for space. It turns out that my worries were unfounded, as I’m now two years on and have barely filled up half of that card with a lot of games, including dozens of smaller and classic titles, as well as about half a dozen full retail games.

In other words, I wouldn’t have faulted anyone for getting a New 3DS and assuming that the included 4GB card would be enough to keep them rolling for a while. Replacing the card is also something of a pain, requiring you to remove the system’s back panel in order to swap everything out.

But that’s exactly what you’ll have to do if you’re still rocking the New 3DS’ original card as, according to a recent report, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D you’ll need a card with at least 8GB of space to actually download the game. That’s a pretty big leap.

For starters, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a port of a Wii game, so it’s not surprising that the file size is going to be quite a bit bigger than, say, Kid Icarus or Monster Hunter 4. The game was also built to take advantage of the New 3DS’ hardware/software enhancements so, again, it’s not surprising that it’s a bigger game than what OG 3DS fans are used to.

Unfortunately, the official listing doesn’t state how big, exactly, XC 3D actually is. That’s because 3DS games are downloaded as “blocks.” Your card has X number of blocks and games fill up Y number, rather than stating flat out that your card is 32GB and the game you want to download is, oh, 350MB. I suppose unifying the measurements makes it easier for youngsters to understand exactly how much space they have left.

So, in other words, if you already have an 8GB card on your system and it’s already loaded with some games, you might still be out of luck if you’re planning on downloading Xenoblade Chronicles 3D.

Luckily, Micro SD cards are pretty cheap these days. My recommendation is that you buy the biggest one you can find, go through the annoying process of swapping/transferring this one time and rest easy through the lifetime of your console.