<s>
A	O
Nintendo	B-Device
Game	I-Device
Card	I-Device
is	O
a	O
proprietary	O
flash	O
storage-based	O
format	O
used	O
to	O
physically	O
distribute	O
video	O
games	O
for	O
certain	O
Nintendo	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
resemble	O
both	O
smaller	O
and	O
thinner	O
versions	O
of	O
Hudson	O
's	O
HuCard	B-Device
,	O
the	O
storage	O
medium	O
for	O
the	O
PC-Engine	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Pak	I-Device
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
used	O
for	O
previous	O
portable	O
gaming	O
consoles	O
released	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
and	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Advance	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cards	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
ranged	O
from	O
64	O
megabits	O
to	O
4	O
gigabits	O
(	O
8	O
–	O
512MB	O
)	O
in	O
capacity	O
The	O
cards	O
contain	O
an	O
integrated	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
for	O
game	O
data	O
and	O
an	O
EEPROM	B-General_Concept
to	O
save	O
user	O
data	O
such	O
as	O
game	O
progress	O
or	O
high	O
scores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
a	O
small	O
number	O
of	O
games	O
that	O
have	O
no	O
save	O
memory	O
such	O
as	O
Electroplankton	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
an	O
IGN	O
blog	O
by	O
Backbone	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
the	O
developer	O
of	O
MechAssault	B-Application
:	I-Application
Phantom	I-Application
War	I-Application
,	O
larger	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
128MB	O
)	O
cards	O
have	O
a	O
25%	O
slower	O
data	O
transfer	O
rate	O
than	O
the	O
more	O
common	O
smaller	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
64MB	O
)	O
cards	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
specific	O
base	O
rate	O
was	O
not	O
mentioned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DSi	I-Device
was	O
launched	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
console	O
offered	O
various	O
hardware	O
improvements	O
and	O
additional	O
functions	O
over	O
previous	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
iterations	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
inclusion	O
of	O
cameras	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
many	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
titles	O
released	O
afterwards	O
included	O
features	O
that	O
enhanced	O
gameplay	O
when	O
played	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DSi	I-Device
console	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
retained	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
DS	B-Device
iterations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
a	O
select	O
few	O
retail	O
game	O
titles	O
were	O
released	O
that	O
worked	O
exclusively	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DSi	I-Device
consoles	O
for	O
reasons	O
such	O
as	O
requiring	O
camera	O
functions	O
,	O
and	O
these	O
titles	O
have	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
with	O
white-colored	O
casings	O
(	O
all	O
DSi-exclusive	O
games	O
are	O
region	O
locked	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
such	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
include	O
Picture	B-Device
Perfect	I-Device
Hair	I-Device
Salon	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
these	O
white	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
can	O
be	O
physically	O
inserted	O
into	O
original	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
consoles	O
,	O
their	O
software	O
did	O
not	O
function	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
missing	O
hardware	O
features	O
and	O
will	O
display	O
an	O
error	O
message	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
DSi-exclusive	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
fully	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DSi	I-Device
,	O
Nintendo	O
encouraged	O
developers	O
to	O
release	O
DSi-exclusive	O
games	O
as	O
DSiWare	B-Device
downloadables	O
instead	O
of	O
retail	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
that	O
would	O
not	O
function	O
on	O
older	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
all	O
iterations	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
line	O
lacking	O
native	O
infrared	O
support	O
,	O
certain	O
titles	O
made	O
use	O
of	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
communication	O
function	O
using	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
with	O
their	O
own	O
infrared	O
transceivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
generally	O
glossier	O
and	O
darker	O
than	O
common	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
and	O
reveal	O
their	O
translucency	O
when	O
exposed	O
to	O
light	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
such	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
include	O
Personal	B-Device
Trainer	I-Device
:	I-Device
Walking	I-Device
and	O
Active	B-Device
Health	I-Device
With	I-Device
Carol	O
Vorderman	O
,	O
which	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
included	O
pedometers	O
,	O
Pokémon	B-Application
HeartGold	I-Application
and	I-Application
SoulSilver	I-Application
,	O
which	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
included	O
Pokéwalker	O
accessory	O
,	O
and	O
Pokémon	B-Application
Black	I-Application
and	I-Application
White	I-Application
and	O
Pokémon	B-Application
Black	I-Application
2	I-Application
and	I-Application
White	I-Application
2	I-Application
,	O
which	O
connect	O
DS	B-Device
systems	O
facing	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
all	O
iterations	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
family	O
support	O
native	O
infrared	O
functions	O
,	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
games	O
still	O
use	O
the	O
infrared-enabled	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
themselves	O
when	O
played	O
on	O
a	O
3DS	B-Operating_System
system	O
,	O
reserving	O
the	O
native	O
infrared	O
for	O
Nintendo	O
3DS-specific	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
are	O
from	O
1	O
to	O
8	O
gigabytes	O
in	O
size	O
,	O
with	O
2GB	O
of	O
game	O
data	O
at	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
look	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
DS	B-Device
game	I-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
but	O
are	O
incompatible	O
and	O
have	O
a	O
small	O
tab	O
on	O
one	O
side	O
to	O
prevent	O
them	O
from	O
being	O
inserted	O
into	O
a	O
DS	B-Device
,	O
DS	B-Device
lite	O
,	O
or	O
a	O
DSi	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
uses	O
non-volatile	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
technology	O
similar	O
to	O
SD	O
cards	O
that	O
are	O
officially	O
called	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
distinct	O
technologies	O
from	O
volatile	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
that	O
are	O
similar	O
to	O
RAM	O
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
similarities	O
,	O
the	O
Switch	O
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
DS	B-Device
and	O
3DS	B-Operating_System
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
used	O
in	O
the	O
Switch	O
are	O
non-writable	O
and	O
save	O
data	O
are	O
stored	O
in	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
internal	O
memory	O
,	O
unlike	O
DS	B-Device
and	O
3DS	B-Operating_System
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
which	O
are	O
writable	O
and	O
able	O
to	O
store	O
save	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
their	O
small	O
size	O
,	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
coated	O
with	O
denatonium	O
benzoate	O
,	O
a	O
non-toxic	O
bitterant	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
safety	O
precaution	O
against	O
accidental	O
consumption	O
by	O
young	O
children	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Videos	O
of	O
users	O
intentionally	O
tasting	O
game	B-Device
cards	I-Device
and	O
reacting	O
with	O
disgust	O
at	O
the	O
taste	O
became	O
a	O
meme	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
launch	O
,	O
which	O
originated	O
from	O
Jeff	O
Gerstmann	O
's	O
actions	O
on	O
a	O
Giant	O
Bomb	O
webcast	O
.	O
</s>
