TOKYO— Nintendo Co. plans to adopt cartridges for its next-generation videogame console, people familiar with the matter said, a step that might prompt a reassessment of the old-school format.

The industry prefers optical discs when physically distributing game software because they can store large amounts of data and the cost per unit is low. Major game systems including Sony Corp. ’s PlayStation 4, Microsoft Corp. ’s Xbox One and Nintendo’s own Wii U use discs.

However, chip-based cartridges are garnering renewed attention thanks to fierce competition among semiconductor makers including Samsung Electronics Co. and Toshiba Corp. to develop flash memory that can pack more data onto small chips at a lower cost.

Industry watchers said cartridges were a reasonable choice for Nintendo’s next-generation system, code-named NX, because the company targets a wider range of consumers than Sony or Microsoft. Nintendo’s core fans include small children, who might scratch discs but find cartridges tougher to damage. Cartridges also allow games to load faster, are harder to copy and can be mass-produced faster than discs, they said.

They are “no doubt today’s best format to physically distribute games,” said Atsushi Osanai, a former Sony employee who is now a visiting fellow at Harvard University.