Topic: Thinking of going all digital- downsides?

I am a physical always guy but I do understand the draw of digital, especially when going through my collection and determine which cartridges I should take before a trip.

The main drawbacks of digital version are:

1) Launch price tends to be more expensive
2) Disapponted by the game? Tough!
3) No chance to resell for some credit or cash
4) The lack of the feel of owning something tangible (purely subjective)
5) Can't share your game.
6) Busted or lost Switch? Too bad! Bye bye games!
7) Years down the line, wow that obscure game you bought is worth quite a bit now! Oh it's digital? Here's some chewing gum for pity's sake.

Of course the big advantage of going all digital is you won't be:

"I feel like playing...aw crap it's back at home!"

I'm an all-digital guy whenever it makes sense (read: not on Switch). I've recently bought a PSP Go on eBay and I was extremely pleased when I saw it was modded (especially given the utter lack of support from Sony on the system when it comes to doing simple stuff such as accessing the PlayStation Store, either with Media GO or otherwise). How pleased? All I have when I travel with it is console and charger.
That's sort of the deal with my 3DS as well: I've slowly re-bought all the physical games I had at the beginning, the result being that my only 3DS cartridges are either games that aren't available on the eShop (the first Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts 3D) and games that don't fit in my MicroSD card (Pokémon Moon).
Thanks to @Knuckles, @7yL3r8 @Zemus-DJ and @Andremario, I've prepared what was necessary for upgrading to a bigger-than-32-GB SD card, but now I'm facing a different problem I'll soon be emailing Nintendo about: the fact some of the SD card data is, according to Windows, "unreadable" (despite the games involved working just fine). So yeah, when it comes to data safety, well, as is with - then again - all data, nothing is actually "safe". Sadly, though, the games' data is stored so cryptically on 3DS that finding out which game is which (or finding out whether a game's save data is either here or there, for that matter) is hardly the most viable option.
So yeah, physical games' problem is "what if something happens to the cartridge?" and digital games' is, as you might guess, "what if something happens to the Micro SD card?". In other words, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either the safety of the easily-missable cartridges or the safety of an easily damageable SD card. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

@JoeDiddley I was an all digital guy on Wii U. Really loved it.

Switch is different though. Storage space isn't cheap, and it's only really worth it in order to have all games with you at all times. If I have 5 sd cards, how on earth do I know which one holds that one game I want to play?

Downside for physical to me is the ability to lose the game. The upside? Better offers and deals.

Because the cost increases even more when factoring in micro sd card prices, I'll be buying more physical now. Most carts will fit in your carrying case anyway. I'll be mixing this up as we go, there's no need to be exclusive one way or the other really. I will be saving that more expensive storage case for 1: games I want to have with me a lot (zelda, for instance, is one) 2: Games that are eshop only 3: games that have a huge online multiplayer aspect 4: The inevitable DLC that is never physical.

So, just to be prudent with my storage space, physical will probably dominate my collection this time.

Just my 2 cents

Everyone has such good points on this. My rationale is slowly swaying back to physical. Let me explain more on my drive for digital: I am lazy.

That's right.

I'm a bum. I sit on my couch and I want to play game on the TV and drats, I can't because the cartridge isn't inserted. Apple has driven me to this. I have been spoiled with iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

However, this community highlighted the many advantages. Cost. Trade in. Potential eventual collectors item.

That's it, I'm going all-in for physical! I have decided! I guess my workflow will be- if it's on Amazon as a preorder, I will just buy it there. If its' Digital only, I will do that.

... I will just have to get used to getting off the couch to swap cartridges 😜

@iChadman Even as a champion for physical that "lazy" reason to support digital is a good one. In fact it's a reason i sometimes re-buy arcade games digitally on some consoles cos i can quickly switch to them on the fly.

Cross-buy is another plus but that's usually a Sony thing and for games that almost never release physically.

The only downside for me is when It comes to first party nintendo games. I mean, 70€ for digital Breath of the wild?! That is just stupid. Sure, They would give me 70goldcoins but what is the point when there is NOTHING to spend them on? Nintendo is still really behind the times unfortunatly. On the other hand I love to buy digital games.

@iChadman You can always invest in longer cables and have the dock right next to you on the couch. 😉 That way you won't ever have to get up to change a game. For that matter have a small fridge next to you as well and you will only need to get up to go to the bathroom!

Not if you do the right modifications to your couch....

@Meowpheel I honestly thought it would take longer for someone to comment about that. Silly me!

I grew up watching the Simpsons, what can I say.

Alternatively, you could also move everything to the bathroom.

Well there is two perks for buying digital over cartridges. First one is that there is an My Nintendo reward system but unfortunately its mainly for coupons and the highest discount percentage so far is 30% when Amazon Prime take 20% off all the times. The second perk of going digital is that the Nintendo Switch load faster on SD cards and internal memory over cartridges for some reasons. I do not know why but there are many reports that SD cards are better for loading over cartridges.

I just want to pay some tribute to this tread.

You can also buy Switch cases that have little slots to store cartridges in when you're on the go, if you're interested in that. I personally like mine, since cartridges sliding around in a cheap case that didn't have the slots would really annoy me, plus I'm overly paranoid about the safety of my electronics.

@FX102A Another big advantage is that you can't lose digital games. I think anyone who has or lives with little kids can appreciate that benefit.

@Ralizah Not entirely true, although it has very rarely happened so far it is possible in the future that as servers are shut down and companies attempt to save money, digital copies become unavailable for download.

Or a publisher, console manufacturer or storefront just simply decided they don't want to have the game available any more.

Although I will admit that digital games do seem to be the better choice for younger gamers; something i will potentially figure in the future even it may result in more money out of my pocket (I'll still buy physical even if I have to have lockable cupboards installed).

@FX102A

I think he or she trying to say that kids can be quite the handful. Imagine your kid bring your Swtich to school and lose all those cartridges because your kids is just forgetful. People who found it probably keep it. To be fair, there is no lost and found on the street since we have found an Pokemon game on the sidewalk back then.

By the way, do not pick up wild USB sticks ever! Those USB are most likely to have an virus on it as another form of attack.

@Super_Gravy yeah I got that bit in the end, but I'd been wanting to make that earlier point I forgot to make earlier so i ran with it.

But yes, agree with the risk of children loosing or damaging games; especially with the tiny size of Switch cartridges.

@FX102A

Fair enough! Your point is still valid either way!

The "but in the future" argument goes for physical too.

Digital? The servers will go down eventually, and you won't be able to buy new systems and transfer your games if your 30 year old system is on its ultimate way out.

But... Physical games also expire. They will eventually be unusable, it may take longer (you'll be able to play them on replacement consoles without the servers)... But it'll happen.

And then you have the fact that the consoles themselves will all expire eventually too.

Nothing is eternal.

For me, I'm all about physical, and it's the main reason I left PC gaming and went back to consoles many years ago. There's the digital rights issues first and foremost. But even beyond that, there's the ability to sell them, loan them to someone else (and even for digital services that allow loaning, it still takes your time and bandwidth.) I'm also looking into cord cutting, going cellular only, and big game downloads are the ONLY thing that would get in the way of that. It's an option that's twice as appealing with the portability of Switch given a hotspot could accompany Switch anywhere. Digital downloads for games don't quite work with 40GB bit buckets

For Switch, there's also the storage issue. Each physical game includes the "storage" for free, while you must supply your own for digital. And for Switch (for now) you can't transfer your game between consoles digitally unless you assign a different Switch as primary.

However I DO do some digital for certain games. Games I know I want to jump into here or there over years no matter what else I'm mainly playing. Kart and Splatoon I might do digitally. I did Splatoon digitally on WiiU, as well as Mario Maker. I'd never put the cart or disc in for a round or two of either, but if it's digital I might switch to it. But any game I want to sit down and play, which is how I play most games, I enjoy the whole experience and satisfaction of holding the game in my hand as an object, and playing it, rather than just running a different app. It carries a feeling of a product of value rather than a virtual collection of bits.

@Super_Gravy The load time differences between SD and gamecard for BotW were like a 1 second difference Some reports for Lego City claimed more, but honestly I'm not sure I trust most of the hysteria around the Lego City launch. And keep in mind the point was trying it with the super-premium SD cards, not the cheap average ones.

I'd guess the gamecards are Class 10 equivalent but not UHC1 (I don't think Switch supports full UHC1 speeds let alone UHC2 which is more about 4k video recording.)