Having a digital-only variant at launch is a strategy that both Microsoft and Sony adopted for their consoles this generation. In the case of Xbox, the Series S additionally offers reduced specs compared to the flagship Series X model and Microsoft charges significantly less for the digital-only model (around $280 compared to $499). Sony's diskless PS5 offers exactly the same specs for $100 less than the $500 version with the Blu-ray disc drive.
Bitter little lovelies — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
The idea with these cheaper digital-only versions is that platform holders and developers make more money on the backend by selling software direct to the customer and eliminating the secondhand market inherent to physical media. Knowing that players are locked into purchasing their games via digital stores, a smaller profit — or even a loss — on each hardware unit sold can make sense, thus the cheaper digital-only SKU.
Back when Sony revealed two launch versions of the PS5, we asked whether you thought Nintendo should take the same route with Switch. From nearly five-and-a-half thousand votes, 63% answered with an emphatic 'No', with 24% saying 'Yes', and the remainder on the fence.
That was back in 2020, though, and focused on the current Switch, not new hardware. With this rumour that Nintendo may essentially mirror Sony and Microsoft's approach, we thought we'd see if sentiment has changed in the years since.
You'll find a poll at the bottom of the page, but let's see what Team Nintendo Life thinks first...
Gavin Lane, editor
You wouldn't get far without one of these... — Image: Nintendo Life
Given the portability of the Switch, I decided early on to go almost 100% digital. I've got a handful of physical games, including Breath of the Wild from launch day, and I got Tears of the Kingdom on a cartridge so I could have the pair of them on the shelf. Despite all the drawbacks to digital, having my entire library good to go whenever I want is too much of a convenience to ignore, and I don't regret it.
However, I wouldn't want to buy a console where digital was my only option. True, my cartridge slot was little more than a BOTW snug for most of the last seven years, but it's comforting to have the option to play from physical media if I ever needed to. I wouldn't buy a diskless PS5 or Series S for the same reason. Those 1TB micro SDs aren't quite cheap enough for me just yet, either.
So it's a 'No' from me — I'd always go for the version with a physical media slot, even if the asking price were higher.
Ollie Reynolds, staff writer
Image: Nintendo Life
Much like Gavin, my Switch collection is mostly digital, owing to the fact that I am now in a significantly different place than I was 5 or 10 years ago. I'm married, have a child, a dog, and a house to call my own; needless to say, space has become a rather important commodity, and not one I'm willing to fill with plastic cases.
So yes, having a digital library ready and waiting on a sizable SD card is a convenience that I'm not likely to give up when the next console launches. However, even now, I'm not quite ready to completely abandon physical media and opt for a digital-only console. The reason for this is that I learned the hard way when I bought a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition shortly after launch.
On a day-to-day basis, having a digital-only console hasn't been too much of a hindrance for me, but there have been a handful of opportunities over the past couple of years that have passed me by thanks to my inability to play physical PS5 games. I can't borrow certain games from my brother, and I've had a couple of games gifted to me that I've simply had to pass on because I can't play them.
I'm of the mind that digital games will, eventually, supplant physical media entirely, and while I'm not personally against such a notion, I think that having the option to play cartridges is the way to go while they're still in regular circulation.
Alana Hagues, deputy editor
Image: Gemma Smith / Nintendo Life
Make that three-for-three on my Switch library being mostly digital nowadays. A lot of travelling, frequent deals, and — honestly — the lack of shelf space mean that only games that I absolutely must have physically, I'll get physically. We're talking first-party titles and limited releases of a select few indie games, but I buy maybe two or three physical games a year now, at most.
The reality is that we're a two-Switch household, and if we get one console each, we'll likely end up getting one of each kind of this "NG", so I'll always have the option to play physical. But I'm also like the others here — I don't think I can entirely give up physical games yet.
I think about the times I've played PS1 games and I've had to get up to change from Disc 1 to Disc 2. I don't know what it is about that action, but it feels special. Nothing on Switch can make that claim, of course, but I do enjoy the act of swapping out an older, beloved game for a brand-new, shiny title. Super Mario Bros. Wonder will likely be my next physical, but I wouldn't be upset if digital-only was the only option in the future.
Can the inevitable digital-only future wait a few more years, though?
So that's what we think, but what about you lovely people? Would you like to see Nintendo offer a cheaper digital-only model of its next console? Let us know below:
Would you buy a cheaper, digital-only version of 'Switch 2' if Nintendo made one alongside the regular model? (4,997 votes)
Yes, I'm digi-total these days! 13 %Depends on the internal storage, but possibly 6 %Depends on how much cheaper, but possibly 8 %Not sure 3 %Probably not 17 %Absolutely not! 53 %
What if the digital-only 'Switch 2' had an OLED screen and the other one didn't? (2,881 votes)
Now that's just evil 100 %