@FragRed It's not the same. Xbox and PS discs have the game on them and they are used to install them. You don't need anything else. Some people played Assassin's Creed Unity for years on Xbox without the patch to leave the frame rate unlocked, until the current-gen 60fps patch.
Since the last generation, there are frequent updates or DLC that sometimes are downloaded, same for the Switch cartridges that needed updates or had part of the game as a download, but at least on Xbox and PS you can play most games without the updates.
These Switch 2 cartridges are literally physical keys like those that some computing companies used to sell to let users and employees run special software. Switch 2 is the first console ever to have physical keys that need to connect to the internet (at least, once per console).
None. Black background, a fairy with wings, the title covered over the creature, which is why I thought it was and -still- think it's just a placeholder, and they probably will tell me it's a Game Key Card, but so far their customer rep hasn't and I trust the store.
I'm guessing you're talking about this image?
I've seen a couple of stores here in Finland use that image too, but like you said, I think must be a placeholder, especially since it doesn't show the PEGI stamp or any other regional age rating. AFAIK the European boxes use the white cover art I posted above, and all variants of it I've seen online have the key card disclaimer in different European languages.
I wouldn't qualify two games as "plenty" either. It's an anecdotal perspective.
More like, plenty of games will have files sizes smaller than 64GB, but will still be distributed on game-key cards rather than actual physical cartridges.
Switch Physical Collection - 1,529 games (as of November 20th, 2025)
Switch 2 Physical Collection - 3 games (as of November 23rd, 2025)
@kkslider5552000 Yes, all of the game must be downloaded from the eshop to the internal storage or a Micro SD Express card. These key cards contain the code only. You really need to add an extra $15.00 in storage costs for every 64GB of data (or 23 cents per GB), based on the price of a 256GB Micro SD Express card right now. Of course, if you're buying a larger card or get a special deal, this can work out a little cheaper.
There's presumably going to be some storage on the card, but only the bare minimum to uniquely identify your copy of the game and maybe pop up an icon if you insert it while offline.
Maybe if someone was enterprising enough they could fit a mini game into whatever space is there, but for all practical purposes, they'll just be a key to a game you download.
So with that in mind, I'm against this practice by default, because one of the main reasons I would buy physical is to avoid filling up SD cards too much.
Does anyone think that Nintendo will increase the maximum size of the carts for Switch 2 to say 100GB to match the capacity of an Ultra-Blu Ray on PS5.
They could then insist on Third Parties not relying on full downloads.
It does suck that this is where we are at in this industry. A few years ago I would have been angry about this, but ive learned to be honest with myself and honestly I rarely save games past the generation they are in.
I realized I liked to envision myself as a games collector - aspire to it, even - but never actually followed through because there was always something else I needed the money for. So for me personally, as long as I still have the functionality to sell my games off with this method, I'm okay with it.
Doesn't mean i wish it wasn't changed or that Nintendo didn't try to improve physical cart adoption by offering more intermediate sized carts to developers, but ill not lose sleep over this specific aspect.
I dislike the changes to using games across multiple accounts more.
@Ignatius_Cheese Only if Nintendo themselves need to use such a size, otherwise why bother when third party publishers are almost entirely opting for the cheapest physical route - Game Key.
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Does anyone think that Nintendo will increase the maximum size of the carts for Switch 2 to say 100GB to match the capacity of an Ultra-Blu Ray on PS5.
The cost of the cartridge goes up with the size.
Allegedly, Nintendo is charging publishers $16 per 64GB cartridge.
How much would Nintendo ask for 128GB cartridges? Probably $20-$30. We're back to the N64 days. But instead of publishers opting for the PS1 and dirt-cheap CDs, corpos' have the internet to solve the distribution hurdle.
@Quantumz00 - No shame in that. The cool thing about game collecting is similar to card collecting. You can collect all the games, or just specific genres or companies works. You still have a collection.
Game-key Cards are a huge problem, cause I believe many people are comfortable with the idea that they last as long as the system is supported. That, sadly, is not a case. Imagine only buying the keys to a car, you have supposed unlimited access to from the lot, until one day they decided the car is now repossessed. Doesn't matter if you have the keys, the car is no more.
Third parties, much like Gearbox, are more than willing to revoke their games early if they knew they can sell you that game later, again, on another console. EA has done this with older Maddens, so it is a matter of time others consider doing the same.
The other problem I have with it is that now the space for said game now falls on us to take a responsibility for. Don't want to optimize your 100gb game down to 70gb? No worries, you now must invest in the space to download it. 2K has had a habbit before sending out downloads with .wav files for their music. That's a huge resource glut.
@Quantumz00 - No shame in that. The cool thing about game collecting is similar to card collecting. You can collect all the games, or just specific genres or companies works. You still have a collection.
Game-key Cards are a huge problem, cause I believe many people are comfortable with the idea that they last as long as the system is supported. That, sadly, is not a case. Imagine only buying the keys to a car, you have supposed unlimited access to from the lot, until one day they decided the car is now repossessed. Doesn't matter if you have the keys, the car is no more.
Third parties, much like Gearbox, are more than willing to revoke their games early if they knew they can sell you that game later, again, on another console. EA has done this with older Maddens, so it is a matter of time others consider doing the same.
The other problem I have with it is that now the space for said game now falls on us to take a responsibility for. Don't want to optimize your 100gb game down to 70gb? No worries, you now must invest in the space to download it. 2K has had a habbit before sending out downloads with .wav files for their music. That's a huge resource glut.
It really is impressive that Nintendo managed to find a solution that caused so many new issues.
That's the thing that always frustrated me about Nintendo, because I'm always imagining the places they could take their franchises if they weren't always so doggedly determined to do things their own way to such an extent that it actually affects the game experience negatively.
Like Splatoon is a really novel idea, but one of the reasons imo it never blew up like multi-player games on other platforms is because NIntendo Online is such an awkward service to use compared to the alternatives, and people prize convenience above much else even if they wouldn't acknowledge it.
Nobody wants to still do friend codes, or have terrible net code, or awkward hoops to jump through to add a friend. Trust some of us to be adults and some of us to be children, and allow parents to do their job.
Still, I moan and complain, but I still have a Switch 2 preorder. And as long as Metroid Prime 4, Mario Platformer X, Y and Z and Zelda, they really have me by the cajones. Because much like the opposite of Microsoft who has devalued their brands by bringing their franchises all to PlayStation (not that I'm complaining, I'm eating good these days), Nintendo has made their games so much more alluring by ensuring they stay on their walled gardens. I have to play their exclusives, no matter what... and that'll probably stay the same when I'm an old Grey beard (which won't be too long from now, tbh).
@Quantumz00 - What you are talking about reminds me of a marketing saying, "If people buy your burger for 8 bucks, you don't sell it for 5." Basically, there is a threshold where reducing prices train people to think of your product as cheap as the price, and often gets treated as such.
When you make your game more widely available, it often gets treated as readily available, so more people pass on a Microsoft game cause they can always, "get it elsewhere." But MS also at blame for running the power pissing contest with Sony, digging grave after grave for their resources making games to a point they have outpriced their current market. If MS could sell consoles off Elder Scrolls and Halo, those games would NEVER leave their system. But the fanbase cannot simply cover their budgets. But Nintendo's can because of all their exclusivity to themselves.
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Topic: Game-Key Card Boxed Release List
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