Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@JaxonH,

"But when I hear "don't own them" for digital I can't help but chuckle. It's digital, not streaming."

I also don't really buy into the "you don't own digital" story (I do still buy the occasional digital game, after all). What I do buy into is the "if your console is connected to the internet, your games can get updates that change their content in ways that you don't want" story. An example would be Splatoon 3, which got an update that changed some things in battles such as adding a health bar, that has upset some people (which would include me, if I played the game, since I like my media being unedited and unchanged).

DLC I have no problem with existing, but game content that already exists (like the Splatoon turf wars) being changed in major ways is something that I don't like.

The nice thing about physical is that you can play what's on the cartridge without internet, and not be bugged with prompts for updates that may change stuff in the game for no reason.

I prefer to experience genuine, unedited media the way it was originally intended, even if it has some controversial content in it. I'm just weird that way 😜.

To add onto my above comment, thankfully, these "updates that change game content" don't often happen. But when it does happen (which it does, as in the case of Splatoon 3, or Neptunia Sisters vs Sisters, which got an update that changed some of the game's English dialogue for a really dumb reason), it really sucks.

Though I do admit that the scenario I'm talking about doesn't happen often.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all updates are bad: heck, Mario Kart World's updates make the game better, and as I have said before, when I get my Switch 2, it will be with Mario Kart World. I'm still hoping they never change anything else about the game though.

I love the fact that with digital games, I could lose my system, buy a new one, and have everything (saves included). While I do own quite a lot of physical games, I'd lose those if I lost my Switch. I was on a long flight, and almost walked off the plane without my Switch...talk about an anxiety inducing couple of minutes. With Nintendo's transition to supporting eshop games across systems, I'm far less likely to buy physical.
I'm only speaking for myself, and I understand why people want to own only physical. With the amount of time that I'm away from home, it's far more convenient for me to have a ton of games loaded on my system. The bulk of my gaming is done on commute/travel. If I were primarily gaming at my house, it would probably be a different story/preference.
As for the updates, you can turn off automatic game updates. You will be prompted to update the game when you start it, but it's optional (unless it's an online game like Fortnite where the update is required). I don't know about how Splatoon works, don't own the game...but in my experience the updates have pretty much always made the game better. With TOTK I held off on making updates for a while, as I wanted to exploit the item duplication glitches...and once I had enough, I updated

@Lazz,

"As for the updates, you can turn off automatic game updates. You will be prompted to update the game when you start it, but it's optional"

Update prompts are the worst. Every time you log in to the game, that annoying prompt will appear, even if you disconnect from the internet, since the console now knows that it or the game in question has an update (I tried this myself to confirm it). The prompts would be bearable if they at least went away after you disconnected.

I still have horrible memories of that one time late last year when I didn't update my Switch for a whole month and it would prompt me to update every single time I played a game. About three weeks in, every time I played a game, I would get a second prompt saying that unless I update everything I had played after that point wouldn't be saved to the cloud. Every single time I would think "Yes, system. I know that I have a not yet downloaded update, and I know that I don't have access to save data cloud, why must you bug me about it every freaking time?"

I did end up updating in early January 2026 so I could play online Pokémon Violet with a friend.

@Nep-Nep-Freak yeah, you're absolutely right. The update prompts are annoying. I always update the system, so haven't run into that scenario often...but for the games themselves, it is pervasive. I brought up the TOTK example - I think I accidently accepted the update... which was a bit frustrating at the time. So yeah, it's easy to accept and annoying to ignore.

I think the big thing which shows you don't own digital games is what happens during an outage. Every time there's an outage on PS/Xbox, there's a big wave of people saying they can't play their digital games.

Though you don't own Key Card games in the long term either, both are real problems for whenever platform holders decide to shutdown the download servers. Sony had the right idea with how to approach physical on PS4/PS5 regarding when discs were too slow to be able to play games without an install and is how Nintendo should've handled physical carts on Switch 2.

As for Pokopia specifically, I think it's a test. If the Key Card sells well (not talking digital, just the Key Card), then Nintendo will pivot to Key Card releases for Switch 2 exclusives in general.

@Grumblevolcano,

"Every time there's an outage on PS/Xbox, there's a big wave of people saying they can't play their digital games."

This probably just means online-only games like Fortnite or the newest Call of Duty though, right? And in paid digital games online play specifically, not game modes that are available offline if there are any.

It's all digital games, even single player only games.

@JaxonH
Yea, but here’s the thing: most people aren’t like you. Even amongst enthusiasts like us, you go to great lengths to back up your downloads.

Most of us don’t. In fact, I would wager a lot of us don’t even know exactly how you’re doing some of the things you’re talking about lol

You can chuckle if you want, that’s fine. I don’t mind playing the bumpkin. But when people say they own their digital games, my only question to them is: Can you sell it?

@Grumblevolcano I don't know how PS and Xbox do their licensing, but on Switch, your primary console's license doesn't need to check for an internet connection. You can play in airplane mode just fine. I do it all the time.

@rallydefault True ownership of a physical game is being able to access offline content after platforms are fully shut down even if the game is in its original sealed condition at shut down. Key Cards can't do that.

So Playstation and Xbox don't allow you to play single-player gamer offline like the Switch does? 😯

@Grumblevolcano
True. But what some people are saying is that they can back up their digital purchases to other drives, servers, etc. to guard against that sort of thing in the future.

So, to me, ownership means you can do whatever you want with a product, most importantly being able to sell it outright.