So, I've searched all over, and I cannot find a list of which Nintendo Switch games have physical cartridges and which games are download only. Can anybody make a list for me, or does anyone know where a list like this exists? Thanks everyone
At the moment, there are only 5 physical cartridges available outside of Japan:
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
1-2 Switch
Just Dance 2017
Super Bomberman R
Skylanders Imaginators
The Japanese releases of I Am Setsuna and Disgaea 5 Complete include English as an option for those who would like to consider importing (or purchasing from the Japanese eShop). Disgaea 5 Complete will be released outside of Japan in May (obviously with English-language packaging). I presume the reasoning for its delay is due to licensing and other publishing issues (such as age certification, securing retailers to stock the product etc.).
Has-Been Heroes is due for release later this month, followed by Lego City Undercover, Puyo Puyo Tetris and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in April.
By the process of elimination, everything else is obviously download-only.
@sillygostly thanks so much! This is perfect. I wonder why so few physical games... is nintendo trying to go strictly digital? I SERIOUSLY hope not. I'm old school, I need to have physical media. Or I much prefer it at least. I have high hopes for lots of physical media on the Switch.
I think the main reason is that Nintendo wanted to launch the Switch and establish a userbase as quickly as possible so that sales of upcoming titles will be stronger; plus, to prevent the existing userbase from being inundated with too many titles at once. Basically, a lot of the big hitters just aren't ready yet, and I doubt that most third parties have had enough time with the dev kit to support the system at launch. I would anticipate a very healthy holiday line-up followed by a strong and consistent schedule of releases throughout 2018 and beyond. The Switch still needs time to establish itself before it will capture the imaginations of the wider public, and I think that will happen once Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is released and players begin to take their Switches with them to outings and so forth.
Late ports are arguably more excusable this time around as the Switch affords the unique capability of console-calibre experiences on a portable device, so there is an incentive for third party developers to retroactively port their games to the platform.
But yes, due to the higher costs of game development and manufacturing (higher capacity cartridges being considerably more expensive than optical discs), I would (unfortunately) expect to see fewer physical retail titles this generation, and it would not surprise me to some games that have been released physically on other platforms to be eShop-only releases on Switch.
I'm not a fan of digital-only releases, particularly as launch titles such as Snipperclips, VOEX and Fast RMX already cost ~AU$30 as it is. That's simply too much for digital-only games, especially if games in that price range and beyond are released regularly. I draw the line at $20 for digital-only games, except in rare circumstances. I would have been happy to spend up to $50 for the previously mentioned games in physical format, but alas, no such option is available. Heck, I would have been happy to import if such releases are not considered to be viable for the minuscule Australian market, but again… the option simply isn't afforded to us, and considering how barren the retail launch line-up has been, I would have expected lower cost games to sell in healthy numbers, particularly when you consider that all retail Switch games thus far (excluding 1-2 Switch) retail for $90 in Australia.
"Gee, that's really persuasive. Do you have any actual points to make other than to essentially say 'me Tarzan, physical bad, digital good'?"
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Topic: Physical Cartridges and Digital Downloads
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