Retail Release Of The Banner Saga Trilogy Requires Net Download And microSD Card

I was super excited to buy this physically, but now they have just lost a sale. Boooo!👎🏻

This whole situation with companies not wanting to shell out money for complete physical games is beginning to become a joke! It's honestly not going to break these companies to buy larger carts. If this keeps up it could set a whole new precedent, you go to a local fast food place and buy a combo meal only to be given the burger and a voucher for fries and drink at another store!

Funny Crash Bandicoot Trilogy and Octopath Traveller both fit on one card out of the box.

$50 is still cheaper then buying them on the shop so either way I save some space and get them at a better price. Better yet if Best Buy gets them I get all 3 games for $40!

No biggie for me. You're still saving memory(and money for that matter).

@Spoony_Tech I'm right there with ya Spoony, I'd say a great bargain with BB's games club plus save some space. That's a win win.

No exaggeration I've probably saved over a grand between getting rewards certificates and 20% off a game any time, regardless if it's a pre-order or not. Gotta love it.

So why is an SD Card required? If the digital games take up 13GB then they should fit on the internal storage easily, even if an SD Card is recommended.

I can only assume they are listing it as a requirement to save from backlash if someone’s downloaded a bunch of other DLC and can’t fit this game on the system.

On that note I hate this decision when there’s 16 and 32GB cards out there.

without me ...

Not even a huge physical-only guy but the trilogy on a cart appealed to me. But with this news what's the point? Their refusal to use high-capacity cartridges has lost them a sale.

BotW is 14GB, this trilogy (13GB) should easily fit in a 16GB cart, unless they are cheapskate and decided to use a 8GB cart.

Now it’s pointless.

Let's play the guessing game:
The best scenario: All three games are on the cartridge, the download refers to (optional) language files.

The Likely scenario: They went with a small, cheap cartridge that has only 1 or 2 of the games, with a code for the missing one.

Worst scenario: Its just a plastic case with codes for all 3 games.

Which makes me wonder: If you, as a dev/publisher are not willing to invest in more costly cartridges, why go for a retail release at all? The process of getting you product onto shelves is costly enough, let alone the production cost of the box itself.
Why not go that extra mile to at least release a quality product instead of this halfarsed nonsense?

@GameOtaku if it's not going to break these companies, why don't Nintendo provide cheaper carts to these indie devs? Nintendo decided on using this medium and can certainly take the hit more than small studios.

This is a bloody joke

Looks to me like it's coming on an 8GB card. What's the point in selling it as a Trilogy when only 2 parts come on the card?

WHAT'S THE BLOODY POINT IF YOU STILL HAVE TO DOWNLOAD IT DIGITALLY! I get companies hearts / profit margins are in the digital space, but Christ on a bike these half physical, half down load things are a practical joke.

What's the point on putting it on a 8GB cart when you could go even cheaper and release it on a 1GB cart?

The game is already incomplete on the 8GB cart so why don't they cheap out totally for max profit?

This part cart, part download thing is getting old. I have bought a few games like this but I think I am done.

@geordie
Nintendo shouldn't give indie devs any special discounts on carts, if the game isn't good enough to sell a lot of complete retail copies then it must not be all that good. Indy devs should either put up or shut up when it comes to retail releases.

Carts are better than discs anyway they read faster and if you remember the psp it used discs and it didn't outsell the ds!

The only constraint they're struggling with is ponying up for an appropriately sized cart for the games. 16 and 32GB carts exist so there is zero excuse for this kind of behaviour.
Nintendo should outright disallow it. If you don't want to sell a physical copy properly then the game should be digital only and the publisher can deal with the lost sales.

Preach it @Count_Duckula!

@Count_Duckula Amen.

What do i hear? The sound of the worlds smallest violin?

This has gone from insta-buy, to me not even looking at it twice. They may as well not even bother.

Seriously, why bother? It's like they don't understand why people want physical copies. As others have said, don't bother with a physical release if you can't fit the game on the cart or won't pay for a larger capacity. I guess the game can still be sold on, but the main reason people want a game on the cartridge is as a collector, so we have a hard copy of the game to keep beyond the system's sell by date. In fact all they're doing is feeding into the second hand market with this practice and taking away the person who buys a game to keep, which is what they should be activly encouraging.

@GrailUK this news is a buzz kill.

I don’t think they understand why people want the physical version!

@Count_Duckula exactly!!! Shambles.

@Stocksy Exactly! Why they can't charge more for a physical version if that's what it takes (and atleast then digital versions would be a better value option!) or maybe split the trilogy up into individual releases. Some publishers put little trinkets in their releases to appease the cost. Bah. SO little vision is naff Gearbox. Statement needed.

Are we sure the download message isn't a typo? I understand they are prone to those errors (snigger).

You know what to do: Avoid!
The Crash trilogy has everything on card, as it should be!

People may not like it but they need to get with the times and get a sd card. This is how the gaming world is now, accept it or move on.

Okay, well that's disappointing. I've been wanting to get these games and when I heard they might be releasing the trilogy on cart I was ready to pre-order asap. But now this. I really hate digital and this just puts me off buying the game at all. This half physical, half digital crap needs to go, and I'm not sure I want to support the practice.

@Zuljaras and then because people don't buy them they think Nintendo players don't want their games and then it becomes like the past where they stop putting games on Nintendo system.

That's a sale gone for me sadly. I really am all for game preservation and so for me, any title that is half-cart, half-download is a complete no go for me.

The only time I accepted it was for Starlink and that's to get the nice Arwing figure. And even then I had to justify it.

I appreciate people preferring digital / physical. But no-one wanted this unnatural middle ground of both. If a title can't be 100% physical, it shouldn't be physical at all.

@Count_Duckula the days of Nintendo dictating to publishers what they can and can't do are long gone.

Nintendo banning publishers using smaller carts would be business sucide

Really wish a publisher would have the balls to go public and say what the additional cost to the consumer would be if they used a big enough card.

@GameOtaku It's not the companies fault, it's Nintendo's. They should've never allowed it to ship carts that aren't totally functional without an additional download. In that case developers had the choice between buying more expensive carts or optimizing the file size to save money.

The next step is to make a physical release which contains only a dummy cartridge with activation code in it, but you can't play without this cart inserted too.

@BigKing
Easy, the companies should buy larger carts end of discussion, if they want a retail version by all means but it has to fit on the cart! If not then digital only after all it costs money for a full retail release besides the cart anyway so why not take the dive, axiom verge was on one cart so what gives?!

@electrolite77
Yes Nintendo should dictate to these indie devs that are bogging up the eshop with shovelware how they can release physical games. Nintendos stance on releases on the nes helped bring an end to the game crash and with all the crap on the shop it needs to now more than ever!

And Fifa and cod sell just by having the name, just like having a big publisher behind them also wouldn't hurt like capcom and Namco releasing Wayforwards games!

@electrolite77 To quote homer simpson: Money can be exchanged for goods and services!
I'm quite familiar with exchanging a greater amount of it for a physical copy than a digital one as I, along with most people who choose physical, prefer it for reasons that are eliminated by tactics like this.

I believe your point is that its preferable for a game to be slightly cheaper and incomplete rather than more expensive and complete, which I personally disagree with. Games sell for varied prices based largely on their cost to produce be that development or physical media cost. This is nothing new, I paid more for superfx games in the SNES days as the carts cost more to produce.

There's already an option that's tied to eshop for those that want it: digital download. The point is to require a physical game to be more than a DRM token to an eshop download, such that it may be played down the track once the switch eshop is shut down just as the wii eshop will be next January.

So they are charging 10 bucks more than the other physical releases of this and it doesn't even have all the games? Disappointing. I'll just get it on Xbox. I wanted this on the go but its just not worth it.

I was thinking about this, but this has now stopped me.
For me, I will not support such cheap moves by cheap companies.

No Mega Man
No Mega Man X
No Bayonetta
No LA Noire
No Resident Evil

I will not support partial work

Ugh no thanks!
Might as well re-title the cart "Banner Saga Half Trilogy."
If this rumour is true, they'll liose many sales, including mine.
They've utterly defeated the purpose of a physical release.

@Teksetter 'lose many sales'

I would like to see some actual evidence to back this up.

@BigKing Nintendo should have never allowed publishers to use small carts.

Like I said in a previous post. This isn't 1990 anymore where nintendo rule the video game world. If nintendo tried that tactic publishers would walk away happily.

That’ll be a big no thanks for me then

The revolution of pushing for a download only gaming structure continues to pick up steam. I thrive as a gamer these days in a resale/rental environment as I just don't have the funds to keep buying new games (and soon, I will need to start looking into my second microSD card). Not good, but doesn't look like it's gonna change. I swear they want me to retire as a gamer...

Nooooooooooooo!👎

@electrolite77
So obviously you would be ok with buying a book but only having half of the book in your hand and the other half you'd have to download to a e reader but still pay full price. I pay full retail price I expect to have everything from the get go which is why it pains me not to pick up either megaman collection.

Between the other platforms this game is on, surely if they thought the demand were high enough to dictate a physical release then they should go all in or just stick to eshop only.

It's so painful they keep doing this. I mean what is the point. I'm only interested in the physical for posterity, if half of it's a download I'll just pick them up dirt cheap in a Steam sale instead.

If all 3 complete games aren't on the card - no buy! What a total joke!!

What's the point in waiting for physical if you have to download it anyway?
I can see the need for games bigger than 16 GB due to the production cost but under that SHOULD come on one card!
Otherwise don't do a physical release at all. I can print a good looking boxart myself.

Well, this is a game I won’t be buying.
I could understand (not approve but understand) the download if the games were bigger than 16GB, since 32GB seem to be very expensive... but they are less than 16GB. This is just a cheap and dirty move, and they have lost a sale because of it.

I saw Slige on GoNintendo's article of this same news. Lol! He was raging!

I say this as someone who bought into XBox 1X with the intent of making that my "digital-only" platform, and have been steadily migrating my library there of over 3TB of games downloaded: Physical games, should have the game on the physical media, without downloads other than bug fixes or additional bonus content required. There is still zero excuse for any other solution. Put the game, in the box. This is not difficult use of technology.

@Spoony_Tech While you're not wrong, I love how gamers re the first to embrace "well, it could be worse!" Somehow, unlike almost any other industry, gamers seem happy so long as they're not being bound by straight jackets and forced to play no matter what companies do. They'll complain on the internet, but keep paying for products anyway, signaling companies to keep going lower. This is not something seen in almost any other industry. I don't know what it is about game consumers, maybe it's the generally young-skewing age?

@kobashi100 "evidence they'll lose sales"
It really would be interesting to see how many cart sales they lose bc of this decision. call me old fashioned but I think there is value in "all on the cartridge" and they're losing that.

What a joke. I already bought the first and was gonna buy the trilogy,now Im done with it.

Well done Stoic Studio, you saved a few bucks and lost many consumers, myself included.

I didn't get it at all... don't they ship with 16Gb caretridges? Those game are 13Gb... Are they using 8Gb cartridges?

@NEStalgia 45 years old here so not me anyways. I just look at it as glass half full really. I want all 3 games but I dont want to pay $65 for the eshop dl's. If BB gets it I pay $40 and still save space no matter how you look at it. Would I rather have the whole trilogy on the cart, sure. Me not buying this won't send a message imo. Either way I'm getting a better deal in my eyes.

@Spoony_Tech Well the cost savings for the "box with a code" is understandable. Of course looking ahead, GCU is over when your expiration date hits, and Amazon will certainly get rid of preorder discounts when GCU stops.....so then you're back to $60 for the eShop, or $60 for a digital copy with a cartridge-key-check, absolutely free.

@GameOtaku Are you comparing a literal physical book to digital entertainment? What?

There's not difference between playing the game from a physical cart with the game's label on it, than from the Switch's internal memory or from the micro SD card. You play the game the same way, no matter the source.

For a physical book, the source matters. It's not the same experience reading a physical book, than reading it on a Kindle. Or, tell me, do you have a way to play without a Switch, and just by looking at the cart?

That example is nonsense. Best example would be to buy a movie, and they include only half of it in a blu-ray disc, and you need to download what's left. It's digital content, after all. The experience will be the same, no matter the source.

Have tons of digital but was specifically waiting on physical fot this. But this is just pants. It's worse than the MegaMan debacle. Lost a sale here too.

So...what's the point of a "Trilogy" retail version again?

@Olmectron
No it's a valid example. Why should anyone pay full retail price for something but not get the whole of what they paid for its not the same experience at all. I have nes, gameboy and other retro carts and working systems so I always have access to these games same with my ps2 games and memory cards. So while you and those that are saying it's ok for companies to stiff you on games in 10 plus years or so all I have to do is a have a working switch and all my physical switch games will still be available compared to those that required a half download! It's far better for the consumers to have full retail releases if they buy physical.

@Hikingguy "I wonder how long it will be until we get a company that markets a "special edition" of their game as a "Complete Game on Cartridge edition" "

Nintendo been there done that. Fire Emblem Fates: Special Edition 👀

@electrolite77
I would argue that not including the full game risks sales more than a few dollar higher price for the game. Selling incomplete games certainly doesn't reflect well on either the publisher or nintendo.

I get your point, but to me at the very least if only one or two of the games are on the cart then the packaging and marketing should be just for the ones that are included and perhaps a sticker to advise of a 'bonus' download of the other(s).
It's not a physical release of a trilogy.

I don't know what's worse, this cartridge situation or the ugly ass "Download required" label ruining the cover art. The collectors will be hugely pleased with both, I'm sure.

@bratzdoll : Fates still had additional DLC in the form of overpriced maps, so even that doesn't quite offer the full experience. I'm really glad that they issued a "complete" edition though. I'm baffled that they made so few of them (and they never issued additional prints of it).

But... they could just use a 16GB card.
Smh.

@electrolite77
Doom was complete save for the multiplayer aspect. Bayonetta 2 was complete but retail copies came with the first game as a bonus and we knew that going in. LA Noire is still the only Rockstar game on switch so you could say they were testing the waters to see if the switch were viable for sales so I expect future Rockstar games will be complete.

What the banner trilogy and Megaman collections are doing is simply being non consumer friendly. I expect to get what I pay for at pint of sale! So now instead of dealing with one storefront I deal with 2?! I have to make a special trip just to use wifi believe it or not everyone does not have a connection at home!

The argument it's more convenient is utter nonsense and show how lazy people are like it's going to break your hand swapping out a cart.

For what it's worth, Gearbox said on their Twitter last week that all three games were planned for the cartridge. When someone mentioned the Amazon listing's box art, he said he was told all three games would be on the cart, but that making that 100% certain would have to wait, apparently.

Man all these rich bitter folks here make me sad. I'm all about saving the 15-20 to buy a game and have a download. Lol its cheaper to buy this in cart form. All ya entitled rich people buzz off.

A shame. It easily fits in a 16GB cart.