The digital age has had a huge impact on all forms of entertainment. Although physical video games are still around, you're often required to download or at least install the rest of the game when you get home. Some publishers even release games in-store but don't actually include a game card or disc inside the plastic case.
As a result of this, some physical Switch releases now come with overly large warning labels, informing users a digital download will be required. The good news is these labels have now been changed - at least in North America. The local box art for This War Of Mine Complete Edition illustrates how the warning is now a much smaller label positioned in between the rating and publisher logo. The download warning on the Mortal Kombat 11 box art looks the same.
Sure, it might not be perfect, but it's a lot better than what was previously on the covers of Switch games requiring a download:
What do you think of the new warning label? Tell us in the comments.
[source resetera.com]
Comments 62
I prefer it as big and noticeable. It's something that should really be visible, and the small size hurts that.
It's definitely an improvement. Still disappointed only an 8GB card is being used for Mortal Kombat 11.
@321gofast : Absolutely. This is a huge setback for physical gamers. Now this will incentivise cheapskate third parties to indulge in this practice even more frequently and decrease the chances that anybody will have the guts to use a 32GB cartridge.
It's a slippery slope, and physical gamers will be worse off in the long term. It won't be long now until the warning is no longer on the front cover at all.
The boxes are less ugly now, but the practice of selling partial games that can’t function without a massive download is still just as hideous as it was before.
Old one was better. Uglier? Sure. But it needs to be large and annoying so customers know they can't just pop it in and play. Plus it kind of craps on the publishers that do it. Imagine being on a trip or moving or something which is why you don't have internet or a TV (so you use a Switch), going and buying a game, and then realizing you can't play it.
I don't understand why you would buy a physical game if you gotta download it anyway, doesn't it defeat the purpose?
Also how big is This War of Mine? I played it on my PS4, it doesn't take much space on there iirc, why the download?
This is weird. This War of Mine Complete Edition is a 2 GB game. 2 GB of solid state memory costs well under 50 cents.
Any download-required/online-only/no-cartridge-inside game must invariably come in simple white boxes, with huge warnings covering at least 75% of the box art, preferrably accompanied by some disgusting image.
I suggest the photograph of a depressed kid staring blankly into the mandatory download screen and thinking of suicide, with a large speech bubble saying THIS PRODUCT MAY HARM YOU AND PEOPLE YOU LOVE.
That's weird. The European version of This War of Mine didn't have a warning at all.
This War of Mine in NA must be just a code in a box then.
Nononono, they need to reverse this. Keep the banners be as hideous as the practice itself.
It should be the old way like the warnings on cigarette packs. Big and ugly like a tumor.
Should still be on the back, but I guess it's important for people who don't have a microSD chip for their Switch to know that they'll need the extra storage.
It's much better now. I wonder when the atrocity of a rating logo that is the one from Germany will change. Also, I think that since Germany is in the heart of Europe they should adapt to the small, PEGI logo. I mean, even the UK changed it.
And what exactly is better now? You still have to download the rest of the game.
Better cover art?! Who cares. You can print your own.
They also should make the "Smoking kills!" banner on the cigarette boxes smaller as well ...
yeah, how in the world is " This War Of Mine" not all on a cart? surely it is just a code, then? that's hardly a "complete" edition, at any rate. Gross. I like the smaller logo for not being so ugly, but yeah, in terms of communicating the issue to people who might not know, it should be a huge warning banner.
@thesilverbrick
Yeah i agree, it looks much better but problem remains this actually shouldnt happen at all, even if i get bothered by people who complain to much about it.
We are going in to the 3rd yearof the Switch, i can understand it for now but i expect Nintendo and 3rd parties to invest in having the games fully on the card.
I think they should put the banner on the back next to where it shows the information but then include a micro sd card to install it onto.
Either way I refuse to purchase any game that requires a day one download to play because I refuse to support that system.
@RickD
This. Please add photos of crying children and 30-somethings pulling their hair out as well.
Omg omg zomg! No physical = no buy!!
Oh wait, I’m not one of those backward OCD people that need to have something to hold to enjoy a game and feel complete in their life. Digital all the way! Let’s go!
I wish it was just an insert inside the sleeve instead of on the actual box art...then I wouldn't care how big it was because I could always just remove that off after purchase.
The original design is super ugly, but the warning message does need to be clear. However, they could just make it mandatory to have a reversible sleeve without the warning, then once you've bought it you can just swap it around problem solved!
@antdickens this is my preference - old warning and big so everyone sees but reversible for once you have bought.
I agree with many commenters for once - the 2 Gb game itself requiring a download is the real news here. I was frankly under the impression that memory cards below 4 Gb (let alone 2) were barely even manufactured anymore.
The box should be as ugly as the business practices which mandate it. I don't want to have to go out of my way to figure out which games are trying to screw up the entire point of a physical release. That said, this beats the NOTHING Capcom somehow got away with for the Mega Man X collections.
I agree with those saying it needs to be clearly labeled, but I don't think it is remotely necessary to be that glaring warning we see currently. Anyone buying a game should be able to read the new smaller warning just fine, no need to have the old version with that BIG UGLY DISCLAIMER on it.
Is it so much to ask customers to read the box before they buy the product? It's a download notification, not a warning that the box contains anthrax or radioactive material!
Nintendo of America must have softened their requirements for the required download banner. Even the box art for Final Fantasy X/X-2 doesn't have the download banner, and half of that game is download-only.
@Medic_alert Learn sarcasm. Are you personally hurt by smoking or someone died because of that? Is that why you are so peachy?
@Medic_alert It was sarcasm. I compare it to other practices of warning sign on the package of products. That is all.
I am against the smaller sign because the ugly sign is the price they should pay for releasing such pathetic versions.
I'm one who still looks at the labels for info when buying physical games, so I'll notice it, and I think it looks nicer as it has the full box art.
@Susurrus Two reasons I could think of, it saves on SD card space as the cartridge does have a chunk of the game on it. The other reason, if someone has slower Internet, it's less to download (it can happen, the town I use to live in had 3 Mbps DSL). A 6-8 GB update is still smaller than a 20 GB game.
@antdickens
That is a really good idea actually. That way you could also keep the big warning then change if you want to when bought.
@Tendogamerxxx Let's not disrespect other people's opinions please. It is not "backwards" or "OCD" to want to own something physical for your purchase. While it's more conveniant to have digital copies, physical cartridges are often cheaper, which is a benefit for some people.
@antdickens Yes, FFX/X-2 HD did the warning right.
I'm a graphic designer and I like this a lot better. The old way dominated the box art way too much, and I always thought that it was a bit strange that it was the first thing you saw over game logo. Reversing out the colors of the icon to make it primarily blue makes this less intrusive, but still noticeable from a distance. It's become more of a symbol with supporting text, rather than 6 sentences in 3 different languages — this is the right way to do it.
It should be big on the back
@NintendoFan4Lyf when it comes to a physical version, I would rather have a complete game at a higher price. This is baffling that Gamers have put on blinders to how disrespectful this is. And then we have people like @Tendogamerxxx who call us "backwards OCD people" when we either can't download because we have caps on our data, or we legitimately want legal rights to own our games.
@Chayshirin Also be sure to include a sad puppy in the corner somewhere, for good measure.
@LordGeovanni For the record, I'm not against physical, and honestly I like both physical and digital games and would like them to both exist as options.
As someone who has had slower Internet in the past, physical has its advantages, even if an update is needed. For series I really like a lot, I still like having the physical copies of those games.
@NintendoFan4Lyf the problem is I'm more worried about having the right to play the game I bought. At any moment, any company including Nintendo has the ability to brick any one person's console. They can also brick one entire game from all consoles. Physical versions prevent that legally.
And the upsetting thing is the only version that allows you that legal protection is the physical version. My problem is them cheaping out on a physical version. I shouldn't have to have 80% of it digital. That is the company literally cheaping out on the game and simultaneously erode away end user legal rights.
@Sunsy and I have no problem with digital copies I just have a problem if I'm going to get that digital copy because I will not own it. I'm always for having more options, however allowing a company to have the power to legally strip me of any game I buy at any moment is not palatable.
There should always be a physical copy made if at all possible, even at a higher price. There should always be as much of the game possible on the physical card as well. $10 or $15 extra is not completely unreasonable if it gets you the full game.
@thesilverbrick Honestly I can't remember the last PS4 game I played that didn't require at LEAST a 20GB patch download. So it's definitely not just Switch's problem.
I think the jerk publishers pulling this BS and not just putting a full, complete, non-beta version of the game on a suitably-size cartridge need far more public shaming than this box art accomplishes.
It’s an Easter miracle!
Why can't they have the warning on one side of the cover for the stores and then a regular cover printed on the other side?
...or have a full game on the cartridge, but that doesn't seem to be happening
@Tendogamerxxx
But how are you going to brag about your gigantic collection on Twitter and YouTube, then?
@TeslaChippie Difference is, the Switch comes with only 32GB of onboard memory. The PS4’s hard drive is astronomically larger. Also, this is the case of the developers cheaping out and using small cards for games when they could easily fit on ones that are just a little larger. As someone mentioned in this thread, the game in question is only about 2GB in size. The developer clearly went for a 1GB card to cut costs, at the expense of the consumer.
@NintendoFan4Lyf there is no fight to "win" here. People are just allowing it to happen over and over again, but that will slowly begin to change when you have more and more Devs or Publishers taking advantage of customers. Piss off the wrong Nintendo representative when you feel they did something wrong and they could fly your account to be deleted in a moment. Just flag your account as a hacker and almost nobody will look at it I'm sure. Already people are quick to judge against Homebrew, and there is nothing illegal about that at all. If Nintendo flagged your account and said that you were illegally modifying, you lose all of your digital games. But physical you still own. I'm waiting for Bethesda or EA to do something like this and get people to wake up.
@antdickens You sir, are brilliant!
@Silly_G do you have any idea how much more it costs publishers to use the 32gb card? Are you willing to pay the extra 15 bucks per game for that? Or would you rather just pay once and get a big ass sd card instead?
The download label seems to be completely optional to the publisher, for example Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD doesn't have anything of the sort on the cover yet only X is included in the cartridgde.
I prefer the more discrete label so it doesn't ruin the box art and honestly more often than not people already know when a game requires an extra download before playing. And if not they can always read the back of the box before buying. Realistically it's not an ideal situation but publishers still refuse to use the larger carts
@thesilverbrick Honestly a PS4 HDD will only last you like ten games at best with how awfully large most of them are not even including day-one patches and future updates. You have to constantly delete stuff if you don't want to spend on a bigger HDD, so it's the same situation across all consoles although Switch is certainly the worst
@KayFiOS Really?? It’s not about the sd space - it’s about the fact that you are buying a physical copy of a game with the cartridge- and it’s useless.. it’s basically just a gamekey to the download... I have plenty of space on sd but I’m buying physical because that’s what I like - but if the game’s not even on there.. it’s ridiculous and defeats the purpose of physical in the first place.
It would be like going down to the dvd/video store, buying a dvd and then having to come home and enter the dvd code onto youtube to play the dvd from youtube.. makes absolutely no sense.
I think it looks a lot better. I wish no games required downloads but with the Switch having no hard drive and using cartridges, it's bound to happen.
@thesilverbrick if the game will not work without the download, then what's the point of that cart. Just a marketing ploy at that point. There is a special place in hell for these people who decided that this was ok.
But then greed is king and its also why we will eventually wreck the planet. #sadtimes
It should still have a reversible cover without that warning.
It's an improvement. Am I the only one bothered by the warning not being centered?
is the box half full, or half empty? 🤔
"This War of Mine - Complete Edition" is only 2,0 GB after its last update. How come it's only partial in the North American physical version? Do they cut the games in half to fit onto a 1 GB cartridge?
Last time I checked the EU physical version was complete. It has no mandatory download info on its box, though it was updated from 1,6 GB to 2,0 GB.
Does someone actually know how much there is to download in the North American version? At first I thought maybe it's just the 0,4 GB update but that's not required to play.
Much better. But I still think it's outrageous what digital games are doing to the industry.
I just buy everything digital now. Its more convenient for me plus I don't care for switching carts/discs anymore. 30 years of that crap is enough lol
It should be even bigger.
Ideally the entire cover. Shame them into proper releases.
Everyone with digital games, have fun not being able to play them in a decade or less.
Nice label art is one reason for buying physical. I like the less obtrusive design. And I don't mind having to download part of the game. I'm still able to resell the game and still saving space on my SD card by buying physical. Games bought on eShop have none of these features.
This shouldn't exist. Everything should be on the card!
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