It Seems Game Builder Garage Will Be Digital-Only In Europe

Twenty quid is pretty much my cap for digital so sod this then.

Why? Why does it get physical in every region except PAL? That's just dumb, especially given that its a first party title.

One more reason to not buy this unless creators get insane.

I'll just... import the US release and photoshop the PEGI rating and edit the spine...

Well honestly for my money this kind of program works better as a digital product.

No thanks. Was interested but for most digital games I cant see myself paying £20 or more.

No worries. I only buy games I wish to play.

Glad the move is going towards digital honestly. I get why people are unhappy about it but physical media is on the way out. When you can store 100 games on an SD card smaller than a game cartridge, it really no longer makes sense. Macbooks no longer have disk drives, instruction manuals are the way of the past, do people even buy blu rays anymore? Physical media is dying and I am excited for what the future holds!

Particularly with it being something that multiple kids in the family might want to play, mad to not have a shareable cart.

@oatmaster you can share the download.

@MaxlRoseGNR just buy a us version.

It's a miss. Probably won't be importing either.

That sucks. I'm not opposed to buying digital games but if a game is digital-only at the price of a retail game I'm unlikely to buy it until it gets a sale, whereas if this had a physical release I'd probably have bought it at launch.

@sanderev pain in the arse though, kids have their own switches. Can do it via swapping primary console but pain in the arse.

@Schizor88 can't play physical games?

Not really an issue, at least people can import it if they really care.
Couldn't do that back in the 3DS/Wii U days...

Pretty Strange. Considering there's a physical version everywhere else for this game.

@Scapetti No offence, but what an awful take on the entire thing

Hope this doesn't become a thing for Nintendo. I basically refuse to buy games digitally, unless it's digital-only but even then it really depends on the game.

Really annoying move from Nintendo.

To be fair, we have Dr Kawashima’s Brain Challenge on Switch, unlike the US where the game hasn't been released AT ALL, so it’s kind of a touche.
Maybe Nintendo doesn’t believe such a small game should receive an international physical release as it probably wouldn’t sell many copies. This is about money clearly, however Activision is the real culprit here, with the Crash 4 fiasco, as that is a blockbuster title

and they wonder how the xbox became such a success in europe. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Europe is getting the shaft on physical copies more and more. Particularly from Capcom but other companies are doing it too and now even Nintendo themselves are starting to do it. I find this concerning.

@russell-marlow I doubt cart tax really applies for a company whose games are also for their system. As some other have mentioned its a smaller title in the vein of Brain Training, which is likely why its not a priority to get it physical everywhere. But it just feels off to have it physical for 2 of the 3 primary regions and skip the 3rd, though again Brain Training missed out on an NTSC physical version.

Just glad that it IS a smaller game and not a more notable release of Nintendo's. Once they start to have their mid-range/mid popularity series as digital only or physical in certain regions, then that's grounds to worry.

well some good news for Europe. the switch has no region lock. so those who want physical can get it. I feel the pain of those who get passed up. I hate it when the US gets passed up. but then again I just get a physical version from that country. and if Japan has an English translation version.

Title: game unavailable anywhere except Europe and only from eshop.

But actually, great. Maybe we can finally kill physical game media in a generation.

Hi everybody! First post here, I’ve lurked since 2014 😳 No idea why it’s taken me so long. I’m with the others here that see this as a worrying trend. The PAL gamers shouldn’t have to track down foreign copies of games when it could have been done without much effort. But as others have said, probably a bottom line issue. Just wish our Ninty wouldn’t be so anti-consumer sometimes. And why some would want physical media dead altogether boggles my mind. We’ll no longer own any of these games. And the companies will still charge 60+ for games they don’t even have to manufacture anymore. That makes me sad.

I can see why people only want to buy physical and why people only want to buy digital. Personally, I ALWAYS choose physical unless it’s a game that is only available digitally, which accounts for most of the indies I own. The reason I like buying physical is because I’m somewhat stuck in the past and having a shelf filled with my game collection is a really satisfying and gratifying thing. Is it, ultimately, useless boxes of plastic that are taking up space in my home? Of course. But do I love to look at them and take pride in owning them? 100%.

What I don’t understand is why people seem to take one side of this approach and attack the other. Just get over it. Not everything has to be a war with two sides. Just game how you wanna game. It’s really quite tiresome ya know

I wonder what this means for the Australian release. Our cartridges have been imported from Europe since late 2017 (first party launch game cartridges were "AUS" coded). Pre-orders are open in Australia and the final artwork is available (with our rating logo).

@Scapetti : Physical, at least for film and music, has become more of an enthusiast market in recent years due to how ridiculously cheap and convenient streaming services are (why pay $20 for a single movie when you can stream a ridiculous range of content for half that a month?).

I still buy Blu-rays because the quality is substantially superior to the minuscule bitrates afforded to their streaming/download equivalents. If content providers would provide comparable (ideally better) quality digitally and without DRM, I would happily buy movies/TV digitally, but I just don't think that's going to happen due to piracy concerns. Plus, physical media won't fall prey to the idiotic censorship that is often seen on streaming services in order to appease perpetually indignant activists.

And hilariously, CD still runs rings around streaming/digital, so I will always buy CDs where I can (and the odd digital purchase if I only want the odd song or if a CD version is not available, though I would not buy a full album digitally if a CD version is available). It never ceases to confound me when I see people with expensive headphones or sound systems listening to 3MB MP3 files.

And with respect to the Switch, households with multiple consoles can share a single physical copy of a game. And one of the reasons I am so strongly opposed to DLC is that it renders the physical version less useful in these situations. If Nintendo routinely reissued their games with the DLC on the cartridge like they did for Pokémon Sword/Shield, I would have no issues with the practice, as I don't buy physical releases to serve as glorified boot discs or for their novelty value of a case (though they are really nice to have as a collector).

I get why people are happy with the short-term conveniences of downloads, but what I don't understand is people begrudging others of choice.

Nope, time Nintendo learned the hard way. No physical! No sale!
Same rule for all first and third party games in my household.

I have to create games for "them" and even pay for it? What company is this?

@oatmaster You can still play games with a console that's not set as your primary console. Just not at the same time, but that also goes for a cartridge. (You can't insert a cartridge into 2 Switches at the same time)

@dr-gorgo Almost all IDEs are paid for software. Some are even very expensive.

@Scapetti How do you share games with family members?

@sanderev You can still play games with a console that's not set as your primary console. Just not at the same time, but that also goes for a cartridge. (You can't insert a cartridge into 2 Switches at the same time)

Always online though. So much for kids playing in the car.

@Scapetti You are a moron and clearly trying to annoy people. I think you're about 14. You're 'excited for what the future holds'. Temporary ownership of something you paid full price for that lasts as long as the company you bought it from decides you can have access to it. Absolute idiot.

@Scapetti subscriptions everywhere, thats the future, microsoft office, netflix, dinsey +, adobe products, your ISP heck maybe even your car already has sub on it. and maybe next gen games are subscription only.

I dont need to own everything I have but I just dont like having subs for everything. In the long run it is always more expensive then do just buy and own it.

Ofcourse this is just a digital game so you can download it later until you can’t.

@__jamiie I'm pushing 40 and I'm also excited about the evolution of digital gaming. I love the Gamepass model, pay £11 a month and play as many games as I want including new releases on day 1. That is much better value than paying £40-£70 for one game in my book.

"Temporary ownership of something you paid full price for that lasts as long as the company you bought it from decides you can have access to it."
You do realise that this also applies to physical games nowadays, how many games are actually released without requiring a patch? If a company decides to stop supporting those downloads your physical cart effectivly becomes a worthless piece of plastic

Europe has pretty stable internet without data cap, I have two 400gb micro sd cards which are full. I hate it when I have to swap between both for a certain game... Can't imagine the struggle having to deal with more than three physical cartridges, do people actually take all their cartridges with them with the risk of losing them on a bus?... currently ring fit is the only physical for me

@__jamiie Grown ups don't insult people or guess people's age nice try though

People behind desks looking at numbers.
Anyhow, DD will most likely be convenient when 'playing' this 'game'.

@Crono1973

You can. Just go offline (flight mode) with your primary

@Starman88 Well I guess that makes you intolerant for judging me. How dare you be intolerant of anyone or anything in the world including me and my opinions.

Can everyone chill out?! You do realise you can appreciate games in a digital form too, not just with a box! And also that stuff digital isn't gonna be our repentance to save our poor souls? You do you if you're gonna self-impose arbitrary price caps on what you buy digitally, but that doesn't mean other people are bad for... buying digital. And physical collections can be valuable too - collectors aren't bad either!! It is sad for people who have extensive physical collections, but surely the main thing is experiencing the game? Not berating how people choose to... enjoy the game? CHILL PEOPLE

I was actually going to download this anyway but, I agree, it's a bad move from Ninty

@Mr-Fuggles777 Well done for nearly turning 40. I'm a couple of weeks away myself. I have games from 30 years ago that still work. The fact that modern games need a patch to work isn't a good thing and I don't know why you use that to argue your point. A game you buy should work out of the box. I've never bought a film that required me to download a patch to watch the ending. A game shouldn't be a transient thing like hearing a song on the radio. If I pay full price it should be mine to do as I please with for as long as I want.

@stinky_t Thank god you stepped in. Hero. Peace maker. Such a lukewarm, sit on the fence, can't everyone just love everything kind of opinion. Snore.

@stinky_t Thank you. Everyone just relax. And to think, earlier this morning in response to that metroid article, someone got upset because I said online communities - including nintendolife - are filled with insufferable jerks... stay classy, everyone!

@__jamiie I'm saying that people don't have to be hostile about it. You're treating these people like they've murdered your family because they've chosen a different way to enjoy their media. I'm all for discussing this: I admit it's a move that rubs people the wrong way but personally it doesn't affect anything to me, because I still get to enjoy the game. There's the opinion. And at no point there does anyone get thrown under the bus or berated because of personal preference that doesn't affect me.

@Chowdaire thank you for being polite in response to my comment. People treat this like an all-out war, when there's no reason it should be. Perhaps its worth stressing that its a subset of the community that is like this, but they're the vocal ones, so it does seem like its everyone sometimes.

@Scapetti I still prefer to own physical games. Look at the PS3 for example with the CMOS bomb. If Sony stop supporting the PS3 and killing the ability to connect to the servers then your digital games are no more if your CMOS battery dies.

PS4 and most likely 5 (was only tested on a digital only version) have it much worst where both physical and digital titles become unplayable.

But here is the thing. If that happens I can just sell my physical PS4/5 collection but you can't do that with digital.

You can always import.

I think Famicom Detective Club is the same in Europe. 😕

@Clyde_Radcliffe : Famicom Detective Club is the same internationally. There are only physical releases for Japan (which only includes Japanese on the cartridge). Perhaps Nintendo will do a 180 and give us a delayed physical release, but I'm not sure how this one will play out. What I do know is that I sure as hell won't be paying AU$90 for a download.

@CactusMan But only in Europe??? I'd understand if it was digital everywhere but there's no excuse to avoid physical solely in Europe. Anyone who wants a physical cartridge will have to import. A game like this seems like it's destined for paid DLC unfortunately and so those importers would need to set up a non EU account for the privilege or miss out entirely. It doesn't seem right considering its a first party game.

Imagine if it was NA that was announced as not getting a physical release, I doubt the comment section here would be filled with the same people saying "If you don't like it, import it".

Choice is better. But we are inching towards a more digital only future. I've no issue with it but I can understand why some would. Its not a deal breaker for me though like it is for some. I planned on getting this release, probably in cartridge form. But I'll download now instead.

@Scapetti What's good about removing a choice and removing the possibility for someone to actually own the content they're paying for? Getting rid of physical media doesn't help digital-only people, it just hurts people who prefer owning their own physical copies of games or movies. And yes, people do still buy Blu-Rays. The quality is much better than streaming and you get to watch the movie any time you'd like rather than hoping it's on one of the many streaming services competing with each other these days. There's no legitimate reason why physical and digital media can't co-exist.

(For the record, I'm from NA, so this news doesn't affect me personally. That being said, I do believe it's important for the option to always be available as this is a very important subject to me, so I disagree with Nintendo's decision to make this digital-only in Europe.)

I am kind of sad it won’t be physical. But the ease of not having to need a cartridge to boot this tool up makes up for it. Must buy!

Once we know if you can get other people games and share your games, without a silly code system too please Nintendo do it like Mario Maker. I need this in to turn it from a no buy into a maybe for me.

The game page for Australia says it's available instore/ downloadable, so I think we're getting a physical version.
Here's the link to the game page. https://www.nintendo.com.au/catalogue/game-builder-garage

thank goodness Switch is region free, now longer have to import said game to play said game.

@VIIIAxel I wouldn't be surprised if it's mostly people not actually in Europe disagreeing with me

Makes no difference to me.

@Scapetti
All digital: 100 games on one piece of storage. Sounds good.
Physical: Each game on it's own storage medium. Sounds tiresome.
The problem? WHEN your digital storage fails (and it WILL, as will the physicals - I'm not fooling myself here) all 100 games are gone like they never existed in the first place (some might argue then never even did). Physical? One game breaks or fails, the other 99 are still playable.

Think about that.

I'm not a digital naysayer, or a physicals-only purist, or anything extreme like that... but it's a factor that needs to be considered by the game industry going forward. Video games have an ATROCIOUS track record when it comes to preserving itself. My roommate can't play a game from SIX YEARS AGO thanks to changing OS builds and configurations.

Think about that, too.

@RetrovisRabbit you do realise you can redownload games from the eshop right? If a cartridge breaks it's gone for good. If an SD card breaks, you get a new one and stock back up

@sanderev only on the account that purchased the game though.

It's fine, the switch is region free

@Scapetti And what happens when the eshop inevitably goes down for good, like the Wii shop channel and such? It is no longer possible to redownload anything.

Really the only reliable way of making sure your games of any format stay around is if you yourself rip the games and make backups of them, and even then they have to be stored somewhere on a storage device that will also degrade with time. I personally don't have huge issues with the physical/digital "war" people seem to have (there's pros and cons to both), but I do prefer physical since it's something tangible that my money has been spent on. At some point I think I will look into creating my own backups for my physical collection simply because they will eventually stop working, but the money I have spent on them is worth it to me for the long shelf life they will have before that point.

To tie it back to the article though, having a whole region be excluded from a physical release (ESPECIALLY for a Nintendo first party title) seems a little dumb; it'd at least make sense if it was a Japan only release. Maybe it's just cus it's a much smaller (and less of a priority?) release that they see no need to release it everywhere, but it still sucks for those who enjoy the physical collection side of things. Sure they could import a copy, but what if they don't want to incur the extra costs of that, or they only collect pal region games? There are many reasons why people do/don't care about whether a physical release does/should happen, but it should really be freedom for the consumer, not a funnelling towards the almighty digital age.

@Scapetti
I know this. I've had 3 different SD cards and had to go through the process every time I chose to upgrade to a larger one.

I'm talking about LATER. When the system is a retro system and the eShop is down. Chances are good you won't care about that by then... it DOES sound like that's a problem for "future you", and it's not my place to tell you that you HAVE to care about that now or ever. I should, however, tell you not to scoff at those who like to think ahead on this sort of thing... the people who care about their games past the year they come out.

Like I said, I'm not fooling myself here. I have no illusions of changing your mind in any meaningful way. I'm not even 100% sure why I felt obligated to try. Suit yourself in any case.

Why are people writing long articles at me... chill

@Skalgrim You can. Just go offline (flight mode) with your primary
We are talking about playing digital games on a non primary console (like for your kids). In those cases you need to be always online.

Better to hand them a physical copy to play.

That's what happens when you post controversial things. Deal with it.

@Beolleika @Retrovisrabbit We're being trolled by this "Scapetti". Don't feed it.

@Keithustus I've Reported your comment for trolling and Ignored you. You're not the only one who can use the comment section for cheap laughs.

@Silly_G I learned some important stuff from your detailed post. Thanks!

I do sincerely hope that the people trolling us about the "death of physical" (that has an interesting sound coming from meaty bipeds) aren't the same ones crying about Nintendo's failure to localize Mother 3, or venting their displeasure at the game selection on NSO.

@Matl And what happens when the eshop inevitably goes down for good

Hopefully Nintendo is going to adopt backwards compatibility moving forward where everything rolls forward and you will always have access to your digital purchases on the newer systems.

I'm probably a little biased atm as I've recently picked up a new Xbox and I'm blown away with how consumer friendly it is. I immediately had access to my old 360 library of over 200 games the handful of Xb1 games I bought before trading the console in and even a few original xbox games I had picked up. Including gamepass I have access to over 600 games without having to take up any shelf space with cases.

@Scapetti What does my country of origin have to do with the argument? I specified that I'm from NA to clarify that while I'm not personally affected, I'm upset for my fellow collectors in Europe who are being impacted by it. People in all regions should get a choice between physical and digital games. No one benefits by losing the ability to choose.

This is kind of a stupid thing to worry about. If you buy it physical, you still have to play it on Nintendo's online service if you want to share or play other people's games. In 20 years, when the Switch servers are long gone, that physical game isn't going to work any better than the digital version, unless your sole reason for buying it is making games just for yourself.

@stinky_t Literally no one said you're bad for buying digital. Just that Scapetti's post sounds like he's glad and for the death of physical media. Which is pretty ridiculous. As if ignoring physical and going all digital wasn't already a completely viable option. What would you gain from having less options?

Digital is the only way to go with this title. This kind of programming game will probably have loads of update and dlc.

@VIIIAxel my point is that Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of America make different decisions for a reason. Perhaps Europe is more welcome to digital media? I'm in the UK, it's digital only, and I like it, you're in the US where it isn't, and you don't like it. That's all I'm saying

@Crono1973
Ok. My experience is the opposite. Much more convenient for my kids having games digitally. They don’t have any nostalgia for physical and won’t grow up with it anyway.

Physical is pretty much dead.

@COVIDberry, weird, I was not trolling. Why troll me?

Well, Europe has alot of other physical titles that isn't in North America. Stickly Limited Games.... It's about time we got some good stuff and not them! lol

Possible this is based on predicted sales in the region vs costs of creating a physical game and shipping it across alot of borders etc. Since its not a full price game I'd say that factors into it.

We can all go on and on about physical games being nice etc but it's only a matter of time based on trends til they are limited release collectors editions only.

I can't be the only one who thinks that this fits better as a digital game, right? If it's a coding tool, the physical version of this game would be like popping a disc of Roblox Studio or Unity or Unreal Engine or whatever the hell.

Of course I get why people are mad, but chill out, most of you wasn't going to play this anyways, and imports exist, so either way, stop whining.

@HotGoomba True.

does this game allow you upload and download creations?

I'm not buying it then. At least not at full price.

If you really want physical, I can fully recommend any of the LABO VR releases. If you can still track them down.

The garage is already VERY comprehensive in those, and of course supports both IR input and stereoscopic output.

@Scapetti for me, i personally liked it when you had a real product. I love to have a lot of games on one cardridge though, now that i am seeing my games are going up in nrs.

@oatmaster,

I totally agree! I never pay more then 20 on downloads too!

@Scapetti Is this a paid advert?

Time to move with the times gramps. You only need to look at sonys latest numbers to see why this is. They made 55% of their revenue from digital games and dlc. Physical releases? 5%.

I used to love physical but let's face it, im way too old to go and pick up a cart and put it in the machine. So much more convenient to just press button and play. Digital sales happen all the time. Retail? Barely ever.

Look on the bright side, less games to buy for a full switch library 😘

Fine by me, the only reason i have Mario Maker was that it came with an Amiibo(and book) and it was my birthday near release. And the other game software i have is Unity which was a free download version anyway.

@ROBLOGNICK it's $30.

Oof... sorry my European friends!

While I see this as a game that for me works better in digital, it is a stupid decision not to release a physical version in Europe. We should all get the chance to experience the game the way it suits ourselves better.

Physical and digital are DIFFERENT, but I don't see that one is superior over the other.

This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard...well, almost. It's not as bad as those Switch games where you get two Game Cards in the Asian versions and only one with a download card in the NA and EU versions.

@HotGoomba So?

@ROBLOGNICK What do you mean so!? You said you wouldn't get it full price and I told you it wasn't, I was helping you, you don't have to be rude. I never said anything about getting the game, just the price.

will just wait for limited run to physical this or something, it'll happen play the waiting game chums

@Matl Or maybe the Switch cartridges are getting tougher to produce.

No physical no purchase in this case!

@Scapetti I know im late, but listen, I'm not gonna throw you hate..but geez, you ask why you're getting long articles written on you when you just gave many thoughtless comments, i respect your opinion quite a lot, even if i may not agree entirely, but really, you should have chosen a better way to phrase your words, physical media is at its best, you can't just say something is "dying", again, i respect, but just think about that

@StrikerXL I got it at Target, it's not bad on physical, i can see myself playing this a lot, and generally when I'm gonna use something a lot I'll get it digitally, so there's no real problem with it, i recommend digital for this game, but that case and artwork is quite cool

@TohruDX I don't think physical media is at its best in an age of netflix and spotify. I'm surprised it's taking gaming so long to catch up. Cloud gaming is on its way. And okay, maybe not dead because there are always collectors, people still buying blu rays and CDs. But the majority are moving towards convenience. And I don't really see how my opinion is thoughtless. I've been thinking about it...

@Scapetti Not just collectors, everyone, physical is convinient as well, is cheaper, and although you do run the risk of stuff breaking, you do have the bonus of owning the actual thing instead of a crappy license, as well as not having to worry about storage, data corruption, and digital storefront problems, almost no one outside of select countries is ready for cloud gaming because of internet speeds and server issues, it isn't a digital era, most people still buy physical for games and that will still remain on for a while, movies and music took the digital route because that is truly convenient, but games are an entirely different medium, with different limitations and consumers, it is more convenient to have your games on a lame storage card on your Xbox, but that's just lame, many buy the games overpriced on the digital shops, but physical is still a majority, for collecting and price reasons, if you'd look at the comments many even would refuse to get the game if it isn't physical, again it's much better to own the damn thing in person rather than a crappy license that could be taken away from you in any second, both have their ups and downs, but just thinking it is "the way of the future" and how excited you are for it is sortof thoughtless, each will take their own path, but for now at least and for quite some more time, people are mostly choosing physical, cloud gaming is looking great but right now you're making it seem like it's just a thing Xbox fanboys will idolize just because they get gamepass at 10 dollars a month

@TohruDX I'm not really following xbox