Digital Sales Make Up Nearly Half Of FY 2023 Switch Software Sales So Far

digital is definitely way more convenient, takes up less space and switching between games is much easier. But the collector in me still prefers physical games. Real value vs. digital value.

Much prefer physical but I will buy digital if it's the only option or it's much cheaper than a physical copy. Also don't like taking a risk on a game I might not like and can't do anything about if I don't.

I'm all digital too. When PS Vita and 3ds were released people were saying that these could be the last dedicated handheld portable consoles and that people now use their smartphones for games and cloud is the future blah blah blah. 12 years later and Switch outsold gameboy in the era of smartphones. Handhelf devices arent going anywhere anytime soon

All digital is more convenient and, in the case of first-party titles, cheaper (because of the Switch vouchers + gold points). So it's no surprise digital is still on the rise. I buy all my Switch games digital too, unless there's a Collector's Edition I really want / the game has a special meaning to me.

I think 46% is somewhat misleading. Nintendo is lumping NSO, NSO Expansion, digital versions of physically available titles, and DLC under one umbrella. In contrast, you can't buy DLC off a store shelf in boxed form 9 times out of 10 (apparently Mario Kart 8 DLC is sold as a code in a box in some regions).

Physical all the way! I appreciate the convenience of digital but as a collector, not having a physical copy hurts my soul. Next console Gen is going to be seriously tough, happy the Switch is still going strong.

I would love to stick with physical, but these carts are too small. Some how I managed to lose my BotW launch game. I'm pretty sure it's in the house. Somewhere. Digital is just far more convenient for me. However, there is a LOT to be said about digital store fronts shutting down or games being removed from store fronts, or worse from our libraries. This has happened to me with TV shows on Amazon where episodes get locked behind a streaming service even when I bought the season years earlier. So, there is no perfect solution. Also, physical just takes up space to store over time.

I tend to buy digital Switch games for games I get the most playtime out of / make use of online features, so Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Splatoon, Smash etc. For everything else, it's physical.

I am amazed digital can even flourish on the Switch given the lack of memory. You can upgrade your microSD sure, but only up to a 1TB, not to mention a 1TB microSD will cost you around £120ish. I have been stuck on a 512gb microSD for at least a year, and I don't even consider myself a digital heavy user; I may own a lot of digital, but this is normally because it is only available via digital like the recent releases of Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable, or the physical is being handled by a company like LimitedRun so it is overpriced (to me, I am sure there will be some people who defend the price).

I still grab cartridges when it makes sense, but digital just fits so well with the Switch. It's lovely being out somewhere (on a trip, during personal down time, etc.) and not having to have that moment when you realize you can't play a game because it's sitting at home in a box.

It's also becoming a significantly cheaper option for launch purchases between vouchers, discounted eshop codes, gold coins, etc.

I still grab physical because I prefer the physcial conveniences over the digital one: Saves memory space, I can play right away as opposed to downloading the entire game, resell value, and of course the sense of ownership/collecting that physical provides that a digital file can’t replicate.

Most of the games I want to play on Switch are digital only. :T
That, or I'd have to wait a year and a half AND pay triple to get a physical release.

I’ve gone mostly all digital with the switch cause I was noticing whenever I bought a physical release it was rarely ever the full game complete and I was having to download hefty chunks of the game,patches and updates. The convenience is also nice.

I really wanted to go all digital, but wanted it tied to my account, not hardware. Also, physical was usually the least expensive way to get the big games. Then, we had two Switches and I didn't want to have to manage the digital copies... I have so many physical games I didn't really want, but they do have resale value... but I also never sell my games.

I will buy digital only because it came out first but if it and physical are available at the same time I'll always go for physical first no matter how much it is. If digital is coming first but physical is plan for later than I will pick digital first while waiting for the physical version so if dev really want money from me this strategy is very welcome and recommended. I would support you twice if you done digital first and physical after. If physical came out first and digital after, then I will get the physical version and probably may or may not go for the digital one. If dev choose to go the cloud route then I won't support that game, if dev choose the free to play route then I will try the game but may or may not throw money on the game unless it's really really popular and had a long run history.

Physical game owners are like VHS movie owners and music CD owners refusing to go digital. Those movie and music mediums have left physical behind except for the small holdouts. Surprised it has taken this long for video games to catch up to those other mediums.

Personally I buy only physical, and only games that are full in cart. Patches I understand but not buying games that require half or more the game be downloaded.

If I have go go digital, it will be either a Steam or Xbox purchase.

As of right now, I own 261 physical Switch games.

I gave in over the last few years and became much more inclined to purchase games digitally. It’s just too convenient, especially when traveling with the Switch.

I still pick up physical copies of specific games that interest me. But that’s down to a few times per year at this point.

A mixture of digital and physical is perfect for me on the Switch, a hybrid system for a hybrid system

Digital and Physical will always co-exists unless the Digital gets made into a Physical release then that is good for consumers. Some Digital have limited budgets so they can't go Physical unless they get a massive interest from Nintendo or get other backers to get production to come to physical options. And until then Digital will always be there regardless.

I’d buy more on the eshop I’d they sorted their download speeds out. It’s sooooo slow compared to PlayStation and pretty much anything else I use the internet for!

My household has 3 Switches - physical, despite its limitations, will always be my first choice.

Buying on the eshop is a compromise I'll only take when a game is heavily discounted and for titles that I won't particularly miss when the eShop closes down one day.

I just prefer having agency over my purchase - keep it, display it, lend it, gift it, sell it - it must be an old person thing.

Of course, I'm with you @aaronsullivan - after trading in a small fortune of NES, Gameboy, Genesis, Super NES, and Sega CD games in my youth, now I never sell off games (unless they're like SOR4 or Attack on Titan, where a superior edition of the same game came out later).

I go mostly physical for the obvious pros, but also not to feed my instant gratification tendency.

I usually go physical where there's a choice, and the rare exception is where the physical version is much more expensive. I don't buy enough games to make physical storage an issue, and I've had some really poor luck with MicroSD cards being bricked in the OLED.

Using the data in the chart it's possible to break down the data further:

FY23/Q1-Q3

• 26.4% revenue from 'downloadable versions of packaged software' (blue part)
• 19.6% revenue from 'download-only software, add-on content, NSO, etc' (yellow part)
• 54% revenue from physical games (remainder)

So when there's a choice of both formats, it's 67%-33%: two-thirds of the revenue coming from physical games, only one-third from digital equivalents.

Switch 2 all digital.

The future looks dark, with only a few shining sparks of hope iluminating the treacherous path ahead. Digital is convenient for normal play and forget, but the true mastepieces should always find their way to us in a tangible way

What really is the point of physical if toy stores are out of business and GameStop is on the way out.

So convenient. And having 50 games on one card sure is a lot better than swapping out little carts everytime you feel like playing something else.

Plus less plastic waste for the planet! I know it's too late to save it but still.

@Tharsman Once you leave your parents and then move AGAIN I'm sure you'll be wishing those 200 boxes of games you haven't touched in years were all digital.

I almost never buy physical games anymore. I think I own like 10 physical Switch games total and they're all pretty much either because they were notably cheaper that way or I got them as gifts.

I feel like its because Nintendo constantly does sales on digital first-party games