Switch 2 Game-Key Cards Won't Make It Easy For Physical Collectors In Japan

I get that it’s cost effective, but you guys really can’t put out full physical versions of your games?

Oh dear…

This is… this is quite bad, isn’t it?

Like, you don’t have the advantages of full physical (functioning game on the card, low memory footprint) or full digital (ease of switching games without replacing carts)?

I'm definitely not a fan of the game key method here, but at least it seems that it will allow you to lend a physical game to others and they can download the extra data to play as many times as you want. I can still sell this if I tire of a game.

With code-in-box games, those are single use, and would require you to do the whole game share lending way.

Besides, this is what they've been doing on the Switch 1 for years with the game compilations, where only one game is on the card and the other has to be downloaded in an update. They just gave it a snappy new name.

Yeah...definitely gonna retire from gaming after getting the Switch 2. this crap is already pushed me to buy less & less games any ways.

This why i'm sticking to blu-ray movies. At least everything is on disc and you don't have to worry about anything missing.

I'm OK w/ the fame-key carts in theory, but in practice they need to be sold in an entirely different box more akin to the DS andv3DS boxes so we know when we aren't getting a full game in the box. As sold now these should probably be illegal.

That Nobunaga looking game box says "Complete Edition" on the cover, in English for some reason, when instead it should say "Completely Empty Cart Edition" in letters that big and bold.

@StewdaMegaManNerd They’re AAA game companies. They just want to hoard all of the money they can get and be as cheap as possible.

I won't bother with any game-key cards. I'll probably just get any of those games digitally or on another system if cheaper there.

Question : Will you be buying games sold on game-key cards?

Me : HELL NO...! and I will NEVER support that BS business practice !

@FishyS But still a downgrade from full-fat physical, right?

I'm pretty sure Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion is a proper physical here in Europe.
I will try to avoid those key cards just as i avoid paying full retail price for digital.

I'll just buy fewer games, that's all. Far fewer games by the look of it too.

There were several games that I was on the fence on as I was looking to pad out my library around launch, and this would definitely kill my purchasing decision and any faint interest I may have had

@Maxz Right. It's in the weird in-between where you still have a tangible object and can lend/sell it but it's not actually playable without an internet download.

It's just lazy especially when some of those are small in file size such as Bravely Default and Suikoden. I'd get it if a game was over 50GB+ but most of these aren't. But, some of these games are on playstation with the data on the disk, so that makes me think Nintendo are charging a very high price for these cartridges, a price these developers are refusing to pay for.

What's the zero sum? Let's say, I have a game key card I bought and a downloaded game to my Switch 2. Then I simply take this game key card over to my friend's Switch 2, they insert it, and can download it and play the game I bought? Is the whole point of this to be able to resell digital games? Obviously it's to keep from having to physically load the game on there which keeps costs down for devs, but I'm just trying to get the biggest picture of their advantage here...

Bravely Default was FULLY ON A 3DS CART!!!!
HOW IN BLAZES IS IT NOT FOR Switch?

Not a fan of these key card and will not be getting any. As others have mentioned, I’d rather just buy digital.

To me, this seems like part of the transition to only digital games. That is the path we are on, whether we like it or not. I would not be surprised if this is the last Nintendo console to use physical games.

It makes it easy on this physical collector. Easy to skip a lot of game purchases. I hope these go down in flames so badly that more publishers follow CD Project Red’s lead.

To me these key cards are better than all digital because of resale ability, but not good enough.

@MeloMan “Obviously it's to keep from having to physically load the game on there which keeps costs down for devs, but I'm just trying to get the biggest picture of their advantage here...”

I think this is the zero sum. The developers (EDIT: publisher) pays less per product. The consumer gets an inferior product. I don’t believe there are any advantages for the consumer over full physical, and that cost-saving on physical media storage is the only advantage for devs.

Happy to hear if there’s more than that, though!

@Liam_Doolan
Are you guys at NintyLife planning to let us know beforehand, as early as you can anyway, as to which cartridge EVERY game comes on?

A 1Tb SD EX card is NOT going to be enough for N$2!
Especially with some games at 100+Gbs

Just makes it easier for me to prioritize games to support.

Since Cyberpunk 2077 and Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (at least in the States) are supposedly all on cartridge, those are the ones I'd go for at full price.

Vote with your wallet.

How in the hell is a freaking Tetris game not fully on a cartridge?

This seems like a good place to put my full thoughts.

The pros to game keys are the following:

1. Can be resold
2. Cheaper for studios that wouldn't have made physical carts anyway.
3. Huge AAA games like Street Fighter and Call of Duty make it easier to get these "impossible ports" to the console at all.
4. It's industry standard and gives studios that have worked exclusively with Xbox and Sony a familar avenue to get their work across.

The cons are:

1. You don't own the game and will lose access to it anytime the servers are shutoff or the studio doesnt renew its contract.
2. The idea of optimizing games is an art that it seems only Nintendo and a few indie studios pratice at this point. The idea that Nintendo can add a whole new story to Xenoblade X and actually shed a couple of GB while Bethesda added 100+ GB to Oblivion is frankly embarrasing. The Call of Duty launcher is over 300GB.
3. Could actually have fewer games be made since it's obvious Square could have gotten a game originall 4GB now 11GB onto a cart. We've all heard the rumor that Nintendo is charging more for regular carts but frankly I was going to buy BD1 and Yakuza 0 but now won't due to this mistake on their part.

The success of this system will be decided after a ear or two when we see how it ends up beng used. If game keys are mostly used by like 80-100GB+ AAA games and sub 1GB niche indie games that never would have gotten a physical release anyway it should be considered a win and an additional option given to devs to allow more physical games to be on the S2.

If it's moslty used by all 3rd party studios and only a couple of hangers-on like CDPR or Feral Interactive (Hitman) or God forbid Nintendo, Hal, Gamefreak or any other 2nd party dev ever dares cheap out it will be seen as a complete failure and Nintendo's admission to assist the collapse of the industry.

Edit: I was reminded that the worst con is that you only have limited internal memory and that’s going to fill up quickly.

I absolutely will not be supporting game-key cards in the US. I’m tempted to buy Cyberpunk just to support the practice of physical games actually containing the game…

Ninty needs more than just words on cases to differentiate the different types of Carts:
S2 games fully on Cart: RED (no patches, no dlc added later)
Blue: Switch 1 games with S2 upgrades no DLC added
Black: S1 games with ....

Ya know what, there's too many damn variations to do this!

Screw Ninty this Gen!

I just wanna know how bad these are gonna taste

Is the new faster data transfer tech behind the Switch 2 carts really driving up the manufacture costs to the point where even small file size games like Tetris and Bravely Default need to be on key-card? This seems insane!

If this keeps up, when the eShop eventually shuts down some years from now, seems like literally the only way we'll be able to play half the library will be if a security exploit is found and we can load ROMs on a hacked system.

…this deal is looking worse and worse.

I’m still preordering a Switch 2 tonight, but this is really making it hard for me to support some of these devs. I mean, a game key version of a Yakuza game? Ridiculous.

If it's not on the cartridge, I'm not buying it. Real simple.

It starts to look like the Switch 2 is the last console with any physical games. Both MS and Sony have been moving away from discs some time now (though they still offer the option, "digital only" consoles are a lot more common)

This is a bit off topic but how do physical game collectors usually manage their collections in Japan given the average Japanese home is small? I am running out of shelf and ideal storage space and my home is bigger than the average Japanese home (2,200 square feet).

@FishyS only if the game has not been delisted if it has your game key card would be worthless to sell

I don’t see the problem against the reality of modern gaming hardware which is dependent on connectivity. If hardware these days can’t reach a server, no game is working no matter where the data is stored. I don’t know if Switch 2 requires the internet for the firmware to execute, but that’s the modern hardware reality, and Nintendo is preserving account-free game software where every other company is moving toward account-tied software

since i am mostly a third party game enthusiastic this will hurt..me since i prefer rpg games over any other genre..

this is nintendo fault since they came up with the idea of key cards..

I can’t see myself buying any games this way. I’ll buy most 3rd party on other systems or digital on switch 2 if that’s my only option.

@FishyS probably years, possibly decades — but certainly not forever. Which is the problem.

Eventually those servers are gonna go down — and when that happens, these games will cease to exist. Along with all other games that require online verification to play, like Tears of the Kingdom.

I thought it was absurd to suggest that the minimum cartridge size was 32GB for Switch 2 games, but based on this, there may be some truth to those rumours.

I mean, even freaking Tetris?!

As derivative and samey as a sequel as Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 was (and the 2S edition even more so!), I was all too keen to double-dip, but in this state? It's the hardest of passes, and if this is any indication of the state of third-party "support" that we'll be seeing going forward, then it looks like I'll hardly be buying anything on the Switch 2 outside of first party games and the rare discounted eShop download.

If this crap is what the majority of "physical" releases are going to look like going forward, then why should anybody buy a Switch 2 over a PC-based handheld? (where you can play a far broader range of games, and can back them up without DRM, in the absence of physical releases)

Did Nintendo not consider the possibility of budget-priced releases this generation? Did they seriously think that every proper physical release needed a US$70+ asking price?! Have they completely and utterly lost their minds?!

The pricing of the console and accessories isn't anywhere near as egregious as how Nintendo are handling proprietary physical media on Switch 2. I hope this backfires catastrophically for all involved.

If anything, this has cemented my decision to not buy one at launch. Fix this, Nintendo!

@johnedwin Sure. But without the key-cards you'd end up with just download releases. With a code in a box (like on Switch). Nintendo can't force publishers to put the entire game on the card. Or if they did a lot of publishers would skip the system.

@SillyG What PC based game handheld allows you to use physical games? NONE. Actually on PC physical games haven't been a thing for over 15 years now. And sure you have GOG for "DRM free" but if those servers go down (when acquired or bankrupt) you loose those games as well.

Any other PC store has DRM. Steam, Epic, XBOX/MS, Origin (EA), Ubisoft, Battle.Net, Amazon, etc. all have DRM and most require you to be online as well.

GameMill released Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 initially as a "physical edition" but in reality was only a code-in-a-box. Gamers were pissed and boycotted the game, and the sales reflected as such.

A few months later GameMill announced that they would be re-releasing the game with the full game being on an ACTUAL physical cartridge. The sales increased.

The market will often dictate what it is willing to accept and bear.

@sanderev : Like I just pointed out, DRM-free games can be backed up for posterity by the user in the absence of physical media (and the user can produce their own physical copy if they so choose). My argument for favouring PC handhelds was less about there being a physical cartridge but about game ownership/preservation.

If there's the option to buy a game without DRM on PC, that's a superlatively superior option to buying a "game key card" release on Switch 2, and Nintendo may be shooting themselves in the foot by failing to provide any particular benefit to owning their hardware beyond the appeal of their first-party games.

@SillyG
It's not Nintendo's fault that other publishers are cheap as ***** - Marvelous and CD Projekt are putting their games out on a cartridge, and those games are probably bigger than stuff like Puyo Tetris 2 and Bravely Default.

Also not every game is $70

I'm all digital now anyways so no difference to me. Code stored on a plastic cartridge or code stored on a plastic microSD. Don't really see a difference personally. Except buying digital comes with a 20+ year warranty to re-download if I lose that physical medium storing the data.

@Ralizah

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma
• Daemon x Machina

These 3rd party games are on cart in the west as I understand it.

I suspect Limited Run Games will partner with some publishers like Sega to release on cart versions of Sonic Generations, Raidou and Yakuza 0

@Willo567 : Unless I've been mistaken, every physical release so far (excluding "game key card" releases) have been US$70 or above.

EDIT: Just checked. There is nothing under US$69.99, and similarly in Australia, nothing under RRP AU$109.95 (though most retailers are selling such games for $99).

@SillyG Okay.. what physical media can you create on a PC handheld? A MicroSD card? Ah yes.. you can do that as well on a Switch (2). You can EVEN use MicroSD cards on Switch (2) to create digital backups of your games. You can EVEN (yes - I have done this) store the contents of your MicroSD card on a harddrive and restore it later. (Remember to NOT alter any files or directories)

Your argument that you can't backup games with a Switch 2 is 100% invalid.

Only difference is that Nintendo encrypts their storage to keep pirates from "lending" their game with everyone on the internet. And THAT is only on the people who pirate games, not Nintendo.

They are trying to kill the physical market outright. Hopefully gamers won't stand for it. I will never support this practice.

If they won't sell me the game, I won't buy it. I might still play it though — your move, game industry.

If Nintendo had required every 3rd party game to come fully on the card, and their prices went up a further $10 or didn't come out physically at all, we would all complain about that as well.

I don't see a good solution here. Most developers won't take the hit for the added costs of SD Express storage. Nintendo went with that for faster transfer speeds - it's reminding me a lot of the N64 era. At least the Switch 2 library won't be as barebones as the N64, but you'll need to eat the storage costs to play a lot of it.

Game-Key cards aren’t probably the best option, not the worst either, but even there I’d also suggest a different color for their case for less confusion with full on card games. Wait, not the best idea either…

@FishyS can u sell them or can you buy delisted key cards and be able to download such a game ?

@MrCarlos46 Preferably with a radioactivity or biohazard symbol.

If I have to pay for and provide the storage can you at least reduce the price on the games. Seems like devs are getting the best of both worlds on this deal.

Make more ethical purchases, support devs like Cd Projekt. Sucks for us but that’s what we have to do.

Nice side bonus we might over consume videogames less.

@sanderev : I'm not making a case for physical media on PC, only that having DRM-free files that can be backed-up however (and as many times) the customer chooses is the best alternative in the absence of physical media, in which case, I see absolutely no benefit to buying a Switch 2 "game key" (or even digital) copy if there is a DRM-free option on PC.

microSD card data is encrypted to only work on the console which had originally written the data to the card, so in the event that the console becomes faulty, the back-up will be completely unusable, and everything will need to be redownloaded on a new device anyway (Nintendo's servers permitting).

Such a problem would be non-existent on PC provided that one has manually backed up their games (and there's the option to manually back-up save data on PC too, unlike the Switch, where save data is locked to the onboard memory and/or paywalled behind a cloud subscription). So, your argument that you can backup games with a Switch/2 is "100% invalid". 🙄

@JaxonH I knew I was leaving one out. I keep forgetting about it. Also Marvelous, so that makes sense.

Yeah, companies like LRG and other boutique physical publishers must be absolutely licking their chops over this Game Key Card thing. A gigantic chunk of the Switch 2's library is going to be open game for them.

@Ralizah : Not if every such release is minimum US$70 though!

How else are LRG going to upsell their overpriced limited edition boxes? (which normally start at $70)

What is that old video game saying?

All your purchases are belong to us?

This was the problem with those game-key cards, they will encourage companies to not even try to use cartridges.

@Spider-Kev fighting the fight... kudos... no sarcasm btw

We should all really treasure our Switch 2. Hold it in our hands. Caress it. Because Switch 3 will be something you only digitally own.

It was a matter of time before SEGA got cheap in Japan.

About that Hyrule Warriors game, I knew Koei Tecmo couldn't be arsed to put the full game on a cart, but can't Nintendo force them to do it? I mean, given they're using their IP and all that.

I still think these Game-Key Cards can provide a benefit for indies and overall I still think they're better than code-in-box, but big companies can go screw themselves.

Bungled, we are. Looks like CP2077 UE is the only game for me at launch. What a freaking mess.

I have more than 250 physical Switch games, but it looks like my NS2 collection will only contain the essentials. I'll keep hunting those Switch carts.

@HammerGalladeBro : Do you mean Hyrule Warriors 3? I assume that will be on the cart as Nintendo still serves as the publisher, even if they aren't necessarily developing the game, so I'm not too worried about that.

But if Hyrule Warriors of all games takes the "game key card" route, then that's setting an even worse precedent than what we are seeing unfold now with these virtually nonexistent third party releases.

Somewhere it was stared that the reason for this is that the Super Switch ONLY has 64gb cartridges and that's either over kill if a game is well optimistized or not bug enough it's made by a division of Microsoft or Take-Two, but I refuse to believe that because we KNOW LRG is going to be making Super Switch games, and for once their cheapness may be the one saving grace we have. There is no way their margins will allow for that much wasted overhead on 4gb indie games. They're already some of the weekest ROI in all of Embracer, kept around almost exclusively for the Carbon engine, and Fairhurst's inhumanly good networking skills.

Dear Nintendo and Publishing Partners,

I like my physical game cartridges without expiration dates, so I won’t be buying any of your “game key cartridges.”

Sincerely,
Concerned Consumer

I’m buying Limited Run Games stock if they have one

Nintendo Needs to Abandon this Ridiculous Idea of Key Card Crap.. how can they Actually Think this is a Great Concept..

Just Give Game Developers Companies Etc any Size GB Cartridge they Need Access to and Allow us to Have Physical Game Collections Without Internet Being Involved Plz

@Teksette
All physical media has an expiration date. Plus by the time Nintendo shuts down the servers you'll be able to emulate it

@SillyG but how are you going to play any game in 30 years if your Switch 2 died? Your logic is still extremely flawed.

Also try playing a 16 bit game on a modern pc. Or a game from the early 2000. Most games won’t work on modern hardware, or will have software or hardware issues.

I was fine with Game-Key cards cuz I thought they were a sorta elegant way to get around codes in a box. being that they're digital games you can lend and sell. and I thought it was reasonable that they were mainly used for games too big to be in the cartridge or games that get constant updates.

and the Square Enix put a 3DS game into one and everyone else seems to be following suit now suddenly I'm not as okay with them as I was. I hope a lot of those are actually in the cartridge when they get their western versions cuz it's getting ridiculous.

@sanderev : Obtain another (functional) Switch 2?

You suggested that Switch/2 data can be backed up. I pointed out that such back-ups are useless if anything were to happen to your console as you would have to redownload everything from scratch on new hardware anyway, as microSD cards are formatted/encrypted to only be read by one specific Switch console at a time.

With PC back-ups, you wouldn't need an internet connection to reinstall your games (or procure an identical PC to be able to run your software). And if using handheld PCs, you could, in theory, use an external storage device (be it microSD or something else) across numerous devices as the data isn't encrypted to be read solely on a single, specific piece of hardware. And you'd have the benefit of being able to manually back up your save data too.

And have you never heard of DOSBox or virtual machines on PC? I can play virtually every PC game I've ever owned on modern hardware without issue.

@SillyG And where will you get that Switch 2 in 30 years? Nintendo will have stopped producing them for at least 22 years then. And even if you could that "new" Switch 2 would most likely have the exact same issues as your own. Or you would be able to swap components to fix your old Switch 2. Most likely the flash storage is going to survive. The batteries and capacitors will be a different story though.

And getting an identical PC to a 9x era PC right now? Actually quite difficult. It can be done, sure, but for 99,99% of the population it's quite pointless.

But your logic is starting to give me a headache, so let's agree to disagree here.

@Willo567
True enough, you could say anything (and anyone!) has an expiration date.
These games physically will outlive Nintendo’s servers, though, and become nontransferable, devalued hunks of plastic at that point. Plus the memory burden for storing these games is passed onto the consumer, when it could have (should have) been stored on the cartridge that cost me $60-70.

Honestly, I’m surprised that Japan seemingly has more uptake of these game key carts than Western markets. There will be many Japanese gamers upset by this news.

I can’t help imagining Nintendo execs twirling their mustaches and feeling proud of themselves at the start of the new generation, charging us more while giving us less, all while keeping their retailers happy. Are bean-counters and shareholders calling the shots now, post-Iwata?

Well.
The Switch2 will be my last then

@sanderev
Why are we defending scummy companies ?
You are getting LESS for MORE.

Customers are sheep.

@ottoecamn
Why would they be ?
Unless customers don't buy a single copy until they do Nintendo might aswell start selling GameKeyCards only now.

We are cooked

@Anti-Matter
Good Luck

@Zeebor15
No.
The reason is we only have:
8 gb
64gb
GKC.
You should know better Rotor...

@premko1
Some people still looking for physical games.

@Alcea I'm not defending anyone. I am only stating the extremely obvious. All digital is the future, wheter you like it or not.

And you're still getting the same digital game. But now you can share it. It's the choice between having a download code or a game key-card.

@sanderev
You are not getting the same game.

File wise yes.
But you still pay your lifetime to download it.

And you pay every time.

@sanderev : How does that address any of my points? Now you're just being argumentative for the sake of getting the last word in without actually engaging in the conversation.

Who even said anything about procuring an identical PC? Are you choosing to be rude by ignoring what I said about DOSBox and virtual machines allowing for legacy software to run on modern hardware?

If you're not going to engage in a good faith discussion, then find some other voodoo doll to stick your pins in. I'm done.

@Alcea You pay to download it??? You mean you pay your ISP? Sure. But I still pay my ISP even if I wouldn't have a Switch 2.

@SillyG Virtual machines are not very useful for running games. And DOSBox is basically emulation. Comparing that route would be the same as just downloading a Switch 2 emulator and playing the games on that. (and I do not condone that route)

@sanderev : I'm done.

Whelp, the all digital future is imminent. We’ve known it’s been coming for a long time… I get that the game key cards are beneficial for certain situations, but really for most people you may as well just download the game so you don’t have to keep swapping the cards out.

@sanderev
All digital is not the future.
I will keep supporting physical games.
I refuse to accept all digital games.

Exactly as I said and predicted, 90% of Switch 2 games will be like that. Physical games for Switch 2 are officially dead.

This is almost nearly the case in the US too.
Time to start boycotting third party games...

I'm just going to go with it. Digital is happening whether we like it or not and I'm not missing out on a game I want to play just because I don't have another thing to put on a shelf ...... In reality that I don't frequently look at either.

@FishyS I won’t be buying it, new or second hand.

LMAO. The image got me so mad initially, but then I saw a bunch of games that are already available as a full cart on the first Switch and the anger turned to instant laughter. It's amazing that Nintendo deliberately decided to kill the physical market instead of just letting it die gracefully.

What's the point of selling physicals that don't include the game?

It's much cheaper to photo print the covers at home, especially with Epson EcoTank printers where it's almost free to print A 4 sized photos.

Original Switch plastic cases cost only 1$ each.

So down the line when they will decide “time’s up” and turn off servers, you won’t be able to download the game anymore and if it’s already downloaded maybe it won’t run because can’t be verified via internet anymore. We are heading into a dark age

If it's gonna be digital, then I might eventually get it through "cheaper" methods. I mean what's the difference? digital is digital.

Well I was planning on being mostly digital anyway so not a problem for me. I'm more worried about the negative effect this will have on the industry at large, and we're going to get companies blaming 'poor sales of game carts on switch 2' as a reason to stop releasing further games. There seem to be a lot of people unhappy with this

@Overzeal “con 1. You don't own the game and will lose access to it anytime the servers are shutoff or the studio doesnt renew its contract.”

Hang on what? Where have you heard this? If you have the game downloaded then you’ll be good to game for decades provided you keep the game key card, even with no internet, is my understanding.

So Switch 2 is the last gaming generation, which is (barely) alive? If so, then retro gaming is the future of gaming.

@Zuljaras

Now that's a reasonable fear but honestly that ship has long since sailed. PCs barely use Physical Releases and discs. Sony and Microsoft remove Disc Drives from their console and even then for past two or maybe three generations they moved to selling physical games as Installation discs that would then download and dump the game onto your console's hard drive.
Even then the 3DS eshop was discontinued like two years ago? And despite that we can still access the games we bought and redownload them normally.

@HugoGED
The difference lies in ability to resell the game at a later date. Since Game Key Cart is what holds the game's License Key and doesn't bind it to an account you can lend and if so desired sell your cart. Something you couldn't do in proper digital copy.

The cart is basically an installation disc. Thing existing forever on PCs before Digital Storefronts basically erased Physical Discs as a medium and something Xbox and Playstation have been using for last 2-3 generations.

Two things I'd like to say:
1. The incentive for smaller games to buy carts to fit their game is actually lower, as the user experience is less impacted by smaller downloads than larger. Why bother paying to put the full game on a cart when it's only a few GB and can be downloaded in minutes?

2. Anyone who isn't a collector or otherwise interested in gaming and tech won't bat an eyelid at this.
Store person: "just so you're aware, this game needs to be downloaded. It's a game key card."
Customer: "so I can't resell it?"
Store person: "oh no, you can still resell it, just that you need to fully download the game first"
Customer: confused look "please just give me my game"

Physical sales are down in Japan as more gamers there are switching to digital. There’s simply no monetary incentive to make the games on a full cart when the country won’t buy it anyway. That’s why regions outside of Japan have the games on cart

Damn, seems like we're approaching the end of my gaming days now if this doesn't change. This is just insane, and to think Nintendo is pushing for this is just the ultimate betrayal.

I will not buy any of these key-carts. Looks like I will be saving a lot of money with the Switch 2 generation.

I already have a game key card called Indiana jones on the ps5.

It has 20gb on the disc and 100gb download.

As a consumer I don’t like this practice.

The benefits for Digital far out way Physical. You don't have to worry about it being lost, broke, eaten by a dog, taken and crushed by siblings, etc.

PC gaming is all digital and PC Gamers are fine with it. Don't know why console gamers get all "bent out shape" when the game isn't physical. Physical media is outdated. It's time to move on.

@Shade_Koopa Enjoy your digital downloads. Some of us don’t worry about those “benefits” but find digital lacking in many ways. To me if something isn’t on physical media it has very little value. If I buy a game, movie, etc digitally I’m very unlikely to use it, so I stopped a long time ago. For a time I thought it was just me, but I’ve brought it up to people and found some others feel this way as well.

this is far more an issue for me than the higher prices of the games.
If I pay full price for games like this, I want to own the thing.

@Shade_Koopa
PC is slightly different than console in this regard.
I assume your more of a younger gamer?

There are many fantastic games that are not playable anymore. Those game get lost.
On PC it's A) very unlikely that steam shuts down servers B) you can buy your games at GOG and you will own the data and C) you won't get a new system every 6 Years that might make your old games unplayable.
I also think it's not great on PC.

From the reactions in the comments, it seems like people are more interested in collecting plastic, than actually playing games.
I doubt many of you, will resist playing the next Mario, Zelda and Metroid, if it's only digital, on Switch 3.

Let's not forget Microsoft and Sony are doing this for a very long time, now. A lot (and I mean A LOT) of games sold are actually "game-key blurays". They just don't tell their consumers. Or not explicitly.

I remember realizing this on Xbox, the day I installed the Master Chief Collection. A few megabytes installed from the disc, and then more than one hundred gigabytes downloaded. But the game had been updated for so much years that I understood, at the time.

But now ? Assassin's Creed Shadows ? Mandatory download. Indiana Jones ? Same. It's a habit that became unfortunately very common.

For the game-key cards... I guess I'll go full digital, now. Cause the advantage of cartridges, for me, was to saving space on my memory console (as I'm not accustomed to selling back my games).

Sad day for physical lovers, indeed...

@jojobar Nintendo keep making that Steam Deck looking better and better… what’s GOG?

Those cases kind of look hideous with the giant top red banner and Bar core + written text at the bottom. It really degrades that art Decor factor, compared to what we got with NES, SNES, GameBoy & Genesis(etc). Definitely going all digital, just like I did with Switch. With maybe a few double dips with Physical just feel like I have something tangible.

@Spider-Kev insane good point.

The Switch 2 is officially DOA for me now. Just stupendously greedy and arrogant from Nintendo and all these third parties.

One third-party game we do know will be delivered in full on a game card is Cyberpunk 2077, with CD Projekt Red previously confirming it's using a 64GB card to accomplish this.

I generally like the idea of having physical media that allows you to install digital goods, but definitely not when that's your only choice for physical.
CDPR has lost its mind, good luck selling more than a few dozen copies.

One third-party game we do know will be delivered in full on a game card is Cyberpunk 2077, with CD Projekt Red previously confirming it's using a 64GB card to accomplish this.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is also confirmed to have the full game on the game card. Here's a quote from the publisher's website:

The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a red 64GB game card that includes, in full, the Nintendo Switch game and the Upgrade Pack.

https://marvelousgames.com/news/rune-factory-guardians-of-azuma-nintendo-switch-2-faq

You will own nothing and you will be happy.

Yeah due to this I canceled my pre order for the Switch 2 last week. This is not worth it to me.

@WheresWaveRace

The way this tech works is that you are buying a license. If you validate it once you’re good to go offline, however after the servers are shut down it can never be renewed again. If you ever want a new game key it won’t work because it can’t be validated and if you ever want to transfer your data to a new console you’ll lose you license.

@Shade_Koopa
No.
Physical games will never get outdated.
Viva physical games!
#keepplayingphysicalgames 🤟

I wonder how much they save per cart VS what they lose for people who refuse to buy these?

@Anti-Matter Sadly I think that boat has sailed. I think we're close to the end of physical games.

@Overzeal yeh thanks I understand that. So I have presumed I will still be able to play the game even after the servers have gone offline provided it doesn't need to revalidate every so often with said servers and ofc I still have the download. This is the same for digital. Bearing in mind we can still redownload Wii titles I am not too concerned about suddenly not being able to play or redownload these games in a decade or 2. And provided they don't need to be periodically revalidated they should be good for life IMO even after servers have gone.

@Yarec123 I think physical won't go away. it didn't die in film nor in music yet and it won't in games.

I was quite pro these game-key cards as better than code-in-a-box, but if they are being used this widely then it's a concern. We'll have to wait and see how pricing ends up once we are beyond the launch period.

In an ideal world these could be an additional option not a replacement for the full game on cart.

@Zuljaras

And on my 3DS i have long since downloaded all games I bought on eShop onto an SD card. As long as both the SD card and the Hardware works there's nothing they can do to take it away from me.

Also let's not pretend that GoG is a standard. They're outliers and even then they'll have to bend the knee if the game's right holders demand it. Of semi recent things Warcraft and Warcraft II in their original form are no longer available after Blizzard pressed to remove them due to them releasing Remastered versions.

When there's only 2 choices with significant difference: A) chocolate or B) s**t, s**t won't do well.
Now we have chocolate coated s**t and people naively hope we can have less pure s**t as they become chocolate coated, but in reality we no longer have real chocolate.
Enshittification

@Anti-Matter

That's why Sony's Latest Console doesn't have a disk drive. Why PCs for almost 20 years moved to digital storefronts of which only GOG offers a semblance of ownership. Why even Physical Releases on home consoles are basically what Nintendo started offering just now. Sadly the customers have spoken and don't seem to mind that shift enough to dissuade devs from using it

@Jaquan
I don't even support digital only machines that will rotting in the future when the server get closed permanently.
Look at PSP GO fate and other digital only video game machines.
Being forgotten and useless when you can't buy the digital games anymore and no slot for physical games to play.
Absolutely zero value machines for me.
Blame the customers and the wannabes who thinking all digital gaming is the future.
And I hate the future like that and will never support their products.
Let them died, let them being forgotten.
I will keep busy collecting the rest of physical games that I still can get them and enjoy my day.

@sanderev the N.E.S. still works!

@Toastmaster
Where do you get Switch cases for $1?

@FishyS
The wii games still being available to redownload is at least a little more reassuring especially since with how little future proofing it felt like it had with it existing in its own space, no account system, purchases not carrying over to other systems (such as virtual console games) heck, FUNDS didnt even carry over, the fact that games can still be redownloaded feels impressive considering all that was against it, wheres nowadays the stores will hopefully be more "unified" for example hoping switch-1 games will have a section of the switch 2 store (hopefully separate since the eshop is crowded enough as it is)

While ideally full-physical would be available as much as possible (even if it is in a limited supply for collectors or something) and digital still has a long way to go i do feel like key-cards and virtual game cards are small baby steps for digital in that they do help with some of the issues (reselling and whatnot for key cards and virtual game cards for liscence management)

NSO is still a concern for me due to games being rendered unplayable if delisted but thats a whole other conversation.

What a horrible gaming experience to go to the store, get home, and wait 1hr+ to download and install a game. Almost making it almost pointless to buy the 'physical'.

I not only won't buy a game on a game key card; I will spitefully not buy that game digitally in any region where it is on a game key card. I'm hoping that they keep up the trend of SEA region games being completely on the cards.

@Spider-Kev I bought a bunch of them from some game shop in Norway at least 5 years ago. They stopped selling them sometime later.
I only have 2-3 unused left of them.

Ebay have insane prices now, but official Nintendo shop sell them in 5-packs for 9 bucks.

They are even cheaper at AliExpress, but those may not be of same quality as the official ones.

@Toastmaster
Thanks!

Exhibit A on how to kill the wind in my sails for Yakuza 0 on Switch.

Preordered Cyberpunk 2077, largely to support a publisher putting out a game cartridge with the content on it. I'm okay limiting my purchases to physical games with the Switch 2, I'm dead set on not accruing a backlog for this system, so I'm trying to view this Game-Key Card garbage as a way to naturally limit my scope of interest. If there are any sizable gaps in the release cadence, there are plenty of holes in my Switch 1 library that I need to fill.
Would I prefer for games to just get released on Switch 2 cartridges? Absolutely. But the game-key cards goes against my personal preferences enough to the point that I won't support it.

Something to test/verify:

Can you get a gamekey card, download the title onto an sd card. Then take the sd card and gamekey card to another switch 2 that's not connected to the internet and be able to play it?

I doubt this will be possible, but if it were, that might make gamekey cards not so bad.

Digital only games have a huge issue in the US because many people lack an internet speed good enough to download the game.

This would never have happened if physical lovers ("let's get physical, physical") had been willing to pay the real price difference between a physical and a digital copy years ago (at least 70$/€, when you consider the cost of manufacturing, distribution and retailer cut).

@SillyG Yes, HW3. I'm realizing I was looking at Yakuza 0, and confused it with HW3 for some reason. So that's my mistake.

I'm expecting HW3 to be a Nintendo-published game in the west (like the prior HW games) with a "full" physical release (well, physical as in base game without the inevitable DLC), but I think Koei Tecmo will be the publisher in Japan and if Nobunaga's Ambition is anything to go by, I'm not expecting a full physical version for Japan.

Hope to be wrong, though.

@bloodycelt : I don't think it will work that way, given that microSD cards are formatted and Switch-related data encrypted so that it will only be usable on that specific console, though I wish they would work the way you suggested.

I'm afraid that you'll be required to download it from scratch for each console, though it would be great if we can wirelessly send game key data like we currently can with software updates, but given how large a lot of Switch 2 games are expected to be, it might take far too long for this feature to be worthwhile.

People suggesting different colour boxes for key releases v pure carts are missing just how confusing that would be for regular consumers. Both variants are Switch 2 games. Imagine explaining the difference to a customer.

Its not preferable but I'll still buy them. Its better then nothing.

truthfully, it’s either this or digital only, agree to disagree, but this entitlement has to stop,

@beltmenot if xbox and playstation does it why not Nintendo as well

it’s better than no physical release at all, imo, i’ll still buy them if i want that game, i’m not defending these companies or publishers or these decisions but it’s no different than with xbox and ps games now with discs

@Joekun @jojobar I'm in my 30s here. I'm also the oldest of five. I've lost many games during the old N64, GC, GBA, and DS days because of the reason I mentioned above. Being the oldest is NOT fun and having young siblings with "sticky hands" and what not get into your stuff is a PAIN to do deal. With digital Media, I don't have to worry about losing a game. It's backed up to an account that easily downloadable.

I'm not worried about the servers or anything like that shutting down. I rarely go back to playing a game once I've beaten it (excluding some multiplayer titles). By the time the DO shut down, I'm already on the next game or console system. I'm not a Retro gamer in anyway. So what you have mentioned doesn't apply to me. As well as many others who feel the same way.

@Anti-Matter It will happen, it's only a matter of time. With rising cost due to inflation and now tariffs. Physical media will be cut to save cost. PC Gaming did it, Console gaming will follow.

Aaaaaand I’m no longer interested in the Switch 2.

@MSaturn Wonder if you actually have to insert GameKeyCard into console everytime you play or is it one time download .

@Shade_Koopa Totally understand that digital games are better for you. Only taking issue with the idea that others should move on. When gaming truly goes all digital my thought is that I’ll likely be playing my backlog of physical games mostly. But there are a handful of Nintendo series that are question marks. I hope that time is still at least a generation away.

@Overzeal
You forgot the worst CON
We are going to have less games in the library because they are going to take space from the internal memory as opposed to be on the actual game card.

@Maxz it’s the Publisher that would save, not the Developer. These are also a gateway to get people used to having to download games. Switch 3 will probably force u to download all games. A shame indeed. I will stick to retro gaming where u turn a game on and can instantly play your games with no updates or downloads from now on. Death to forced updates, downloads and internet required games!!!

Not good, you pay for the added expense of having a case and artwork and a activation cart. you have to use your bandwidth to download the game, plus your need to constantly buy these micro express sd cards to store them on.

With game keys your onboard storage will be gone in no time.
so if your a regular buyer of software, your be shelling out for a few of these express sd cards ,

I think a lot of these games from third parties will get physical on cart releases , but through the likes of companies like Limited Run.

much like the Yakuza collection of late on Limited Run. of which I have ordered Yakuza Kiwami on Switch. Yakuza Kiwami 2 on XBOX , 0 on PS4 and Yakuza 6 on Xbox.
Xbox never got the early games Physical , only digital , so having physical Xbox versions will be nice.

But yes I will wait to see how this all plays out on Switch 2.
I will only buy games that are fully on a cart for all my Switch 2 games.
Plus I have a lot of Switch games to catch up on as I never owned a a Switch.

@NoPhysicalNoBuy Good point. Very lazy error on my part. Thank you. Corrected the original.

@DanijoEX-The-Kumiho Yup, couldn’t agree more. This will probably be what gets me to retire from gaming as well.

@Shade_Koopa
NO.
It will not happen.
Physical games will NEVER die.
#keepplayingphysicalgames 🤟

@Krlozgod

Thanks for pointing that out.

@Joekun @Anti-Matter It's happening whether you like it or not. Many Switch 2 games are cheaper when bought Digital. The physical games are $5-15 bucks more. It's definitely going to be sooner than later. I would be surprised if halfway through Switch 2 life cycle that all games go digital or cancel their physical release to save money.

@Shade_Koopa
I said it will NOT happening.
PERIOD.
Physical games will keep survive and I will ignore digital only games.
I refuse to embrace digital only games.

Where I stand ......
1. I'm not going to miss out on a game I want to play because it isn't on a cart
2. I don't want to pay for carts capable of holding the game sizes of today
3. I'll worry about downloads in 20 years time when I get there (not sure that my SW2 will even be working still in 20 years. Techs not designed to last these days)
4. I'm going to have less dusting to do

@Shade_Koopa My experience is that digital games on the Nintendo eshop don’t get sales as low as physical games. Just look at Deku Deals. Checking a recent game DK Returns lowest price physical $39.99, digital $52.99. Echoes of Wisdom - Physical $34.99, digital $53.99. That’s what happens when you have a monopoly end to end.

@thaimbomb That's the current experience of most triple AAAs on PS5 and XB. The physical disks are in essence the same as a key card with a sizeable day 1 download required.

What we are seeing isn't really anything new and the tech twins have been doing it for years. PC, 100% for about 15 years.

Nintendo is only getting the crap because they are the last to move in this direction.

Physical will live on but will eventually become like Vinyl ....... Expensive and limited release.

@Joekun You do realize that Nintendo has said why they hate doing sales on their first party titles right? They don't want people to feel bad about being a first time buyer. Hence why they only have small sales.

You may not agree with it, but understand their point of few. I would hate to feel that I have to wait 2 years for a game to be half price.

@Anti-Matter Then I guess you'll stop gaming the next generation or so. As I said, It's happening whether you like it or not. XP

@Shade_Koopa
I will NOT stop gaming.
I will keep collecting the available physical games from modern games or retro games.
Just keep playing physical games.

@Shade_Koopa Reality shows that Nintendo digital games are NOT $5 to $15 cheaper. You have now changed your argument to some people might feel bad if others get a better deal. I fail to see the relevance. It seems like you just want to argue. As I said, enjoy your digital games.

@Joekun Nintendo has the monopoly on digital with its own store front as do others but when physical dies, we will likely see other store fronts selling the games (CD Keys) and hopefully that will bring the competition we see today in bricks and mortar stores where many sell below RRP.

Digital distribution will evolve with digital media. It has to.

@Joekun Oh? Was that not the case with the recent Nintendo Life YouTube video? They showed a price difference between the physical and digital as they were browsing the eShop store on the website.

Either way, I'm saying it's a start. They are making the digital games cheaper over the physical version. Eventually, they'll cute out physical media to safe cost. Because a ceiling will be hit when it be comes to expensive to make physical media.

@Duncanballs I hadn’t considered that (not being one to purchase digital games). I hope that will be the case. Thanks.

@Joekun I'm still mainly physical myself but going with the flow of the inevitable and hopeful after the transition period that it will all be good in the end.

Hoping there’s a big enough uproar to cause some to reverse course. I doubt it, but one can dream. I’ll buy physical to the bitter end.

Wow, this sucks a lot.

The SD card medium is definitely the biggest flaw of the system. Wished we could’ve just go back to discs again. I’d gladly give up the portability for it.

How are these carts not considered e-waste? They're producing all this plastic just to make folks download it anyway.

Makes it a very easy decision not to buy.

This better not become the standard or I'll be buying a LOT less games.

@Shade_Koopa good luck selling, trading, or lending a digital download.

@gojiguy Why would I? You can't do either of those things with a Digital game. I'm not a reseller. I play the game, and if I'm done with it, I'm done with it.

This is such a first-world problem.

@Shade_Koopa Good for you. When I'm done with a game, I sell it and get some of that money I spent -back-.

I also have real-life friends who I trade and lend games to.