An awful lot of talk out of the Switch 2 Direct has focused on the console's new Game Key Cards, whether they are a good thing for the industry and if anyone will actually buy the damn things. Now, in a new interview with VideoGamer, the Creative Director on Assassin's Creed III and Far Cry 4, Alex Hutchinson, has shared his two-pence on the fresh-faced physical option — spoilers, he's not all that keen.
The dev drew the comparison between the Switch 2 Game Key Cards and the similar approach taken by the Xbox One back in 2013, saying that Nintendo is going to "get away with it," while fans were quick to criticise Microsoft. “It just shows you the power of nostalgia in our business that the way they will beat up Microsoft versus Nintendo is just not the same, especially in Europe," Hutchinson stated, "It’s like, ‘oh, Nintendo’s doing it, alright we’re not gonna say much’”.
As for his personal take on the matter, the dev was a little more clean-cut. “I hate it. I think it’s sort of lame," the developer told VideoGamer, "I don’t know, I just feel like it’s getting away… we’re losing some of what made the business special. Trading Game Boy cartridges at school, or, you know, DS for the modern audience. There’s something nice about that”.
Of course, we should point out that the Game Key Cards' internal license to download the game means that they can, in fact, be traded on the playground or resold — differing from a single-use code-in-a-box release — but we take Hutchinson's point all the same.
While people continue to voice their discontent with Game Key Cards, it seems to be the approach that most publishers are taking to Switch 2 releases (at least, at the time of writing). Most recently, we heard that the Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws would be a Game Key Card release, joining the likes of Madden 26, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Street Fighter 6 and a host of other biggies.