electrolite77

Re. Game Key Cards.

Why is anyone surprised the Mass Market is dealing with the ‘trauma’ OK?

I imagine standing in the Game shop in my local shopping centre and trying to persuade an average fella not to buy a GKC

Me “You shouldn’t buy that, it’s not a proper physical game, you have to download it”
Bloke “Oh right where’s the one I don’t have to download?”
Me “Well there isn’t one. But there is a Digital version”
Bloke “I’d need to download that wouldn’t I?”
Me “Yes”
Bloke “Do I need to have WiFi to play this one?”
Me “Yes. Well just the first time”
Bloke “It’s not like that is it (points at Code In a Box game) where I download it once and throw the code away”
Me “Well no not quite like that”
Bloke “I can’t trade them in at CEX, or sell them on EBay, or lend it to a mate. Same with a Digital game, Is this GKC the same?”
Me “Well actually no. You can trade and sell and lend these just like physical games. But only until they turn the servers off”
Bloke “When will they turn the servers off?”
Me “Well we don’t know. You can still redownload Wii games from 2006. But that’s the real issue”
Bloke “How is that an issue?”
Me “If at some point in the future, let’s say 15 to 20 years from now, they turn the servers off you won’t be able to download this again”
Bloke “Isn’t that the same as with Digital games?”
Me “Well yes”
Bloke “And if I have the game downloaded I’ll still be able to play it?”
Me “Probably yes”
Bloke “If I buy it on PS5 and they turn the servers off will I have the full game on disc?”
Me “Well you will have something. But you won’t be able to get any patches or updates. So not full, no”
Bloke “And if I don’t want to play the game then?”
Me “It won’t matter”
Bloke “What if I don’t even have a Switch 2, or aren’t into games?”
Me “It won’t matter”
Bloke “What if I’m not alive in 20 years?”
Me “It won’t matter”
Bloke “And those are the reasons you think I shouldn’t buy and play this game today, when I am alive?”
Me “OK I’ll leave, just please don’t call security”

@johnedwin

The only way GKC are going to disappear is if Publishers go Digital only. Clearly nobody wants that as it means less consumer choice and even more control for publishers.

@Rob3008

You really don’t understand why anyone would buy it on Switch 2? Really?

If you’re really saying you don’t understand this should help a bit

https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Best-selling_handheld_consoles

Used to love this in the Arcade, absolutely on the wanted list

You can certainly see the difference but you have to be looking. It’s wildly impressive how close the two versions are. I wonder how many people in the wide world outside of enthusiast sites will notice much.

Outstanding work by Capcom, especially if they can lock that framerate. Putting out image quality ahead of Series S, a system which draws approximately 4 times the power of Switch 2 is very impressive.

Great to see it runs so well on Switch 2. Resident Evil isn’t my thing but I really hope this version does well and Capcom are rewarded for bringing a big new game to a Nintendo platform day 1. It doesn’t happen often.

I always hoped they’d do a Rayman remake collection similar to the Spurs and Crash ones. Instead we get this which doesn’t include the Saturn version and has the wrong music. Pass.

@The_Nintendo_Expat

Same to you chief. I guess it’s an odd way to go with the Retro stuff in some ways. It misses the joys of collecting the physical items and is a lot more expensive than emulation, but there’s something magic about having the old hardware.

@Cry_Zero

Putting something for sale at a price some people are ok with and some people aren’t is not anti consumer

@sixrings

He definitely could have articulated it better. I haven’t bought I myself but ‘nobody wants (game x) is always a daft thing to say.

@KBuckley27

That’s a bold take on an article that is literally about some people buying it

@mattitudemf

Dreamcast with an ODE is high on my shopping list too. How’s the Everdrive for the N64? I loved the N64 back in the day but have delayed that given the difficulty of getting PAL N64’s working on modern TVs (Nintendo made an absolute hash of the TV output on them)

@The_Nintendo_Expat

I genuinely salute the use of language but pricing is always subjective.

Re.the Retro stuff, my Saturn has a Fenrir simply because of when I bought it, in 2023. The Saroo wasn’t out and the Fenrir was way cheaper than the Phoebe. If the Saroo had been available I’d have gone for that and kept the disc drive in the Saturn. Worth their weight in Gold though given the prices of Saturn games, it’s a great system and exploring its library is a joy.

I wasn’t entirely accurate by saying I had Everdrives in all of them. It’s an Everdrive in my Gamegear but AliExpress imitations in my GBA and actually my OG GB. I’d say the Everdrive is maybe slightly quicker but not enough to justify the 400% price increase IMO.

I’m definitely not the person to ask about installation though as I bought the GC, Saturn and Xbox off EBay pre modded. Probably cheaper to do it yourself but they work great. I did soft mod the DSi and 3DS, they’re pretty easy.

@Harmonie

The issues with VC games not transferring over was a Nintendo issue rather than anything with VC. Wii/U era Nintendo made an absolute mess of DRM and digital accounts, then complicated things further by region locking everything. They got a workaround in place but just liked the idea of charging people again for SNES ROMs on New 3DS that they’d already paid for on Wii U. I’ve no doubt if they’d done VC on Switch they’d have charged per generation again. Also third party games would have been thin on the ground as they got ignored in favour of everyone buying Mario World for the 27th time, they can make more money selling their own collections or putting them in subscriptions.

L

@The_Nintendo_Expat

If they’re willing to pay it they probably don’t see it as a ‘premium’ or ‘overpriced’. I won’t be buying them but that doesn’t make me right and nor does it mean anyone else has to justify buying them

@mattitudemf

I’ve hit a middle ground where I’m buying older hardware but not the games. So my Saturn has a Fenrir, my Gamecube has a Picoboot, my OG Xbox, DSI and 3DS are soft modded and I have Everdrives for my Gamegear and GBA. Retro software is insanely expensive.

@jsty3105

Very well said. Higher prices≠anticonsumer.

They certainly have shown genuine anti-consumer behaviours in the past and may well do again but releasing products at a price some people don’t like is not it.

@Cry_Zero

Releasing a product that some people think is a bit expensive isn’t anti-consumer and is something nearly everyone in the industry does.

Nintendo are an aggressive profit chasing entity, that’s the only reason they exist. But then so are the other big players in the industry. They were anti-consumer back in the 80s when they were trying to price fix and monopolise out competition. Now they’re far surpassed by others when it comes to shady practices.

@Cry_Zero

In the same industry as EA, Ubisoft, 2K and WB, and in the same week as Sony shutting down Bluepoint and MS replacing their Gaming heads with AI people as they edge out of the Console business? Hard to see that.

Funny to see what the sources of outrage in Gaming at the minute and their relative severity

Sony-shutting down a popular studio they only bought a few years ago, chasing the GAAS dream

Xbox-barely in the Console market anymore, Spencer and Bond leaving with the future very uncertain

Nintendo-Nintendo released a game. Some people think it’s a bit expensive, others are pleased it’s not locked behind subscription.

@Coalescence

I don’t know about taking advantage but it’s certainly true that both Nintendo and TPC are entirely motivated by profit, as it’s their only reason to exist.

@BrewsterTea

“This is exactly why companies hand-wave online discourse as nothing more than noise.” Absolutely right. A lot of Online discourse when it comes to game pricing is irrational. Always wanting things differently, always wanting things cheaper, in some cases just looking to justify pirating. Then with Nintendo there’s this nostalgic harking back to a Nintendo that wasn’t obsessed with profit. That time never existed, they’ve always been the same, but that doesn’t matter.

I nearly fell to the FOMO. When it was first announced I preordered it. After a few weeks however I cancelled it, as I remembered playing on a real one and how utterly ‘oh-my-stars-Nintendo-what-were-you-thinking’ I found the experience to be.

That said, very cool novelty and nostalgia trip for those who had one. Nintendo are being really odd last couple of years (Clocks, Flower toys, stretchy face Apps, launching a new system with fan favourites rather than the big AAA hitters). More of this lunacy please.

Still funny to see people saying a review score is ‘wrong.’ In the year of our Lord 2026 we still have people saying a score that someone else gave to a product is ‘wrong.’

Amazing stuff, really.

Great news for everyone who complains about not being able to buy old games and doesn’t want a subscription. The Pokémon Company are listening. Be interesting to see if demand for these is high.

£5 cost for a 60FPS, 4K upscale is something I’d like to see more of please

@Maxz

Totally agree. I think this was a cynical attempt by Bethesda/Xbox to cash in on the Switch 2’s first Christmas. In fact if they’d have put the improved version out now they’d have got much better publicity and a good chance of better sales. Though it also seems likely the cynical approach worked, profit-wise

@user0

Not necessarily. They have done historically when it’s suited the vendor and when the market, economic conditions, and price of components have made it a viable option for them.

There’s nothing that says they’re ’supposed to’ and in the current climate it’s not difficult to figure out why that’s unlikely.

@NPC411

Comparing sales to a different system that had different consistency of supply in 2017 is a weird one.

By any measure Switch 2 is off to a flying start, especially considering they still have almost all their big hitters to come.

@ @axelhander

It amazes me that anyone thinks that. They’re all entities that literally only exist to make money. It’s why I laugh when people harken back to some mythical past where Nintendo were nice and not an aggressive revenue chasing corporation.

Sigh.

Everything is going up in price isn’t it?

@TYRANACLES

Discs on a portable system is a Godawful idea at the best of times (looks at PSP), let alone as a Trade for the backwards compatibility the vast majority of consumers take for granted these days in their Consumer electronic devices

Hang on! This doesn’t have the Saturn version?! No sale.

@kmtrain83

The decision usually comes down to whether you’re concerned about access to a game in a theoretical specific set of circumstances a long way into the future….or playing games now, when you’re definitely alive.

@MattmanForever

That happened a while ago

@batmanbud2

I’ll get whatever I want thanks

MGS was never my thing but I actually quite enjoyed the GBC game. Why I bought it given how much I disliked the PS1 game is lost in the mist of time but I must have done at some point.

@Astal

I only discovered Astal in 2022 when I got my Fenrir-ed Saturn and I think it’s a real lost classic. Between the controls, graphics and sound it feels really unique and great fun

@Psycho-Werekitsune

“ you can't use your account on another console without a full system transfer”

You can

“You can't just log into your account through a new console and have full access to your library”

You can

@jojobar

The only change if GKC disappear will be more games going digital only

@Anti-Matter

“ Sell the product properly, full physical or full digital, no BS in between”

Er no. If you want to buy the games digital you do so. If you don’t want to buy the games but want to endlessly relentlessly complain about the criteria you’ve set for not buying them, do so. But don’t reduce choice for the rest of us. I don’t want an all digital future and GKC help stave that off.

@Skunkfish

• Better for the environment due to not having expensive Memory chips inside
• Come down in price quicker than cards (completely unscientific comparison of Cyberpunk v other Third Party games based on 30 seconds on Amazon)

Ok I’m more interested than I was. Not really my thing but it sounds like it could genuinely be good. Reviews will be key now.

@NolandC

It’s got a Metascore of 77 so an 8/10 is entirely typical

Seems to be averaging about 8 out of 10. Pretty much what I would expect from a Mario Tennis game, they’ve never been killer titles. I’ll pick it up at some point.

Looks hugely impressive on Switch 2. Nintendo/Nvidia have done a superb job. The gap between S2 and the tethered systems is so small portability becomes the deciding factor for me

@HalBailman

This is where I find CIAB so egregious.

I can make peace with GKC. They can be shared, they can be traded in and resold. I can believe that there is a substantial cost saving for the publisher going for a GKC instead of a 64GB card so they help encourage third party support to come to Switch 2.

However I don’t believe there’s much difference between manufacturing a CIAB v a GKC. The box is the same so the distribution costs are identical. In a world of GKCs there is no reason at all for CIAB to exist.

@Yosher

Where was I hounding you? I replied to your post.

@Yosher

CIAB is far worse than GKC. No resale value and an absolutely pointless waste of plastic.

@midnitet0ker

These are Microsoft games