Switch 2 Game-Key Cards Aren't Tied To Nintendo Accounts

The truth is when the Switch 2 eshop get closed, you will unable to download the digital games anymore and it will make the game-key cartridge become useless empty cartridge. 🙄
I will not even support this dirty business practice.
Shame on you the lazy games company like EA, Ubisoft, Konami, Capcom, etc who choose game-key cartridge to sell their games with empty cartridge ! 😤

It's basically a physical digital game key card. I knew Nintendo will pull something like this when they announce the digital key card on the March Switch 1 Direct. The only good thing about this is that unlike actual digital game key card, if someone borrows it they won't had to worry about the two week limit, they could just borrow for as long as they got the actual card. I guess this is Nintendo's way of trying to prevent piracy, if they never put the actual game rom on the physical cartridge then no one will be able to dump it (yes they actually could) or make a flash cartridge like the MIG Switch to play back-up version of it.

Well, third parties sure seem eager to take advantage of this option. I’m guessing actual Switch 2 cards are expensive to produce, and I’ve heard rumors that the smallest size card Nintendo offers is 32 GB.

It’ll certainly push me to buy more games digitally. I mean I already buy plenty that way, but I sure would prefer a real physical copy of e.g. Bravely Default.

It seems like a product exclusively for people who don't plan to keep their games. For anyone else, the key card is just another thing to carry around and another point of failure over a digital purchase.

Another possible issue is that Nintendo could theoretically remove the game from sale and your download could potentially be blocked as you are only paying for a license to play the game, not the outright ownership of it.

Whether we like it or not, 100% digital is on its way.

A high number of PS5 and Series X games require a day 1 download to play so we are already in the territory of partial physical.

@Anti-Matter Day 1 downloads are already a thing on physical purchases. Physical is dying.

@Anti-Matter The Wii Shop still allows people to download their purchases after almost 20 years. While the ability to buy digital games on it ended long ago, you can still access your content. Thing is, when Switch 2's eShop closes for purchases, these game key cards can actually provide a means to get those digital games still.

The cheap and lazy way out for game distribution.

I think this was pretty obvious from the start, even when Nintendo Life ran the story saying Nintendo had found a way to make something worse than codes in a box. It would obviously be better if the game was on the cart (but with day one patches, that hasn't existed for a while), but at least you can resell these no problem.

64GB is the highest capacity cartridge. What if a game is over that limit? This solution still allows the game to have a physical release in stores.
It's not perfect, but it's a solution to a problem. I don't think we'll see that many games like that, and I'm sure we'll never get any first party Nintendo title in such a format.

I won't be purchasing a single "Game Key Card".. I hope this idea for Nintendo fails quickly & we get back to Physical Cartridges like the Good Old Switch 1 Days-

Very Ironically, I'll be buying the Mario Kart Nintendo Switch 2 Bundle if I can obtain one on Launch Day

If we had 1TB SSD I would be ok. Now with 2-3 game key cards the space will be near to zero. So I am definitely not ok with this.

@MK73DS if the game is over the that limit maybe Nintendo SHOULD think adding more storage

@Duncanballs yes but they have 1TB of space and an xbox with 2tb also came out

Games used to release like music albums or movie tapes, but we’re firmly in the era where games are rarely finished when they go on the shelf.

And few developers want the pressure of having to cut off everything after a print date. More platforms, more scope, more player feedback. It’s a more complex endeavour than it used to be even a decade ago. Good for Nintendo coming up with this.

@FormerGameAddict this is the replacement for a code in the box, something that has no resale value. At least this option does, in the short to medium term.

We are only going to continually move further away from physical media. Within the next decade any new hardware launches (PS7 etc) will inevitably be download only.

So its not tied to your account then rhis seems way better than a code in a box which has been an increasing trend for alot of 3rd parties lately.

@X68000 Code in the box is way better than this. Code in the box is a digital purchase and once you install it you play it whenever you want. This monstrosity takes up space AND requires from you to have a cartridge with you. I' m definitely not in the hype train. Ill probably buy digital those.

@Anti-Matter They should have just made them rewriteable but in this day and age going to kiosks or a online version of that wouldn't work and be too exploited sigh.

But yeah not surprised. I would assume/predict/understand that being very much the case.

It's still dodgey for third parties though. Code in a box, internet connection & partial mode access (unless Doom's singleplayer/multiplayer split as a fair one) or otherwise, they are just lazy to put it on the card, or get enough of the right size.

Even Jedi Survivor PS5/Series X disk was worthless, Halo Infinite's disk was worthless or Spyro Reignited (even if rushed) they just go oops not enough space on the disk or were going to rush it because we don't care.

(or Capcom's PS3 Ducktales I guess too besides the Megaman or RE Switch bundles.

The Star Wars 7 game bundle is so stupid for Switch, I always pass it when I see it on shelves)

Why make game select menus or not go oh but we just HAD to bundle 3 games (RE bundles, Borderlands bundles, etc.) and make the other 2 downloads, we just HAD to. It's so stupid. They don't even sync with eshop versions anyway do they?

Or do they still work as bound to the card? Even if still a download.

They can recontextualise a code to a card and fool people by people that don't understand, still have the game card warning and it still be confusing because companies want to take the easy way out.

They could just not have a physical presence at all? That's a thought. XD Just have advertising to look for it, they are well known enough games anyways by big publishers, people will see them in places.

Some people are missing the detail that this is not the default way to sale games, cartridge with full games still exists. It's just a replace for download cards with codes. Also, the games which would use this will have the information in the cover.

Well, it's better than a code in a box, I guess. But I will steer clear of these as much as possible.

@Anti-Matter So that's like in 20+ years from now? Yeah, I'm fine with that.

I can still re-download my bought WiiWare games from the Wii Shop Channel. And it's been nearly 19 years since then. Even games removed from sale I bought before.

I won't be here forever.

One the one hand, blegh, on the other hand, when was the last time a game didn't reauire you to download a day zero patch at the very least, or get regular updates not present on the cart? So in the end, not that different.

I will stick to cartridges with full games on the cart.

think nobody ever claimed they were tied to nintendo accounts

Xbox One had a disastrous reveal for less. Why does Nintendo think they get a pass for this?

Game cartridges all the way for me, this isn't good for those not wanting their empty cartridge in the console or tied to the eShop the ability for Nintendo to simply remove or block the game is also there. Guess we're just gonna have to bite the bullet and shell out the extra cash for physical game media.

It's better than a code in a box in some ways (but not by much) and worse in others.

Once the online serves are down and you can no longer download the game, it's effectively a worthless piece of plastic/e-waste.

But it's a worthless piece of plastic that has to be in interested into your console in order to play the game, unlike a digital download code.

@Flugen the only negative I see is that you have to take the cart with you, however you can sell it later on, unlike a code in the box once used.

Maybe Nintendo.should have just went one way of the other on this and said we are going digital only.

It happened on the PC games market 2 decades ago and PC gaming is thriving again.

I’ll say this. At least they are being clear about it.

The same thing happens on other consoles and I have to do research to find out the disc is a coaster.

I will just buy digital instead in these cases. Why deal with, essentially, the downsides of both physical AND digital? The one advantage is you can sell it, but I don’t generally do that so.

Especially if the game uses the “Virtual Game Card” stuff this just comes off worse.

That said I’m okay with it as an option because realistically I think the games that will use it would have been digital only without it anyway due to costs.

@Daniel36 the difference is that you could play the game even without the patch. And this... you've got a useless piece of plastic when servers go down.

I'm glad I'm not getting hung up on having to have a physical collection of games (mixed digital and physical for me since the 3DS) as this would probably upset me more. I usually buy physical if I know I'll resell later, so this still works ok for me (in fact it's better if it means I can do this with more games). And with internet speeds becoming faster (and hopefully the switch 2 hardware being able to keep up) swapping downloads on the system should become a much smaller issue for a lot of people.

"You will own nothing & be happy" 😏.

@AuntTassid71 Well, you technically never did own the media in your home, even with as far back as VHS. Just because a game was physical didn't mean you were free from the licence. The media on the physical device wasn't owned by you, you just bought a license to enjoy the media in a private setting on a physical device. If you tried to enjoy that product on a public scale, or make copies to share with people, you would be open to litigation against you because the media isn't yours.

Ownership implies you could do anything with the product, which we never had. And I believe creators have every right to protect their creation.

Forza horizon 5 won’t fit on even the biggest cart and so that would always be downloaded or some kind of hybrid, if that releases on the switch 2. Some games are even bigger! It would be great to have Forza on a cart though, saves so much effort with disk space that I have currently with Xbox. And the switch only has 256gb internal, which will fill up quickly.

I do wonder if we will get some games that will be both a cart in a box and a cart key in a box, offering the cart one at a more expensive price? It feels like this system suppliers will either choose one or the other (cart with full game vs cart with key) which means everyone will choose the key option because it’s cheaper to supply. The days of cartridges may finally be coming to an end!

The good thing about digital games is that smaller developers can get their game published without the need to manufacture cartridges, and that the games will always be present on your switch without the need to change carts.
The downside is that games will take up space on your SD card, and they won't be available to purchase in perpetuity after the end of the console's lifecycle.

The "game key" version literally has the worst of both worlds. It's not suitable for smaller devs since it still requires the game studio to be able to manufacture and distribute a cartridge in a plastic case and sell it in a shop... Yet it still requires the eShop to be up and running, and takes up space on the player's SD cart like a digital game? And doesn't even remain available to play when you take the cartridge out?

This situation only benefits publishers who want to save money on not actually putting the game data on the carts. There is no other party who benefits. Certainly not the end-user. This is what they call "anti-consumer", right?

"Of course, when Nintendo one day takes the Switch 2 servers offline, it will still likely be game over for download cartridges."

But if you have downloaded the data to a Micro SD card, surely you're safe and sound even beyond server shutdowns, right?
Most Switch 1 cartridges doesn't include all game data anyway, so nothing really changes beyond that point of server shutdown, besides you needing more space on an SD card to store the game data on.

This is a much better option than the current ‘Code in a Box’, as you can lend or sell it like a full physical game for the foreseeable future, unlike the one time codes. So I think they should be applauded for this aspect of it.

My only concern is whether this means more publishers will go down this route rather than the full physical route. That I most definitely would not like!

I find some of the arguments against these wild. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of legitment arguments lie the preservation one, they are just as bad as digital-only games, code-in-a-box, and "download required" like Skyrim Switch, as you're are dependent on eStore access, and the storage argument.

But some of them don't make sense to me.

"You still need the card to play the game installed, you need to take the card with you" Yeah, and 'if not carrying a gamecard around' is important to you, you'd be buying the digital version over the physical version anyway.

"it adds a manufacturing cost which harms smaller devs who rely on digital release to survive" Digital games aren't going anywhere the zero manufacturing cost option still exists. Also, I wager these are cheap to make, if they aren't just repurposed Switch 1 (1GB ) cards, they certainly are not the expensive 32GB or 62GB cards Switch 2 cards. it just has to hold the licence. It's a tiny file and doesn't need fast read speeds. Note: big third-party publishers used "code in a box as much as smaller devs did*

It's also not some new thing that Nintendo cooked up. Hogwarts Legacy on other consoles only had the tutorial on the disk rest of the game needs to be installed. Jedi Survivor and Shadows require downloads before the physical copy works, and this is exactly how OG/360 games work via backwards compatibility on X1/Series X

This is a much better solution than code in a box because trading and resale are possible You know the thing that made everyone dogpile on Microsoft and led to Sony's epic E3 response.

This isn't exactly new. Look at LA Noire on the Switch.

@GravyThief not only traded but resold.

I'm with you on that third-party thing. Yeah, at the moment, only 3 games use it, but the code in the box thing got pretty popular with publishers. Sure, some were working around the storage limits, but most were just larger profit margins. Like Ubisoft released real physical versions of their AC rereleases, but also code in a code-in-a-box version.

@Anti-Matter You can always still redownload past purchases when the eShop closes. And by then we'll be at least 2 generations into the future.

Honestly I don't really like these key-cards. But it does make it easier to share downloaded games. Even with the new Virtual GameCard feature. Honestly I would love to see custom keycards for eShop games as well. (Buy a "blank" keycard online and then write one game purchase onto it) It would be possible, but I doubt Nintendo will go that route. It'd be awesome for birthday gifts.

@Anti-Matter That's ridiculous scaremonging. The Switch 2 eshop won't be closed for decades.

Nintendo is under zero obligation to waste money keeping a storefront open many years after a console has stopped being made.

This is something like when I use a ps4 disc to play some of the ps5 versions of games I upgraded to. I downloaded the game but I still need the disc to verify I own it. It is not the best but it sounds better than getting a code that is stuck to one system. The downside is you have to download the game.

I may just get one game like this and see how it goes. I will not do this for many but it is what it is. Hopefully they try to get game sizes smaller. Size is going to go fast for this one. And those express cards are expensive. I hope they go down in price soon.

@Duncanballs The problem is that especially Sony has jacked up the prices in their PS store and now its happening in the XBox store as well.

Here in Norway, for many AAA games I have to pay 90 Euro for standard edition in the PS5 Store, while with my 10% discount club membership at my local store, I can still buy a physical copy in the launch week for under 70 Euro.

Digital copies used to be 10 Euro/USD cheaper, because there is no physical media and distribution costs.
Now they have become greedy and we pay more for digital than physical! It's stupid.

Sony is actually being sued for this, since they sell a Digital only version of the PS5 and thus those people are forced to pay the hefty premium on Digital copies now and getting shafted by Sony.

@abe_hikura With the larger publishers they would release an initial batch of physical products and would decide if sales justified another print run. They'd keep doing this until sales no longer justify making more physical copies and then just convert to code-in-a-box. It makes no sense for them to have inventory sitting on store shelves if it's not selling, but Code-in-a-box allows them to still have than retail presence without making loads of carts.

I'm OK with paying for digital only games, as long as they have sales like on steam. As for people saying they will lose the games when the servers go down, there are some game preservationists sailing the high seas who can help with that.

@Anti-Matter

To be fair that is a very far off future. I mean 3DS eshop was closed a year+, online services for games were discontinued but the games you purchased can still be redownloaded at this point and it doesn't seem like they plan to change it.

This is a better alternative than code in the box. This can be shared. I’m not fussed about 20 years time about if I get to play cheap digital games, I’m happy if I’m still alive

@MK73DS they won’t use 64gb cards for key cards. If a game is say 70gb they won’t ship 64gb of it on a cart and then you download 6gb.

It’ll be a key code to unlock and download the full 70gb.

If the game is not on the cartridge its not a physical game

@Flugen code in a box is pointless, its an empty box with no additional value the second you start playing. If you want fully digital you can still buy it on the eshop.
This option at least gives the ability to resell or share with others.

I'm not so sure that it will be possible to trade these 'key carts'. I would imagine there are some security features or restrictions that we don't know about. There's an initial online check. What's that checking? A unique code on the key, against a database of all these codes, that Nintendo has? If this is how it operates, trading doesn't seem likely. It's possible that the download will be tied to system, not an account, like on the Wii. One thing's for sure, along with the mandatory installs for Switch carts, yet to be announced, that 256gb is looking really paltry. Micro sd express is so expensive, Nintendo should have just opted for ssd, because for the same money, it would be faster and cost less, for the end user. I smell a deal with Sandisk for branded sd express cards, also yet to be revealed.

Good. Better than just download code in the box although of course I prefer full games cartridge.

The thing that most annoys me about these cards is that they'll force me to get up from the sofa to look for a cartridge when I'm going to play a 100% digital game.
No dood, that's not fair 😕

Cheap & lazy, sort of.

Bad for game preservation, kinda.

Unavailable for consumers at some point at the whim of large corporations, as with every other product in the world, yes.

Does it help keep costs down and prevent a further increase in the price of gaming, yes. And that surely is the most important thing

I've always supported physical releases but one thing's clear : The future of game distribution is digital, whether you like it or not. You can still vote with your wallet, but then you won't play the concerned games because the only alternative will be digital only.

Considering this, I think key cards is a good idea. As a consumer, you can still lend or resell the game which you can't with a digital only game. And shop owners are happy because they'll still have something to sell.

So if you don't want to buy key cards that's fine, but in any case full physical releases will be more and more an exception.

Horrible practice. Just another way to push people towards going digital.

At least we still have a choice right now. There comes a point that they will even take that away.

This is essentially what's been happening on other platforms for some time, Nintendo is just being upfront about it.

A lot of games on PS5 and Xbox sX are not the full game on the disc and when you insert it, it triggers a download for the rest of the game. I'm not talking patches and updates, this can be the bulk of the game. And you still need to put the disc in each time you want to play.

Nintendo has simply named the practice.

I just wish they would pick physical or digital and stick to it. At the moment the consumer is required to research and decide which option is best for them. It all becomes confusing and off putting. More and more they are crippling us with choices. It would be so much easier to just provide the services in one way and then I'd just have to decide one thing - do I want to play the game or not? And that's the most important thing that we should be concentrating on

If you can't trade and sell on physical games then physical is dead. There would be literally no point buying them over the digital versions. This must be a way of allowing people to effectively trade a digital copy but it seems like it's going to have a lot of unseen issues

@Anti-Matter This is categorically false. Even long after game purchases are shut down, downloads and redownloads are still very much possible on old Nintendo console eshops.

This is for parents and young kids who go to a game store and buy a game expecting there to be a physical cart inside

They don't like the experience of there being a long code their child might need help with, and aren't fussed if the game requires a complete download. It's all about that experience on opening the case and clicking out that physical cart

This is a first for Nintendo's system,
Isn't this the same as the PlayStation and Xbox discs?

The PlayStation and Xbox installed game data from the disc and
The disc then acts as a boot key.
The Switch 2 keycard downloads data from an online store
except that it seems to do exactly the same thing.

I play on Xbox as well, so I can accept this system without any problems, but is it really that difficult for Nintendo users?

@Olrun

Just like installation disks for Playstation and Xbox. At the same time the license does not get bound to your account meaning you can lend the game or sell it later.

@AnonyQ Not really just that. Because the Cart serves as what holds the license and is not bound to any specific account you can lend or resell the game at later date.

Errr we knew about this already, but I guess it's always good to have a confirmation.

It's not the end of the world. It's lazy and cheap, but it could be worse. At least you can resell the games (it was my main concern when I first saw the announce).

@SuperRetroArt Man, you can still trade them, haven't you read the news? Actually, they said it from the very beggining. It's not tied to any Nintendo account! You just need the game card to play the game. It's the same as physical, but you have to download the whole game.

While digital is the future, Nintendo proved multiple times they casually switch the store off.
I can download my Vita games and even buy them as of now (got mine in 2012)
Same with PS3 (have one since 2009)
Same with Steam (made my account somewhere in 2008)

And while Sony wanted to shut down PSN for Vita and PS3, you would still be able to redownload the stuff you bought like with the PSP when Sony shut that store years ago.

More funny is that online games still work if the servers are up for a certain game, while on my 3ds the moment Nintendo turned that off, all games using online lost that functionality, even the 3rd party ones.

I love Nintendo and their games, but the moment the go full digital I stop buying their games, unless they finally look at others how it should be done.

@Rayquaza2510 AFAICT, all digital games you bought (including the DSi and the Wii) are still downloadable. It's true you can't buy new ones, but the ones you bought are still accessible.

Sheesh we knew physical gaming would get worse over time, but it’s sad to see it take such a hit on the Switch Deux. With even Nintendo caving to greed, I imagine legitimate physical as an option will be axed altogether on the next Sony and Xbox generation.

Publishers will abuse the game-key practice to no end, even for paltry little indies or ports of old games like Suikoden that would fit on a conventional cart no problem. Or else they’d love to print it physically but they can’t, because Nintendo doesn’t manufacture cartridges under 32gb??

It just rots to have something we don’t want and didn’t ask for forced on us like this.
One thing’s for sure, I’ll be spending a lot less on video games going forward.

Curious how a company like LRG will fit in with S2 games when the time comes, like if they will be the 'best' option for game-on-cart releases even moreso or if they'd somehow do this too

@Yoshi3 I could argue that, with plenty of those SD cards, you don't need the servers if you just keep the downloadable part on those. And let's face it, if I still had my NES cartridges, they'd be kinda useless too, as the NES no longer hooks up to the tv and those batteries don't last forever either. And let's also be real, we love to double dip on our old games when they become available again on newer hardware.

I am not saying it isn't a stupid decision to make these, but they are no more useless than many actual game cartridges, if you factor in eventual decline.

And someone will inevetably dump the final patch online anyways.

Now cloud gaming on the other hand...

Look, I get the annoyance, but it really isn't that big of a deal. The best games will be resold at a later date anyways.

@Daniel36 those SD cards cost way too much, and if you divide them by, maybe 10 games that fit on there then it’s like adding a $20 above the already $90 that the games cost.

Also, I still have my NES cartridges and my Zelda’s batteries still work perfectly. Tbh honest I don’t like double dipping unless they add content.

But I get what you mean. The thing is, it’s not the inconvenience, it’s the bawlls of Nintendo doing this and on top of that charging $10-$20 above industry standards. This is the cherry on top. I mean, if you’re gonna start doing these shenanigans, let it show on the price. I mean it’s obvious they are cutting corners on costs AND charging a really high premium for everything.

I was thinking yesterday about these, and if these give indies an option to self-publish without resorting to Limited Run Games and similar companies, I'll take it.

It's not the best solution, but I get something physical and the money will go directly to those indies.

@WhiteUmbrella the check is with the game card its self so as long as you have this gamecard you have lience to play

Game-key cards just seem to me like they’re saying: “We’ll give you physical games…BUT YOU’RE NOT GONNA LIKE ‘EM!”

@Flugen Can you point to a verifiable source, or are you just assuming this?

Remember people, if you only buy true physical media, it won't die. Vote with your wallet!! We should have put our foot down 20 years ago, but we have to do it now before it's too late.

Sure, some indie games could never have afforded physical, so that's fine to support them. But if it's a title from a big enough studio, hold out and voice your demand for physical until it comes!!

(Heck, even some small indie games get physical releases via LRG, etc.)

I think Nintendo wanted to make the Switch 2 all digital but was afraid of the backlash from Switch owners about backwards compatibility. I'm willing to wager anything that this will be the last physical media console from Nintendo. Expect the Switch 3 or whatever it'll be called to be all digital like a Steam Deck or various PC handhelds. They are slowly trying to ease consumers into accepting an all digital future with the game key card situation

It sounds better than the one time code in the box. But still unnecessary imo.

@Teksette It also can't be help either cause Nintendo can't force third party to get use to using physical cart themselves. It's not like the NES era anymore where Nintendo could bully third party to doing it Nintendo's way hence why if they want third party supports they had to give in to a cheaper option. Had Nintendo force third party into using those cartridge it would be good for the consumers but third party who don't want to go physical will shy away from supporting the Switch 2 and then Nintendo will be in the dark.

Either way we win some and we lose some. We just had to hope that for most devs going full physical is the right thing to do. You had to realize Nintendo not only had to satisfied one side but all three sides as well. They had to satisfied their customers, their partners and themselves as well and to do that they offered options for all three. I betcha games like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077 wouldn't had been ported to Switch 2 had Nintendo not give From Software and CDProjekt Red the fully digital game key card option. Even worst they would had opted for a cloud version instead.

I see this being used mostly by third-party developers as a cheaper method for physical games instead of paying more for the higher capacity game cards.

Either way, it still suffers from the issue of digital software in that it requires internet to download the game, and those can always be taken away by the publishers for whatever reason they choose.

@datamonkey That's literally what I said. There's going to be data to download anyways, so why bother using expensive cartridges?

This looks like this was a get out of jail free card for third parties. I still have some gaps in my understanding of it. I guess I'll just have to wait in time to see how useful or unuseful these things are.

@Daniel36 Xenoblade X launched like a month ago and didn't have a day one patch. Point invalid.

@MK73DS Yeah, that's one game. And good on them for not patching it. The point still stands for a myriad other games, though. And I don't LIKE the fact that my point stands, mind you. I wish for no patches whatsoever.

Heck, I finally booted up my gifted PS4 today, to finally give the FF7Remake gift a shot, while laying ill in bed. I had to start with a 53 minute download. Made me remember why I never boot up my PS, and made me severely annoyed.

And if a patch for XCX comes up in the next two months or so... point valid +1 or something?

It doesn't matter though. Patches suck, these weird downloads on a cart suck, but they are a minir nuisance all things considered.

@Yoshi3 I get your side too, though.

It's just... the fear of missing out is just too strong. Even if the servers shut down ages from now, a full version will likely have popped up on a successor device.

I consider myself old school but I've been happy to embrace the digital age with gaming. I much prefer having the game on my console, to having to switch game carts.
On Wii, I had more VC and Wii Shop games than physical games. On Wii U, 90% of my collection was digital and on Switch, I own 6, physical games from a collection of hundreds.

I can't see that changing much on Switch 2 but I'll likely still buy a few physical games with a large file size, to save space. Especially ones that contain the full game on cart, like Cyberpunk. I bought The Witcher 3 physical for this reason.

Talking of The Witcher 3. I hope that gets a Switch 2 upgrades. I'd love to play through it again.

This will be nice for libraries and such - my wife manages the Switch game collection at our local library and you can't lend out game codes since they're tied to a specific console / eShop purchase, but if smaller indie games do a Game-Key Card release, they could use that as part of the collection.

@Serpenterror
"Win some, lose some" is a good way for summing up this whole Switch 2 generation so far. As you say, I'm sure Nintendo is caught between pleasing shareholders, pleasing customers, pleasing publishers, retailer partners, etc, and there is probably no way to satisfy everyone. Was Nintendo unwilling to offer a reasonably-priced Switch 2 physical media to their publishing partners, instead opting for these imitation carts that hold nothing but an authorization code (licenses that can expire at Nintendo's sole discretion) to surpress piracy? Just to save money? Maybe Stephen Totilo or some other investigative reporter can dig deep on that one day.

One thing is abundantly clear these last few years - Nintendo, publishers, they're all just going to follow the money. Give them a cheap way out, and most often they're going to take it, consumers' preferences be damned.

I guess we deluded people, who feel that a person who buys media should get to own said media, are just going to have to support the rare, legitimate physical retail releases while we still have the option. I hear Cyberpunk is all on the cartridge, at least, so I'll be buying that.

I suppose I might consider one of these if it's a game that I'm unsure if I'll like and it isn't available on a proper cartridge, as at least I can then resell it. As an alternative to pure digital it's not a bad option to have, but it's disappointing that we're already seeing some publishers defaulting to key cards for games that you'd expect to be on cartridge (like Bravely Default and Suikoden, especially in the case of the latter where you can already get exactly the same game physically for Switch 1).

These cards sound bad enough.

But now a required internet check? Wth Nintendo. This is Ubisoft bs. This is very disappointing.

Of course, Nintendo will likely one day take the Switch 2 servers offline which potentially means game over for download cartridges.
At that point Earth will become part of the Sun. This doom and gloom helps no one here. Wouldn't that be the same for Digital games?

@Jester676 The glass is always half empty in the Nintendolife comment sections...

Am I correct in saying that if you buy a game key cartridge, the internet check is only required initially to download the game, and then once downloaded to the system no internet connection is required?

If this is the case, then is it a big deal? I know it’s not ideal, but As long as you download the game from eshop before it is removed in 10 years, you will permanently have access to the game even if they take down Nintendo switch 2 servers because the game data is already downloaded to the system.

Am I missing something?

@Anachronism I have 3 kids who all game. When the switch 2 lite comes out, it's nice to have physical games to trade around. I'll buy one copy of Mario Kart World, and 1 copy of Bananza and they can trade around

@nightspades But you can do that with digiatal copies. That's exactly what the whole "virtual game card" thing they announced in the Switch 1 Direct is for. Even before that, your kids could have just played it through your account and still had their own save data as long as they turned off the cloud save settings, though I'll admit that can be a bit clunky. An actual physical copy gives you the benefits of not having to clear storage space or download it to each console to trade it around, and a digital copy is impossible to break or lose as long as the eshop is still running, but these give you the worst of both.

As a side note, announcing virtual game cards and game key cards a week apart is probably going to confuse a lot of people.

I guess if they announce an eshop closure, borrow or rent any games you intend to ever buy and download the game. Then you'll already have it if you buy a game key card later. Alternately if you don't have the money but do have the cashflow, you could buy it, download it, sell it.