Nintendo Switch 2 Game-Key Card Overview
-
Until the download servers go down and you have a cartridge that's just ewaste
Yes, which is a big part of why it sucks.
-
So they essentially stuffed a download code into a physical cartridge to make people feel like they are getting something?
Isn't that needless and wasteful? Isn't it also going to trick unsuspecting people into buying something they think is a physical version of a game but isn't?
One thing I don't see people mentioning is that Nintendo Switch 1 game cartridges had 32gb of storage. We don't know about regular Switch 2 cartridge storages, but they've already announced games like Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy that are much bigger than that.
Add in the fact that Switch 2 promises games in 4k (when docked) and there's a very decent chance that these game-key cartridges exist because some games wouldn't fit in cartridges and would otherwise have to be digital-only or not be on this console at all. -
Game-key cards are different from regular game cards, because they don’t contain the full game data. Instead, the game-key card is your "key" to downloading the full game to your system via the internet.
Pay a premium for a physical copy of your game, and the cartridge may not contain the actual game. Only on Nintendo Switch 2.
Fuck you Nintendo. Because if you lose or damaged the game card, making it unreadable by the card slot, you won't be able to play the game. Due to the game card having the license that allows you to play the game. You'll own nothing and you'll like it, gamer.
-
It's the other way around. You can download the same game in all of your consoles and actually play them at the same time. Something you can't do with cartridges, because you can only play the game in the console where the cartridge is inserted. You'd need one cartridge per console to play the same game simultaneously. So digital games are objectively better for your scenario.
Can you download a game on the same account to two switches and play them at the same time?
-
Many Ubisoft games and Activision games on the Switch 1 were sold like this.
Switch cards hold a maximum of 32GB, maybe that’s why? Although it seems no excuse for Switch 2, given it’s a whole new generation, why not support larger cards? I mean you can buy a 256GB microSD for $15, and that’s a private individual buying one; at scale, the memory can’t be too expensive..
-
Game-key cards are different from regular game cards, because they don’t contain the full game data. Instead, the game-key card is your "key" to downloading the full game to your system via the internet.
Pay a premium for a physical copy of your game, and the cartridge may not contain the actual game. Only on Nintendo Switch 2.
One of the things I really like about the Switch is that I can actually buy a whole physical game that doesn't need an Internet connection. Sure, I have to check a website first, but I can at least curate my wishlist with games that are complete on cart.
-
Fuck you Nintendo. Because if you lose or damaged the game card, making it unreadable by the card slot, you won't be able to play the game. Due to the game card having the license that allows you to play the game. You'll own nothing and you'll like it, gamer.
Isn't that how all physical media works?
-
One thing I don't see people mentioning is that Nintendo Switch 1 game cartridges had 32gb of storage. We don't know about regular Switch 2 cartridge storages, but they've already announced games like Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy that are much bigger than that.
Add in the fact that Switch 2 promises games in 4k (when docked) and there's a very decent chance that these game-key cartridges exist because some games wouldn't fit in cartridges and would otherwise have to be digital-only or not be on this console at all.I don't think there is anything stopping nintendo from making 64GB or larger cartridges except the cost.
-
Isn't that how all physical media works?
No. You have to download the game and need the cartridge to play it.
-
Fuck you Nintendo. Because if you lose or damaged the game card, making it unreadable by the card slot, you won't be able to play the game. Due to the game card having the license that allows you to play the game. You'll own nothing and you'll like it, gamer.
That's a really dumb take. That's just the downside of physical media.
The real problem of this is just the same as the digital games. Once the Nintendo switch store inevitably goes offline like the Wii and 3DS, your key card becomes useless e-waste no matter how good you care for it.
-
That's a really dumb take. That's just the downside of physical media.
The real problem of this is just the same as the digital games. Once the Nintendo switch store inevitably goes offline like the Wii and 3DS, your key card becomes useless e-waste no matter how good you care for it.
Question. Did you open OPs link? Because all you're doing is buying a license on cartridge. You have to download the game and you need to insert the cartridge to play the game. Nintendo managed to figure out a way to add all the inconveniences of physical media to digital only games.
-
Question. Did you open OPs link? Because all you're doing is buying a license on cartridge. You have to download the game and you need to insert the cartridge to play the game. Nintendo managed to figure out a way to add all the inconveniences of physical media to digital only games.
Yes, and did you read wha ti said?... I agree with what you just said.
-
No. You have to download the game and need the cartridge to play it.
It's not unheard of, though. Modern Warfare 2 had only a 70MB file on its disc, basically a license, and required you to download the actual game.
Note I'm not defending this. It's a nightmare for game preservation and pushes us ever further in the direction of never owning anything. I'm just saying Nintendo isn't breaking new ground with this particular outrage.
-
Yes, and did you read wha ti said?... I agree with what you just said.
That’s a really dumb take.
I agree with what you just said.
-
That’s a really dumb take.
I agree with what you just said.
The dumb take is that this is a bad idea because you might damage the card. That's silly because that's just the trade off of portability.
-
Game-key cards are different from regular game cards, because they don’t contain the full game data. Instead, the game-key card is your "key" to downloading the full game to your system via the internet.
Pay a premium for a physical copy of your game, and the cartridge may not contain the actual game. Only on Nintendo Switch 2.
-
Nintendo made a huge deal about virtual game cards, saving us from exactly what you're afraid of.
Not as good as what Sony and Microsoft do, where we can essentially install our whole library on every console we have, but it's about as good as what Steam does.
Plus they're bringing back a "game share" like feature, so some multiplayer games should be playable in a local family with only one purchase.
but it’s about as good as what Steam does.
Explain, since I don't think that's true.
-
So they essentially stuffed a download code into a physical cartridge to make people feel like they are getting something?
Isn't that needless and wasteful? Isn't it also going to trick unsuspecting people into buying something they think is a physical version of a game but isn't?
-
One of the things I really like about the Switch is that I can actually buy a whole physical game that doesn't need an Internet connection. Sure, I have to check a website first, but I can at least curate my wishlist with games that are complete on cart.
-
Switch cards hold a maximum of 32GB, maybe that’s why? Although it seems no excuse for Switch 2, given it’s a whole new generation, why not support larger cards? I mean you can buy a 256GB microSD for $15, and that’s a private individual buying one; at scale, the memory can’t be too expensive..
But the Switch cards are not MicroSD cards. MicroSD cards are produced at much larger scales than Switch game cards. And there are many manufacturers producing the MicroSDs. That’s why MicroSD cards are so cheap because there is competition. While the game cards are a bespoke design using non-standard flash memory and only produced by Nintendo’s partners in lower numbers than MicroSD cards. I heard from a publisher that they had to pay $8 per unit for the 16GB card when they released a small indie game for the Switch 1. That was almost the price of the digital version. So they had to charge double for the retail version. The Switch cards are relatively expensive that’s why many publishers opted for a small card and forced the consumer to download the rest even when the game could fit on the bigger card. And Nintendo still takes a royalty for every game sold on top of that.
But even if a publisher could buy a 256GB Switch card for $10 bucks that is money not going into the publishers pocket. So of course a publisher like Activision will opt for the smallest card possible so they can earn a couple of bucks more per game sold.
