Not All Switch 2 Cartridges Have Games
Like the Nintendo Switch before it, Switch 2 supports both physical and digital games . It offers some flexibility no matter how players like to assemble their games , unlike other gaming companies that only offer digital versions of their consoles.
However, it’s important to note that just because you buy a physical Switch 2 game doesn’t mean you actually bought the game itself. In fact, for some games, there is little difference between buying a game physically or digitally, and unless you truly value the box cover and the cartridge itself, you shouldn’t make a purchasing decision with the wrong idea in mind.
Swap the 2 Game-Key cards.
Once the Switch 2 goes on sale and games start releasing simultaneously, check your game boxes carefully : on some games, you’ll notice a white stripe along the bottom of the cover, specifically saying “GAME-KEY CARD.”
Game key cards are new to this generation of Nintendo and differ from traditional physical games in one important way: they do not contain the full game on the card itself. Instead, you buy a key to download the full game onto your console. (Hence the card is the key to the game.)
Once you insert the game cartridge into the Switch 2, the console will prompt you with steps to download the full game locally. However, you’ll need an internet connection to start downloading, so you won’t be able to play your new Switch 2 game until you’re back somewhere with a stable and relatively fast network. (Long gone are the days when you had to buy a Nintendo cartridge and play it on the spot.)
Additionally, you’ll need to make sure your Switch 2 has enough storage space for the download. Nintendo says you’ll see the required amount of space on the game box itself. This is another bummer: one of the benefits of physical gaming on Switch is the limited storage space you have to work with. Yes, the Switch 2 quadruples the Switch 1’s internal storage , but buy enough of these games and you’ll have to invest in additional storage, too. (Remember: Switch 1 microSD cards cannot be used here either).
After downloading the game, you need to maintain an active internet connection to run the game. However, after this you can also play the game offline. You just need to make sure that you play the cartridge like a physical game.
We don’t yet know which specific games will use this system or how game key cards will affect prices. (For example, Mario Kart World costs $80.)
Why is Nintendo doing this?
My first reaction to this new type of gaming cart is pure confusion. What’s the point? If you’re not going to put the full game on the cartridge itself, why not just offer it digitally? Not that this will benefit users who don’t have a stable internet connection: you’ll still have to download the game to your Switch 2 online. So, again, why bother with a game key system at all?
Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser (no relation) has the company’s answer. In an interview with The Verge, Bowser said that a game key is essentially a “digital game on a card” and gives developers the ability to create games that are too large for a regular cartridge and still sell those games in retail stores.
This is really important from a business point of view. Nintendo does not release sales statistics, but according to Christopher Dring , editor-in-chief of The Game Business, the company can expect to sell 80% of any given game’s copies physically. This figure seems a little high to me, but I have no doubt that Nintendo still sells a lot of games in stores, even as other sectors of the gaming industry shift heavily toward digital sales. Plus, the Switch 2 is a lot more powerful than the Switch 1, so it makes sense that big AAA games would take up a lot more space than the OG Switch games.
But from a consumer perspective, none of us win here. The main benefit of buying physical games is durability: once you buy physical media (at least traditional physical media) , it can’t be taken away from you . Digital media, on the other hand, is largely a licensing-based system: you pay for the right to access that software as long as the distributor says so. If that distributor loses the rights to that media or decides they no longer want to offer it, you’re pretty much out of luck.
So, when you create physical carts that are digital games, it completely defeats the purpose of the physical medium. In fact, it’s just a headache since you need a cart to play, as well as other disadvantages of digital media. Nintendo will eventually stop supporting this game. You might be able to play it as long as it’s saved on your Switch 2, but if you need to download it to another console in the future, oops: that physical game is actually a digital game that simply doesn’t exist anymore.
The good news is that it won’t be every Switch 2 game. You’ll still be able to buy games that contain the entire game in your cart. But as we enter the new era of Nintendo, it’s nice to know that if you’re not the kind of person who demands all your purchases be tangible, you might be better off buying those card games with a game key digitally.