One of the advantages most valued by many original Nintendo Switch players has begun to blur with the arrival of its successor. Until now, physical supports included the game data, which allowed playing directly from the cartridge without the need to connect to the Internet. Of course, the updates were necessary if you wanted to access improvements or additional content.
With Switch 2, Nintendo has introduced a new format: the “game key cards” or game-Key Cards. These cards must be inserted in the console to play, such as a conventional cartridge, but do not contain the full game. Instead, they store a key that allows you to download the game from Nintendo servers. That is, internet connection, storage space and time to install it are needed.
It is not new, but now it impacts. The existence of this format was announced in a Nintendo Direct, but at that time it was not known how much the rules of the game would change. Now we are seeing it: Gematsu has pointed out that most third-party games announced in Japan for Nintendo Switch 2 will arrive in Game-Key Card format. Information that has been replicated by media such as VGC and Nintendo Life, which has given it greater visibility.
To know if a game is in this new format, just look at the lower left corner of the box: a key-shaped icon indicates that it is a Game-Key Card.
Some of the games that will arrive in this format are:
- ‘Bravely Default: Flying Fairy’
- ‘Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion’
- ‘Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess’
- ‘Puyo Puyo Tetris 2s’
- ‘Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army Remaster’
- ‘Shine Post: Be Your Idol!’
- ‘Sonic X Shadow Generations’
- ‘Street Fighter 6’
- ‘SUICODE I & II HD REMASTER’
- ‘Survival Kids’
- ‘Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut’
Only two games presented so far in Japan for Switch 2 include complete data in the cartridge: ‘Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma’ and ‘Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar’. Both are titles in Nintendo Switch 2 Edition version.
What is a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition? The games under the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition label are already existing titles that are launched next to a specific update package to take advantage of the capabilities of the new console. That is, they include the original game and an improvement patch adapted to Switch 2 hardware.
CD Projekt has confirmed that ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ will be launched on traditional cartridge. But in stores like Smyths Toys or Amazon USA you can see Game-Key Cards in games like ‘Hitman: World of Assassination’, ‘Street Fighter 6’ O ‘Bravely Default: Flying Fairy’.
The community responds. In social networks, the reaction has not been waiting. The “Does It Play account?” He criticized that this format leaves players “without property, without conservation, without choice.” Other users warn of a scenario where physical games are losing ground.
A Game-Key without access to eShop becomes a little useful object. If the game is not stored in the cartridge and the servers fall or close, there will be no way to download it.
The theory: Nintendo is limiting the options? In pages like Reddit and YouTube it is speculated that Nintendo could be offering only two cartridge options: one very small and another of 64 GB. Without intermediate options, many studies would opt for Game-Key Cards to avoid high manufacturing costs. Of course, for now, all this are just conjectures. Nintendo has not confirmed anything.
Images | Nintendo | Screen capture
In WorldOfSoftware | If the question is “you will sell the Nintendo Switch 2 despite the Price increase” the answer is: yes, a lot
