Games

Not only on Switch 2. There was at least one Tony Hawk Pro Skater game that did this.

If I remember the episode of Guru Larry, the developer noticed their rights to the IP were set to expire, so they went to shit out one last game as fast as possible. They had to get the game published by a certain date, as in discs on store shelves by this date. The game was not going to be ready in time, so they put the tutorial level on the disc to print and distribute it while they finished the game, which would then be a multi-gigabyte download. Meaning that a physical copy of the game is worthless once the servers shut down.

At least there's marking on the packaging so you'd know which ones to avoid getting.

Not that I agree with it, but isn’t this what other consoles have done for about a decade already?

Physical media for games is on its deathbed.

It's actually not "only on the Switch 2". There were a bunch of Switch one games that only came with a partial set of assets and required a mandatory download to be played.

It sucks, and it's what you get when your physical storage is too expensive and too small, unfortunately.

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.

At least them giving it a new name makes choosing games easier, I guess.

If this is going to be what Switch 2 offers, I'm fully out

Edit: I checked with a friend. Normal game cartridges are still a thing. One thing that makes them slightly better than digital downloads (albeit still imperfect) is that you can at least trade, sell, and buy them used. Not as good as physical media, but slightly better ownership rights than buying a digital copy.

I don't like the idea of a game that can't be played long after the servers have gone down.

But I'm glad that it can still be traded or sold after purchase unlike what Xbox tried to do.

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?

So these physical copies will only cost $5, right? Lol.

"We want to kill physical game sales forever and we aren't hiding it anymore." - Nintendo, 2025

Had a scare when first hearing this. But somewhere else on the site it does specify this as something like "some physical games", and as quoted in OP they're contrasting here with "regular game cards". So it looks like real game cards will still be a thing.

So far I've seen screenshots of SFVI and Bravely Default boxarts marked as game-key cards.

I've seen box shots for Mario Kart and Donkey Kong that appear to be normal game cards.

Oh gross, that’s enough to end the retro market entirely. When the Switch 2 retires, the entire used game trade goes with it.

You know, unless hShop picks it up.

Not much different from these now day that have only a code.

Did not buy and went to the e-shop.