Switch Fans Disappointed Over Amount Of Third-Party Game Key Cards

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Indeed, it seems the dreaded scenario for many Nintendo Switch enthusiasts has materialized. The announcement of Nintendo’s “game key card” in conjunction with the Switch 2 left most people feeling rather disgruntled.

Instead of loading the game data directly onto the Switch 2 game cartridge, publishers use this card as a digital key. To play the game, you’ll have to insert the cartridge into your system, which will then prompt you to download and install the game.

While it may not be perfect, this updated approach to Switch 2 game cartridges seems reasonable, given they can store up to 64 GB of data and accommodate a variety of games. At first glance, many enthusiasts considered this a necessary adaptation for titles that took up excessive space on conventional cartridges.

Following a string of recent disclosures about the games set to be distributed as digital keys, fans have been left in disbelief, especially when they learned that titles such as Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 would be available as key cards. This certainly feels like a misguided attempt at humor.

On Reddit, numerous posts indicate that Nintendo Switch 2 games will be distributed via digital key cards rather than the usual cartridges. This change has left many gamers and collectors expressing widespread disappointment.

User AmandaGameAccount remarks, “Puyo/Tetris 2 seems to be around 900MB in size, right?” To which user 0xfleventy5 responds, “Indeed, it appears they only offer a 64GB or cartridge option. No mid-range options available.

It appears quite plausible according to several sources, as tiny games are reportedly storing their data on large 64GB game key cards. This raises an intriguing question we hadn’t considered before: if these games don’t fully utilize the storage space on the cartridge, why would they incur the additional cost to do so?

In essence, due to practical reasons, even big-budget AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077, which require more than the 64GB cartridge storage space, share the need for game key cards with smaller titles such as Puyo Puyo Tetris 2.

Another commenter points out the sentiment many collectors seem to have about this whole fiasco:

Yup guess I’ll keep expanding my original switch collection

From personal experience as a collector, I wholeheartedly concur. While purchasing a physical game gives us a cartridge and case, it doesn’t replicate the sense of ownership we seek. Instead, it feels like owning a cardboard facsimile, which is less satisfying for me. Therefore, I prefer to invest in other games.

Why Is Everyone So Frustrated?

Let’s clear up some common misunderstandings about game key cards before we dive into the topic. Yes, these cards can be traded with others, resold, and used to install games on different systems. Also, once a game is installed, you can play it without an internet connection as it doesn’t require continuous online access.

Setting those misunderstandings aside, it’s quite alarming to observe the creations of external developers today, and here’s why: The games that could have easily been purchased as cartridges in the previous era are now primarily digital downloads.

Or, more simply: In contrast to the past when games were sold on cartridges, most new games can only be downloaded today.

I’d liken it to purchasing a Blu-ray disc for a film, inserting it into a DVD player, and then simultaneously running Netflix on your TV. To me, this analogy succinctly captures the absurdity of the entire idea.

To put it simply, the implication is that physical media for downloadable services is closely linked to the service providers themselves, like Nintendo and third parties. In other words, they are asking us to rely on them completely for the distribution of this media, but it’s important to remember that they might not always be capable of doing so – as demonstrated with the game Crew 2.

One user expressed a major worry: “If it’s a physical copy, there won’t be any purchasing. They could deactivate the servers ten years from now, and you wouldn’t be able to play them.” This is a significant apprehension for those considering the purchase of these physical Switch 2 games.

Unlike a PlayStation 4 disc, which frequently enables playing the first 1.0 version of a game even when servers are shut down, game key cards do not offer this convenience. This distinction is particularly frustrating for collectors who enjoy revisiting old games long after their initial release, as they cannot do so with this new system.

Nintendo Is Encouraging Our Worst Habits

Before wrapping up, let me just say something about Nintendo. Despite their efforts to combat hackers, modders, and other entities, it seems a bit ironic that some of their practices might actually be fostering this behavior. As a fan, I find this intriguing.

Because the online store for the 3DS has shut down, some enthusiasts feel compelled to illegally create platforms for downloading third-party games that would otherwise be unavailable due to the closure of the official servers.

With each passing generation of the Nintendo Switch 2, it seems likely that a vast amount of content may become a target for preservation among persistent hackers. Although I don’t condone such actions, some might say that Nintendo is inadvertently inviting this by eventually shutting down its servers.

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2025-04-25 02:39