New Pokemon Game Pokopia Comes With a Massive Catch

by

Next year, Pokémon fans will be able to enjoy a new game, Pokémon Pokopia, that’s similar to Animal Crossing. However, the announcement of a physical version of the game has caused some upset. Pokémon Pokopia is changing up the familiar life simulation style, and it’s brought up concerns about how Nintendo handles physical game releases for the Switch 2, sparking a new debate on the topic.

We first learned about Pokemon Pokopia back in September, and now we finally have a release date! The good news is you won’t have to wait much longer – Nintendo has announced it will launch on March 5, 2026. However, the announcement hasn’t pleased everyone. Many excited Pokemon fans are disappointed with the inclusion of Game-Key Cards.

Pokemon Pokopia’s Physical Release Uses Nintendo’s Controversial Game-Key Card

  • The Switch 2’s Game-Key Cards have been controversial, because they don’t actually store game data.
  • Game-Key Cards are simply a download key, requiring the Switch 2 to still be online in order to download the game.
  • Game-Key Cards have raised concerns about the seemingly growing trend of gamers not actually being able to own the games they purchase.

Although the US Nintendo website doesn’t list a physical copy, Nintendo’s Japanese site identifies the physical version of Pokemon Pokopia as a Game-Key Card. This has sparked debate because Nintendo previously promised fans that their own games wouldn’t use this type of card.

So, about Nintendo saying their first-party games wouldn’t use those annoying Game-Key Cards… there’s a little snag. Turns out, with Pokemon Pokopia, Nintendo is just the publisher, not the one actually making the game. Everyone loves Pokemon on Nintendo systems, but Nintendo doesn’t fully own the franchise. And the team behind Pokemon Pokopia, Koei Tecmo, isn’t part of Nintendo either, which means Nintendo’s promise doesn’t really apply to this one.

While Pokemon Pokopia isn’t directly a Nintendo-made game, the fact that it uses Game-Key Cards is worrying many fans, and understandably so. As more games become digital, players are increasingly concerned about truly owning the games they buy. Pokemon Pokopia seems like a fun addition to the series, but collectors and those who prefer physical copies would have been happier if the game had a traditional physical release with the game data included.

Read More

2025-11-12 16:04