Every Nintendo Switch 2 Game-Key Card Release

I'm OK with the Game Key card. Once I get the Switch 2/Mario Kart World bundle, I'll be buying Street Fighter 6 to go with the bundle. Nintendo supports third party publishers... and so am I.

Thank you for this guide! It’ll help me steer clear of these accursed things. 😑

I don't understand why so many people are freaking out over this when it already exists on the original Switch.

@twadebarcelona Because it appears to be more prevalent this generation? It's setting a bad precedent.

so it looks like CD Projekt Red (Cyberpunk 2077) and Marvelous are the only ones supporting game-on-cart releases in the west . . . hopefully other publishers will decide to take this route🤞

@Zuljaras

You forgot to mention that it requires internet connection the first time you START the game as well. It is not only for download.

isn't that false info ? Nintendo said Game-Key Cards behave the same as full cartridge games

@Zuljaras interesting . . . i misunderstood your original comment. apologies 🙏 👍

however, it is possible that information could just be referring to the initial download ?

@Zuljaras 😁👍

@jco83 what are you saying? They dont contain data so you need to download the game using the internet obviously.

These game key box art also look really, really ugly lol. The physical collection aspect is sonewhat ruined by that.

@Mikey_205 it isn't what i'm saying, it's what @Zuljaras and Nintendo's website are saying: that after fully downloading the game, the first time you launch the game an internet check is required.

(my original reply to Zuljaras misunderstood their original comment to mean internet is required every time you launch the game).

Do not buy key card games. Do not buy 80 dollar games. Do not buy re-releases at full price. This is our last chance to tell Nintendo and the industry that we can't be squeezed to the poor house. Don't be selfish, do what it takes to make games better for everyone. Play your 50 dollar kart pack in and free games like Switch games you already own or freemiums like fortnite. Buy the cheap fast fusion game. Tell Nintendo to drop the price, and other companies that key cards aren't game preservation.

Do the right thing by standing together unified.

I would have bought Yakuza and Madden, but now I won't. It's that simple.

Apparently this list will be incalculable.
It will be simpler to create a list with the games that will not be a key-card.

Obviously a better alternative to code-in-a-box but I hope these aren't deployed over frequently to the point that virtually every 3rd party 'physical' release is a key card.

Looking at this list, I'm not too optimistic

Imagine that this existed back during the Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Color, DS, and 3DS eras.

Now imagine grabbing one of those games off your shelf to play today.

Let's say you wanted to play Pokemon Aqua Sapphire on your 3DS. You grab the box off your shelf, get the cartridge out of it, pop it in your 3DS to play it, and remember that you had to remove it from you 3DS back in the day because you needed more room to play a different game.

You got the physical cartridge. No problem. Start the game, and hmmm... that's odd. It doesn't work. Oh yeah... you needed the Nintendo 3DS service to be up and running to be able to download that game.... and... it's gone now. Uh oh.

The reality about downloaded games is that ALL gaming services go offline eventually. Every company takes down their servers at some point.

Playstation shut down the PS Vita. Nintendo shut down the 3DS and WiiU. They all do it.

Buying a game key card for Switch 2 is not buying a game. It is renting a game until the servers are shut down for good. You do NOT own the game your "bought".

This is why I do not and will not support these game key cards. Enjoy paying upwards of $70 to rent a game. I'll pass.

Oh and by the way, yes. I do play Pokemon Aqua Sapphire on my 3DS today. It's the current game I am playing on my 3DS right now.

Just because a company declares a game system is old and not worth their time anymore does NOT make that game system nor the games that were made for it instantly become garbage. Some older games are better than some of the stuff being put out today.

This has completely put me off from buying a Switch 2 until Nintendo offers more cartridge sizes to third party publishers, because at the moment, every proper physical release is US$70 (AU$110) or above, which is absolutely obscene. To think that I was naive enough to assume that Nintendo were taking their time for the strongest possible launch for the Switch 2, but this is looking substantially worse than even the humble Wii U.

Did Nintendo just decide that budget-priced (or hell, just normal-priced) games weren't going to be a thing this generation? One of the earliest Switch 1 budget releases was Nintendo's very own SnipperClips Plus (which retailed for a modest AU$45, if not $40).

The fact that Sega saw fit to issue a "key card" release for Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is so unfathomably idiotic that it deserves to be laughed into the bargain bin where it belongs. Who in their right mind would pay for that and not for the heavily-discounted Switch 1 physical release?! (which actually has a game on the cartridge!) And likewise of the new Sonic game too!

I am very interested to see how this pans out. Is this really the last breath of physical media and owning our games? I wonder how long places like CEX will last and how they will manage game key carts.

There's going to be millions of useless switch carts and boxes one day, a strange thought. It's probably why they shouldn't be able to do this, it's the worst of both worlds environmentally. Not only do they have to make the carts and plastic boxes before shopping them globally. Each cart will be responsible for multiple downloads, increasing their carbon footprint over their lifetime until they eventually become plastic waste. It's crazy how irresponsible this practice is and I expected more from Nintendo to be honest.

Any chance the list could be modified to also have a section for games that are confirmed to be on cartridge? While it's handy to have a list of games that I won't be purchasing, having a maintained list of games I might purchase would be even more useful.

@clicky there's a list here started on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch2/comments/1jvt0rn/comment/mmenjw3/?context=3

It'll be updated regularly.

Looks like the Japanese edition of Hogwarts Legacy on Switch 2 will be a key card release too (which may extend to the West).

While I think game key cards are better than what we had on the Switch with the "Download required" software, I still do not like them and will not be buying games using them unless they are on a heavy discount.

Slightly less rubbish than code-in-a-box. Consider yourself damned with faint praise game-key card.

Just ordered ROG Ally X. Thanks Nintendo!

The more I think about it, maybe the big publishers don't think their new games are worth playing enough to be preserved on a real game card?

I still buy games on 30+ year old cartridges, but my kids or I likely won't be able do this with all of the fake game card releases. As a huge Nintendo fan since the NES, it's sadly putting me off from wanting a Switch 2, even after loving the Switch 1.

@twadebarcelona We didn't like it then, and we don't like it now.

I guess my issue with these game key's, is similar to why I don't buy digital (unless there's no physical release) on consoles, in that we've seen from experience, that once a new console comes out, you can't bank on playing older games on newer hardware/them being supported. Also, having it all on the cart, you never run the risk of the download being made unavailable.

PC's though I'm all in for digital now, as even if Steam retires a game (like I own some that you can't buy anymore), you can still download them.

I thought Game Key Cards, while not something I would ever buy, weren't the end of the world if they were just meant to replace the existing practice of code-in-a-box for games that won't fit on a cart. It's actually less bad than that, so I didn't get out my pitchfork just yet.

But the number of games getting released in this format is alarming, far more than those rare, easily-ignored code-in-a-box titles. Many of them are games that easily could've fit on the cart, so why?

If they're pushing this hard to normalize these, I'm going to be sick.

Thank you. I will be avoiding all of these key card releases with the quickness. It's a shame, because I've been looking for a good excuse to dive into Ys X.

@missingno_fgc There’s a rumor floating around that there are only 3 physical sizes of game carts (key, 8 gigs, and 64 gigs), so many publishers would most likely rather pay for a cheap key card, rather than an expensive 64 gig cart, to either 1. maximize profits, and/or 2. they can’t afford the 64 gig price, especially if the game is like 20$ or something.

Yeah... I'm going to buy first party Nintendo games only for the Switch 2. If FFVII is going to be completely on the card I might double dip but I highly doubt it. If rebirth will come to Switch 2, Wich I still doubt, it will never fit on one card to begin with. Nintendo really screwed up with this. Why only have 256 GB drive in it.

The Key Cards are pretty similar to many disc games nowadays. You can’t play the game without a download. (Though, you may be able to play an old version, offline). Really, I don’t get the hate for these.

In other words, this is a list of games to avoid!

Which I don't like saying because I really wanted to try some of these games. But I really do not wish to support game key cards. For some of these I'll probably just wait for a digital sale one day and avoid the game key card version like the plague.

So sad to see the Switch 2 launch tarnished by this stuff.

@pikachupikachup That feels unlikely because Nintendo's own first party games are coming in on the lower end between 8 and 64...seems like they'd have to still have the 32 option. Could be real though, IDK. Dumb as hell if it is.

@1UP-HUSKY I prefer them keeping the storage low. If they made it larger the cost would go up more so than the cost for me to upgrade storage with a memory card. And I won’t need the extra space right away. It’s really a good move imho.

So not only they pass down the bucket of inflation to the consumer, but also the bucket of memory, so you need to get much more storage than it’s has been with Switch 1.
And not to mention that in some years time these servers will be switched off, so you won’t be able to redownload anymore, so a storage of some type will be suggested to not lose the game. Great idea indeed

@springer17 Resellability.

Also, plenty of people like the physical aspects of collecting, so you get a cartridge and box to have on your shelf.

I think Nintendolife should have made this what games are complete on the cart instead of what game keys were getting. It would make for a less congested list.

@Stuffgamer1 Maybe 12-16 gigs? Why do you think MKW is 80 usd/90 EUROS physical? They need to make up profits. Or maybe they only make custom carts for their own games?

@mattesdude Nah. Disk games (like on my ps5) come 100% on disk. You just download them for faster loading, since SSD speeds vs disk read speeds are much faster (for SSD). The worst case scenario is a day 1 patch for a bug discovered late in development, after a bunch of copies are manufactured. (Source; My Ghost of Tsushima Director’s cut copy)

The only good things this list has done for me:

• It has shown me which "physical" releases to avoid, which means buying either all digital, on a different platform, or no purchase at all
• Made me feel better about buying and playing through Ys X: Nordics shortly before Falcom announced the enhanced Proud Nordics was coming

In short: thanks!

@Medic_alert Ah, ok. I’ve been catching up on a ps4 backlog, and playing those plus my current ps5 games (from like, launch with my ps5), so I haven’t been in the loop on physical games. Thanks for the info. Sad they didn’t just put HD full game on disk and make 4k a day 1 patch.

@Misima I really don't wanna reward the free to play fortnite model, fortnite most especially, I'd recommend looking into the way fortnite is predatory. I'll pay 80 dollars for a game i feel is worth $80 and will buy used or on sale if I don't, and be more selective which games I buy. If video games are squeezing me into the poor house then I have bigger financial problems

I appreciate this list of games I’ll buy on PS5 or not at all!

Would it have been that much more expensive to at least load SOME assets and stuff onto the card so there doesn't have to be so much data stored on the sd? Idk how this stuff works but it just feels like there should have been SOME kind of compromise

@PharoneTheGnome

The reality about downloaded games is that ALL gaming services go offline eventually. Every company takes down their servers at some point.

Playstation shut down the PS Vita. Nintendo shut down the 3DS and WiiU. They all do it.

the actual reality is that ALL digital purchases can still be redownloaded now. even original Wii digital purchases can still be redownloaded to this day . . .

Not real happy about this but I guess being able to resell it or trade in is WAY better than just owning it digitally.

this has been a thing since the PS4 and everyone is used to it. Yes, the data is on the disc but it is all copied to the internal storage. The disc is essentially the game key. A notable exception is the new Indiana Jones which only has 20gb on the disc. PS owners don't mind as they can sell the discs just as you can with these. The key difference is PS consoles generally come with 1TB of storage, 256gb will fill up quickly while an extra 2tb of SSD for your PS5 is about the same as a 512gb SD Express card.

@PharoneTheGnome
You can still download all your purchased 3DS titles and Sony still sell and support downloads of ps vita games.
I bought both consoles earlier this year and pretty much filled them up right away with content I had bought over many years

This is a great list of what not to buy!

Nobody talking about the huge amount of waste these things will create when the servers go down. I wonder how they fit in with the sustainability policy of those companies supporting them.

@pikachupikachup I know at least one title on this list that's less than 8GB. So even that excuse doesn't make sense.

@Zuljaras Also don't forget that your saves are tied to your Nintendo account. Any movement of them, such as to a new system, requires an online connection on both systems. Nintendo gets you online to authenticate your games one way or another.

@missingno_fgc The game size doesn't matter to companies. It's the time it takes to transmit data to the cards, plus the ability to have control over their product after sale.

The solution for the cross-gen titles will be to buy the Switch 1 version. Perhaps there won't be an upgrade pack, but it will retain its resale value better. Or, what if Nintendo does a Switch 3 which is also doubly backwards compatible? And at least the eshop will outlive you which is what matters, haha.

@Zuljaras That actually doesn't sound as bad as before.

God DAMMIT! Sonic X Shadow Generations was a game I literally added to my "oh, I should grab that on day one" list. And it's now yet ANOTHER game I won't be getting for Switch 2. This is insane.

I have been gaming since 1990 and this is the first console I’ll have ever had never mind at launch but in its first year. I decided to get a switch in 2019, and It took forever. Plenty of missed restocks because scalpers. I almost fainted when I got my confirmation email lol.

On the good side, I'll spend less money on NS2 games and appreciate what I've acquired through the years, I have huge backlogs across different consoles.

@PharoneTheGnome you’re not wrong, the servers will go down some day, but for what it’s worth I don’t think any server has gone down to the extent you’re describing yet. You can still download your Wiiware games from the Wii Shop Channel. They removed the ability to buy new ones but you can still download the code that goes along with the licenses you already purchased. So if Game Key Cards had existed for 3DS they would still work today the same as they did when they came out.

I'm shocked by the optics of press like this pre-launch. Seems very very anti-Nintendo, not only via the information within it but also the simple and strong title of the article.

I know technically this is not much worse than having SOME data on the card and having to download the rest … but it feels like a waste of plastic. I‘m not seeing myself re-selling these or talking my friends and family through the „lending“ process. It defeats the purpose of a physical cartridge. I was considering getting Yakuza 0 and/or Hitman for launch, but like this I‘ll just put them on my eShop wishlist and wait for a sale.

is it true that only 32 gb and 64 gb cart sizes are the only options for switch 2 i mean some third party games are small like bravely default hd 11 gigs yet it is a key card game..maybe that is why square enix did not make it strictly native because of the more expensive 32 gig cart..

well at least i can find solace in the many switch 1 physical games i have on my radar that i have not gotten my hands on yet..

Deluded about Hitman. I hope Elden Ring won't be released as a game-key card only too, but I'd probably rather get it digital as it takes ages to beat.

The idea of game key card was from Nintendo CEO, right?
Fire Shuntaro Furukawa for ruining Nintendo Switch 2 with even malicious business practice!

Everyone is down on these cause the game is not on the card but downloading something and installing games is the norm now. I can’t play my physical ps5 games until they download on the console and download patches. So I won’t have a problem with these games even if I will have to delete stuff from time to time. The days of physical media are starting to draw to a close. Nintendo pretty much were the last keepers of it but times change.

@SirLink it is a game key card for the tarnished edition.. for switch 2

I’ll buy I’ll enjoy I’ll resell

@siavm the majority of single player physical PS5 games have a build that can be installed and played without a PS5 being online.

Thanks for putting a list of releases I will never buy on the Switch 2

CRAP I preordered Yakuza yesterday, believing it was legit. Now I have to choose whether to cancel.
I wanted to play this game but REALLY do not want to support these game keys.

So controversial, though I have a better understanding now. As far as I'm concerned, many "physical" games aren't "complete", meaning they don't have all the patches/DLC/etc. on the vanilla game card anyway off rip these days, save for a few, so even though it's in one's collection, if you ever loose your downloaded updates for some reason, and the servers that downloaded that info to the game card are shut off, you're left with a physical, incomplete, vanilla copy of said game. You win, but still lose in this digital download age.
Meh... it sucks, but true "ownership" is becoming a thing of the past the further we go along and there isn't much ado about it. Sadly the game key cards allow me a chance to still rent games and beat them like I've been doing, I'm just going to have to make sure I have the space for them. Hope archiving will still be a thing...

I've made a similar comment, but it's ironic that among the entire trend of game prices increasing for every little reason, paying a "Cartridge Tax" that assures the entire game is on a physical cartridge would be one of the more reasonable cases.

Especially in an era where there's multiple Editions and SKUs for the same games, I don't see why we can't do both game key cards for the casuals AND proper carts for the collectors.

@missingno_fgc If its a small publisher (ex. Fast Fusion, not saying their small, just not on the scale of Konami or etc.), maybe their profit margins are too low to afford a full game card? If it’s a big publisher, MONEY MONEY MONEY!

No full game on cartridge, NO PURCHASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like the reality of high speed storage is needed and that costs a lot right now. In a couple years the prices might come down and cheaper to make these advance carts again

@pikachupikachup I'm glaring at Sega.

@Zuljaras You forgot to mention that it requires internet connection the first time you START the game as well. It is not only for download. Which means that it needs another authentication from Nintendo Servers. It is odd because you just downloaded the data.

This was debunked already. First time in new Switch 2 you need to download the game and requires it to be slotted just like a Full Cart game needs to be slotted to play the game. Only time it needs connections is first time to download to the Switch 2 then Key-Card slotted everytime you play the game.

Nintendo's greed has now reached new and unimaginable heights.

@missingno_fgc We all are.

I just switched to buying digital with the Switch generation with the fact that they said the purchases were tied to your Nintendo account and not to the specific console. That has, thankfully, proven out for the better as those purchases all carry over to the Switch 2 ecosystem.

But I still don't really see the big deal with these, the fact of the matter is 90% of the time even when you buy a "real" physical game, you still need to download a giant update on day 1, and none of these things exist outside the Internet-connected ecosystem for which they were designed.

Emulation is how these games will live in posterity after the eShops are gone and the original hardware no longer functions either way, and at least these let you lend to a friend or resell if that's what you're looking for. The fact is most of these games would probably be getting "code in a box" or no physical release at all if not for the game-key cards.

Huh. Nice to have a list of releases to avoid, or at least go digital only on.
Though, "digital only" gives me alarm bells as it is. That, in and of itself, may be the only reason to support this insanity.

@Mariotag Remember the reselling aspect !!

@spottedleaf I understand... But you know you can just play the game and never give them any money, or make a tiny purchase. The game costs what you want it to.

@Misima It costs what i want it to personally because Im an adult with self control and I recognize predatory monetization models and stay away from games like that. Rewarding the game encourages them to try even harsher tactics on people who are predisposed to impulse control/gambling/addiction issues etc or who have bad dopamine pathways in their brain. Or children. who free to play games are inherently designed to exploit. That doesn't sit right with me in a more serious way than increasing game prices than 10 dollars for a premium first party nintendo game with increasing development & manufacturing costs

@premko1
That aspect is good, yes. But the premise is essentially just Sony/Microsoft physical.
You get your disc from the store, put it in, and the console spends lord only knows how long installing the game from disc, then downloading every bit of the data from the console's online store. For me, it can take days to download.
It's scummy practice that Nintendo just decided to open up to devs on their end as well.

I have a PS5. Every physical game I buy is nothing more than a key. That’s why I own 3 physical games on the PS5 and 100+ on the OG switch. I won’t buy key cards for the Switch 2.

@Aurumonado Hahaha

Just a bit of devil's advocate and some pragmatism in looking at the situation.

OG Switch has sold 150 million. Reality is probably 80-100 million users factoring in 2nd consoles, replacements, upgrades etc. I do wonder of the total user base as to how many will hugely object to the move to digital. I wager that the gaming community / enthusiasts may only make up a smaller proportion of the install base. Will the non enthusiast care about physical?

Key cards do have the advantage of keeping pre owned alive. I'm sure publishers would love for this market to die out as they make no money on a pre owned sale. We are not there yet. Key cards are one step better than code in a box on this front.

Nintendo is probably the last stronghold of physical. It's probably why it's getting so much flack on this when in reality, the two other big players have made these tentative moves to all digital, many years ago. Most AAA offerings on those platforms require sizeable day 1 downloads. Disks aren't far off being key carts themselves.

Nintendo is the only company out of the 3 that has committed to their own IP being 100% on the cart.

Is Nintendo picking up the flack for the whole industries move in this direction because they are the last to move?

Game sizes are growing. Bigger size equals bigger media required. Bigger media no doubt equals bigger cost. Publishers are not going to take a hit on their margin. If physical stays alive, they'll just put the bigger costs on the consumer.

Do I have concerns of what all digital means in 20 years time? Yes a little but I don't think some of the hardware I own today will actually still work in 20 years anyway. Tech isn't designed to last anymore and one of biggest weak points is any with battery tech. In 20 years, I might have a big SW2 physical collection but my SW2 may be on its last legs or died years ago.

Do I still play all of the games I did in the 80s? No, not really. Are most of the games that I do want to still play available digitally? Yes they are. Do I have to pay again to play them? Yes but it's a very small cost per game.

On another note, I do think that game streaming will be the norm in 20-30 years time. Look at the internet Vs 20 years ago. It's a massive difference. All of the pitfalls of current streaming will be gone at some point and by then, the only physical hardware will be your TV and controller.

Do I like the move to digital? No, not entirely.

Am I going to step away from gaming or miss out on principle games I want to play? No.

Been playing for 40 years plus. Old habits die hard as they say and you can't teach an old dog, new tricks. Worlds moving on people.

Let's be honest. Everything in life that we buy is rented unless you are immortal or believe that you can take these things with you when that day comes knocking.

Grab a beer, sit back and enjoy the ride. No point getting upset about things you can't control.

Keep gaming people 👍🕹️🎮

No. There should be one only physical release to begin with, with full game. You don't want to release on a physical media? Release it as digital only. This is how it should be. Game-key cards are only a new form of digital DRM in a physical form. They serve no purpose at all. With this, Nintendo died for me. No more reason to get their console anymore.

If it wasn't clear already, we have entered the era of full digital. Physical will become exception rather than a rule. Next generation I will be suprised if it doesn't go exclusivly digital.

I mean this is really no different then a recent copy of Call of Duty or an Ubi Soft title on PS5/XSX only having a "key" on the disc where you have to download everything to play the game anyways. It's just not nearly as prominently advertised on the box like it is on Switch 2 titles. It's more a little boxed notation on the front or back of the PS5 case requiring download.

The reality is Switch 2 is probably going to be the last console where physical will even be an option. These "key cards" and keys on disc's are just the industry's way to push the consumer and get them used to the inevitable digital only future on consoles. Whenever the PS6 and next gen Xbox are probably gonna be revealed in a couple years down the line, people are really gonna lose their minds when they're digital only systems if key cards are bothering them now.

Well, I guess I'm going to have more free time and money to spend thanks to these game key card abominations as I won't be buying a single one of them.
Maybe I can use the money instead and start investing in retro games and consoles, back when real physical games existed. Plug and play, no internet, full game on cart, I miss those days.

@BaldB3lper78 If I pay $60-$80 or even $90 for a physical game, I expect it to be there. Don't write for the companies, they can afford the costs. They just minimize them as much as they can. They don't care about customer, only profits. Don't stand by their side, they don't care about you. Demand what you should get in the first place, as a customer.

@Misima

The greed is real

Not buying any key card games full stop.

Please support this petition, share where you can and don't purchase game key cards

https://www.change.org/p/save-your-money-save-gaming

@tameshiyaku Petition itself won't help with anything, but the explanations there maybe will. Keep telling people to not support this abomination. I'm doing the same since they announced it.

Don’t understand how consumers expect to receive a tiny game cartridge with a 20+ GB game on it. Game key cards are the right solution for third party games, unless I’m missing something.

physical collecting have always been important to many switch fans me included.. since i am a rpg fan most of my games are third party and very few third party switch 2 games will have the game on a cart..

@ICISAZEL The greed is destroyed the world.

@Stwert Just give up. The rallying cry that accomplished nothing ever.

@Misima,

Nobody is melting down over any of this outside core hobby gamers on niche internet sites. And YouTubers with very few subscribers and views. Regualr folk simply do not see the issues here. Just look at the pre-orders to see that.

It's pretty common for a family to spend £50-£80 on a takeway meal. These items are all great value when you factor in the time you have and enjoy them. Everything in the world has gone up.

I purposely bought Cyberpunk to send a message.

@electrolite77 Exacly. And it's not about value, it differs for everyone. It's about the media that they're trying to push. Physical is physical, not a digital DRM smuggled as a physical release. I just hope that people won't be stupid.

@Mariotag Still it`s far better than code in a box thing .

Not buying them. And I’ll never buy a digital only game at full price.

Game not on cartridge = no purchase.

Hopefully the loss of revenue will be significant enough for them to get the message. If publishers notice that they can get away with this, matters will just keep getting worse for consumers.

Digital download open play , Key cart Require Download + Cart insert .. WTF this idea

One more step into taking away fully owning a game. These games will no longer work when the servers shut down 15 years from now.

@ZAHMED These are bad as once the servers shut down and they close the Switch 2 eShop these will no longer work. You don't physically own the game. Just the key.

@BaldB3lper78 I don't think you understand that once Nintendo is done with the Switch 2 and servers shut down (they will) these cards no longer work. You don't ever actually own the game. It's a digital game with extra steps.

Good list of games to just buy digitally, thanks!

This is interesting, although dvds and the previous switch cards had this before, so not overly surprised:)

It means that I won’t buy this games for Switch 2

@Stuffgamer1 @pikachupikachup I wonder why Nintendo titles are on cart while most third parties are not. Sure they are saving money. But wonder if some of this also falls on Nintendo for their cart costs to third parties. Seems familiar.

@jorel262 Just like N64 games, where third parties wouldn't pony up for battery back-up in their carts. At least this time it doesn't cause a long-term problem with emulation...

@jorel262 Probably that, and the rumor of only 3 cart sizes (for third party devs). WDYM by familiar though? Wii U? Wasn’t around during that gen, so don’t know some of the more niche things.

Good guide for those 100+ people who only want physical media out of millions who don't actually care about physical media or not.

@springer17

Your points and questions are good. I’m trying to decide myself how outraged I feel about it. I’m an OG gamer and collector so I want physical to be physical but this is 2025 and physical as we know it is hanging on by thread. Most discs for console are essentially keys. I will always prefer something playable on the physical media but that has been narrowing for 2 generations now.

Here are a few possible reasons why N did it. It is going to level the publishing cost versus disc therefore lowering the threshold for physical releases. This could bring many more small or AA level releases. The Switch got plenty of these on cart but with the key ‘concept’ S2 could get even more. In some ways it may help preserve the retail game market new and used. These games will be downloadable for likely 15+ years if history is our guide. It is better than code in a box because it’s a transferable license for a limited time of many years. I am just not going to pay full price for them. Nintendo and others better not do it for their cart releases if they want me buying their AAAs at launch at full price. I will buy the keycarts at discount and used. I don’t think N is threatened by used market as their games always have best used value and trade heavily yet they still sell 10s of millions of their big games physical. I just think its more a tool to help retain the retail market and I bet it gets used a ton inJapan for local only releases.

So yeah I hate it but it may serve its purpose commercially and financially while still giving the retail customer something better than a code.

@pikachupikachup Reminded of when Nintendo started selling carts to third parties back in the NES days. Atari / Tengen tried to work around it with their own carts, didn't amount to much. Probably not the same thing.

This is the worst idea Nintendo ever had

This is a list of games that don't deserve to exist. The only games that have a right to exist are ones put completely on physical media. Digital distribution should be banned and be punishable by the total forfeiture of all assets the offending company owns. No tolerance whatsoever.

Digital only, which this still is, is a wholly unethical and anti-consumer business practice. I shouldn't have to have internet access to play something I've paid money for. These key cards are an insult. Nintendo should be put out of business permanently for this move and those who had a hand in implementing this should be black listed from ever holding a job again in any field whatsoever.

@QuickSilver88 No. Discs on other consoles are NOT keys. At least not on Playstation. I have well over 100 physical discs for PS4 and PS5 cumulatively. I have never connected either console to the internet and I've never had a single game be unable to be copied and played from a disc.

I think you, and everyone else spreading this lie, have mistaken patches and updates that are put out sometimes on day one as the game itself downloading. Turn off your internet and pop a disc into a Playstation console. I'll bet you anything that it plays without internet.

Theres probably exceptions to this. And games made by western developers likely need patches to even function properly, but your statement is simply false. You can test it out yourself if you dont believe me. I basically only buy Japanese games, so that's probably why I don't have to worry about needing patches for the games to function

The thing I find so infuriating is the fact that a LOT of people are convinced this is true when it's not, and it's pushing more people to tolerate a business practice that we should put companies out of business forever for doing.

I can't speak to what Xbox is doing because I have no desire to support that company, but I can speak for my experience with Sony, and you're just wrong.

@KociolekDoSyta

Yes everyone harks on about the poor game companies needing to make ends meet.

I look to hollow night, the ori games, prince of persia and even rive.

All great experiences not priced crazy and all on cart.

My biggest bug bear is that we know that carts big enough to fit games exist.

I have largely avoided games with additional downloads.
If weak i get them digitally on sale. We should not have to pay full price for a game that we have to download half or more of for the physical edition in my opinion.

I feel this is a sleazy option and game key cards can also go do one .
Maximum inconvenience..

In an ideal world would be able to by physical with an option to install to system to play without cart to be able to save on carrying about a large number of carts.

On pc you can add a lot of physical games to steam and play without physical media..

They will eventually tank the industry with their wanton greed.

Pc graphics card market is going this way also...

@Exwalmartian one of the biggest issues we have with digital is them trying to sell leases that they are able to ammend the condition of at any time of their choosing as if they are the same as physical purchases. For the same and often even more than in ownership terms the clearly better option..

@Exwalmartian

You are correct sir and I was going to make an exception for playstation. Most of their games do mostly install from disc and are playable without an update. Still, usually to get the latest build big updates need to be downloaded. Microsoft is worse in that in many cases an entire new build will be downloaded and very little is disc installed the upside is their servers are the fastest and if you have fast internet you will get much faster installs than from disc. I love discs and still archive some data on BRD. Hell I miss the days of handing someone a mix CD (lol) but discs days are numbered and likely only still exist not to please gamers but to bolster the street retail market. At least publishing discs is dirt cheap. I was really pleasantly surprised all the indie and small dev/publisher games that came to Switch in cart. As said not a fan of keycart but understand it’s need and how it could benefit games that come to retail. It will effect my purchasing but I won’t rule them out as I still see them as a better option than digital.

@QuickSilver88 For me, at least, I'm not interested in updates. I've never understood even the desire for DLC. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I think a game shouldn't change after release. So, I've not downloaded game patches for a long time. Most of the life of the PS4, in fact.

I decided a few years ago that if a game isn't entirely physical then I dont believe it needs to be made in the first place. So, whatever the last physical game that I want releases is, it will be the last game I ever buy.

While I can understand that some see the key carts as a sort of compromise, I don't. Yes, it's a bit less anti-consumer in that you can sell the cart to someone, so I can appreciate that. But, I dont have great internet and have little need for internet at all. Any downloading is just a pain for me. At the end if the day, key carts are still digital, you're just allowed to transfer the ownership of the license. This doesn't fix the issue with access to the games after the servers are gone

I also still go back and play all my old games. I've had to go buy replacements for my PS1 and PS2 over the years. If downloads were a thing back then, I'd be out of luck losing consoles. But I've got all the discs of every game I ever bought, so I can just pop them in and play. No internet needed. No downloads. No hassle.

I just wish gamers valued their own control and their own rights over convenience.

This is literally a list of every game that had £69.99 of my guaranteed money, dropped to £0.
I’m not buying a cart unless the game is on the cart.
It’s a garbage idea and completely defeats the point of a cartridge based gaming system

When the Switch 2 console becomes too old, inserting that card will be useless because there will be no servers to download the game from. Therefore, we don't really own the game we paid for.

Crazy to think that when Nintendos servers shut down there’s a potential for millions of game key cards being completely obsolete.

@Misima this comment aged like milk. Because 3.5 million units were sold within the first month.

Then why sell a Game Key Card instead of a full physical game?
Is it going to be cheaper?
At this point, I'd rather buy the full physical version if the price is the same. At least I won’t need extra space on my Switch storage.

I don't wanna buy Game Key Card because microSD Express are Full of Storage. Game Key Card totally Disaster useless.

What If Game Key Card able Download to the Cartridge, but not on this console storage? thats better idea.

If you want a lot Game-Key Card, you also buy another microSD Express like 1 TB. This is Insane.

I prefer to buy Full Physical Version to save space storage microSD Express instead.

Game Key-cards - the dumbest Nintendo idea ever. I mean, if they're thinking about Switch 2 players' re-sell and pass n' play needs, then they'd best just stick to cartridges. Plus, let's be honest: Nintendo is shooting itself in the foot by letting all of us resell their games like that.

Hi there 🤗

I've been following this list you've posted for a while because I'm interested in buying physical games (including Keycards). Unfortunately, I just bought a physical game that isn't on the list, so I'm wondering if it's still reliable and if I can trust it. The game is called "ReAnimal" and was released for the Switch 2.