Hot Take: The Switch 2 Could've Been Better With Discs

PalkaaklaP · Apr 17, 2026

While the switch 2 is a great console (with the exception of prices of course lmao), I feel like using cartridges as the main media output for the console is a bit sketchy, since these cartridges hold small data that now Nintendo and the other companies start to use game key cards as a bit replacement, now if they could make the console not just for cartridges but also with discs, then it would make game key cards 100% sense, hear me out, company makes a big game that is like 100gb of storage, they can fit it on a disc for tv mode, but it's hard for them to produce cartridges for handheld mode, so instead they would use a game key card, it's instead a cloud cartridge you can play after downloading the main game with the disc and inserting the cartridge for some small data or smth and BOOM, you can play the disc game cloudy on the handheld mode

Sorry if my first take is shit im no tech guy (kinda), but what do you think?

Marc_LFD · Apr 17, 2026

Discs don't guarantee the game would be on the disc, just look at DOOM: Dark Ages it's essentially a "Game Key Disc".

Some still do include the base game, but they're trying to push us to go digital no matter what. I'm not sure if I'll even buy a PS6 since it'll be even worse.

As for my Switch 2 collection, it's MKW, DKB, and the third game will be Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. I really wanted to own Pokopia, except it's a Key Card so I skipped it.

RyanTheArchivist · Apr 17, 2026

PalkaaklaP said:
While the switch 2 is a great console (with the exception of prices of course lmao), I feel like using cartridges as the main media output for the console is a bit sketchy, since these cartridges hold small data that now Nintendo and the other companies start to use game key cards as a bit replacement, now if they could make the console not just for cartridges but also with discs, then it would make game key cards 100% sense, hear me out, company makes a big game that is like 100gb of storage, they can fit it on a disc for tv mode, but it's hard for them to produce cartridges for handheld mode, so instead they would use a game key card, it's instead a cloud cartridge you can play after downloading the main game with the disc and inserting the cartridge for some small data or smth and BOOM, you can play the disc game cloudy on the handheld mode

Sorry if my first take is shit im no tech guy (kinda), but what do you think?

They had to include a cartridge slot nomatter what for back compat remember. But afaik the only handheld that ever used discs was the PSP and honestly.... it went rather poorly in retrospect. There's also no way they were fitting a disc drive in the Switch 2 without making it much heavier and larger. Discs are just less durable and portable. But I will admit that cartridges as a medium are struggling and game requirements are advancing way faster than cartridge-based media.

RAHelllord · Apr 17, 2026

Cartridges could be a much more economic choice if we didn't have to deal with the big 3 memory manufacturers running a cartel and using it to keep prices high and supply low. Though maybe with the rise of CXMT in China this might actually improve for whatever comes after the Switch 2.

Also I heavily disagree that the SW2 would be better with an optical media slot, even beyond the size issues for full size blu-ray / DVD you'd run into a lot of other issues for a handheld. Since it has moving parts there are more points of failure that can break from being moved around too much, and the read speeds decrease significantly whenever the head has to re-adjust from being jostled. Nevermind that access times simply aren't as fast as solid state memory options. I'd much rather have the lower latency of cartridge access times than the cheaper manufacturing costs of a plastic disc.

RyanTheArchivist · Apr 18, 2026

RAHelllord said:
Cartridges could be a much more economic choice if we didn't have to deal with the big 3 memory manufacturers running a cartel and using it to keep prices high and supply low. Though maybe with the rise of CXMT in China this might actually improve for whatever comes after the Switch 2.

Also I heavily disagree that the SW2 would be better with an optical media slot, even beyond the size issues for full size blu-ray / DVD you'd run into a lot of other issues for a handheld. Since it has moving parts there are more points of failure that can break from being moved around too much, and the read speeds decrease significantly whenever the head has to re-adjust from being jostled. Nevermind that access times simply aren't as fast as solid state memory options. I'd much rather have the lower latency of cartridge access times than the cheaper manufacturing costs of a plastic disc.

Well discs would have obviously taken the modern console approach and have to copy all data to the system to function.

DiscostewSM · Apr 18, 2026

A full-sized disc for a portable simply isn't plausible. It would have to be more of a mini-disc, which essentially, goes right back to the capacity issue of the cards. Now you not only have to deal with installs for all games, but that disc drive is going to be much more fragile with its moving parts than any card slot. Not to mention the bulk it would add.

Bladexdsl · Apr 18, 2026

if they would have made a proper console instead of another shitty tablet aka the switch-U they could have used discs. but nope these cheap skates have to cut corners whenever possible now and it's finally starting to bite them in the ass.

Marc_LFD · Apr 18, 2026

DiscostewSM said:
A full-sized disc for a portable simply isn't plausible. It would have to be more of a mini-disc, which essentially, goes right back to the capacity issue of the cards. Now you not only have to deal with installs for all games, but that disc drive is going to be much more fragile with its moving parts than any card slot. Not to mention the bulk it would add.

Even the portable UMDs were awfully slow and annoying. It looked like Mini DVDs with a case.

RyanTheArchivist · Apr 18, 2026

DiscostewSM said:
A full-sized disc for a portable simply isn't plausible. It would have to be more of a mini-disc, which essentially, goes right back to the capacity issue of the cards. Now you not only have to deal with installs for all games, but that disc drive is going to be much more fragile with its moving parts than any card slot. Not to mention the bulk it would add.

Yeah I genuinely don't know what Nintendo should do to retain media on cart long term. Like the only realistic last step they could try is using much slower carts and forcing copying to the system. But even that only goes so far and are slightly cheaper.

Marc_LFD · Apr 18, 2026

Publishers who release their games on Switch 1 and 2 shows something, NS1 users get the full game on cart while NS2 get an empty cart. Nintendo is screwing their own customers.

I don't even like the game or publisher, it's just an example.

Captain_N · Apr 18, 2026

If there was no key carts i dont think these cuck publishers would even do physical releases. even games that fit on cart are not getting full cart releases. If dumb asses would stop buying these key cart releases then maybe there would be a difference.

Rune · Apr 18, 2026

Game Key Cards are a compromise to a problem that I grudgingly accept. But my issue with it right now is that I'm running out of space real quick.

Nintendo should allow us to use external USB storage on the dock to back up your key card games. I dont need to be able to play them off the USB storage. I just want somewhere I can put away the games instead of having to delete and redownload them every time.

DiscostewSM · Apr 18, 2026

Marc_LFD said:
Publishers who release their games on Switch 1 and 2 shows something, NS1 users get the full game on cart while NS2 get an empty cart. Nintendo is screwing their own customers.

I don't even like the game or publisher, it's just an example.

No, that would be 3rd-parties screwing over people, unless you're suggesting that Nintendo owns these 3rd-parties. So far, everything Nintendo has made for Switch 2, they have put fully on cards.

Post automatically merged: Apr 18, 2026

Bladexdsl said:
if they would have made a proper console instead of another shitty tablet aka the switch-U they could have used discs. but nope these cheap skates have to cut corners whenever possible now and it's finally starting to bite them in the ass.

The masses had spoken already. What they wanted from Switch 2 was basically a stronger Switch 1, and that's what Nintendo made.

M7L7NK7 · Apr 18, 2026

Bladexdsl said:
if they would have made a proper console instead of another shitty tablet aka the switch-U they could have used discs. but nope these cheap skates have to cut corners whenever possible now and it's finally starting to bite them in the ass.

And you'd still complain about it

urherenow · Apr 18, 2026

Slow, heavy (the drive), Battery killer. No thanks.

masagrator · Apr 18, 2026

urherenow said:
Slow, heavy (the drive), Battery killer. No thanks.

And if disc drive would be integrated into console it would constantly break like in PSP because it would require some new format to use that was not battle tested.

tiemolt · Apr 18, 2026

This is dumb, if they switched to discs we'd have to install every game because of the read speeds. One of the best things about the Switch is being able to pop a cartridge in and actually play it within seconds. If we went the disc route, we’d be stuck in the "PlayStation waiting room," staring at a progress bar for forty minutes while 80GB of data copies over to an internal drive that’s probably already full.

Plus, can you imagine the noise? Having a tiny fan and a spinning disc drive whirring away right next to your face while you're playing in bed sounds like a nightmare. Optical drives are basically just fragile, power-hungry fossils at this point. I'd much rather deal with the "Nintendo Tax" on expensive cartridges than have a handheld that sounds like a jet engine and breaks the second you hit a bump on the bus.

PalkaaklaP · Apr 18, 2026

Woke up, after reading everyone’s responses uhh…shit guess your all right, my take was dumb

So when’s my crucifixion

Marc_LFD · Apr 18, 2026

DiscostewSM said:
No, that would be 3rd-parties screwing over people, unless you're suggesting that Nintendo owns these 3rd-parties. So far, everything Nintendo has made for Switch 2, they have put fully on cards.

Nintendo owns the carts and it's not true they put everything fully on carts...

Ondrashek06 · Apr 18, 2026

And how exactly will an optical disc fit into a portable console like the Switch 2?

I can only really think of 2 solutions to that, none of which would really be practical:

1. Have a separate disc reader that transfers the disc data to the console - something like the 3DS amiibo reader. However, Nintendo wouldn't really allow that without some sort of stupid DRM system to check whether you still own the disc, like having to re-insert the disc every week or so.

2. Develop some sort of proprietary disc format, like the UMD for the PSP. However, the Switch 2 games are much bigger than PSP games, so the disc would have to be much bigger than the UMD.

Hot Take: The Switch 2 Could've Been Better With Discs

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