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Nintendo Switch 2: The Current State of Physical Releases

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hippy dave said:
Not out yet but
View attachment 555031
Hopefully the same will apply to their other announced games
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Nice of Bethesda to help me justify my splurging on Switch 2 but this is so fucking stupid. Up to 200GB on PS5 for a few bucks is not enough to release a working physical game but 64GB for something like $16 on Switch 2 is???
 
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Rogue Prince of Persia on Switch 1 contains the full game, but the Switch 2 release is a Key Card. 😑

To make matters worse, there'll be a Switch 2 Steelbook Edition that comes with.. a Key Card.

WYQ3Q_SQ1_0000000088_NO_COLOR_SLf


I give up. I'll only buy a few exclusives which will be on the cart (Pokopia sadly isn't).
 
Marc_LFD said:
Rogue Prince of Persia on Switch 1 contains the full game, but the Switch 2 release is a Key Card. 😑

To make matters worse, there'll be a Switch 2 Steelbook Edition that comes with.. a Key Card.

WYQ3Q_SQ1_0000000088_NO_COLOR_SLf


I give up. I'll only buy a few exclusives which will be on the cart (Pokopia sadly isn't).
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Not surprising. I personally advocate that if people do buy physical media, don't buy the game key card or download code releases. It's just a waste of plastic and a literal mockery of the form.
 
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Marc_LFD said:
Rogue Prince of Persia on Switch 1 contains the full game, but the Switch 2 release is a Key Card. 😑

To make matters worse, there'll be a Switch 2 Steelbook Edition that comes with.. a Key Card.

I give up. I'll only buy a few exclusives which will be on the cart (Pokopia sadly isn't).
Click to expand...

Knew key cards were coming. just assumed they'd stay supplemental for smaller indie titles, not replace standard physical for anything worth buying. The moment they started showing up on titles I'd actually consider, that was it. Haven't bought a single game since and will definitively not buy any on the whole lifecycle of the console.
 
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Picked up the Mario Wonder Switch 2 cart and was kind of surprised to find that it refuses to boot without downloading the v1.2 patch. (It only comes with v1.1 on the cart.) Seems kind of scummy when it's not labeled as a game key card.

Is this common?
 
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Sixfortyfive said:
Picked up the Mario Wonder Switch 2 cart and was kind of surprised to find that it refuses to boot without downloading the v1.2 patch. (It only comes with v1.1 on the cart.) Seems kind of scummy when it's not labeled as a game key card.

Is this common?
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No. There is print on the back of the game box that mentions the possibility of needing a game or system update to play the game though. So legally they did point out the possibility of this happening, just in fine print. Chances are the full game is on the cartridge, they just didn't give you an option to play it without the update. Game key cards are nowhere near like this, because those cartridges don't have the software on the cartridge at all, it's just a key for a digital download. You didn't download the whole game when you were forced to update, in fact, the update only takes up around ~300MB (no way the whole game is that small).
 
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DeadSkullzJr said:
No. There is print on the back of the game box that mentions the possibility of needing a game or system update to play the game though. So legally they did point out the possibility of this happening, just in fine print. Chances are the full game is on the cartridge, they just didn't give you an option to play it without the update. Game key cards are nowhere near like this, because those cartridges don't have the software on the cartridge at all, it's just a key for a digital download. You didn't download the whole game when you were forced to update, in fact, the update only takes up around ~300MB (no way the whole game is that small).
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If I literally cannot run the game from the media without downloading an update, then it is not the "full game." Whether the missing portion is 1% or 99% of the game's data is kind of irrelevant, as functionally it's the same experience either way.

First S2 cart I bought and I'm taking it as a sign that I probably shouldn't bother buying more games near launch day, at least.
 
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Sixfortyfive said:
If I literally cannot run the game from the media without downloading an update, then it is not the "full game." Whether the missing portion is 1% or 99% of the game's data is kind of irrelevant, as functionally it's the same experience either way.

First S2 cart I bought and I'm taking it as a sign that I probably shouldn't bother buying more games near launch day, at least.
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Nintendo is trying to push people to go digital with all the Key Cards and Pokopia requiring to download the game.

My Switch 2 collection currently consists of two games.. Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. Well, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is pre ordered so that will be the 3rd game.
 
Sixfortyfive said:
If I literally cannot run the game from the media without downloading an update, then it is not the "full game." Whether the missing portion is 1% or 99% of the game's data is kind of irrelevant, as functionally it's the same experience either way.

First S2 cart I bought and I'm taking it as a sign that I probably shouldn't bother buying more games near launch day, at least.
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You are assuming that's why there is an update here to begin with. It's not an unusual concept to force updates on a game that's already complete on a cartridge. In fact, I did some digging of my own, and apparently this might have been an intentional lockout at the system firmware level:
https://www.gamesradar.com/games/su...layable-on-switch-2-without-an-online-update/

https://bestgamer.net/games/6134-af...llegedly-becomes-entirely-unplayable-offline/

https://www.doesitplay.org/game/Sup... BC?region=ESRB&version=Standard, Revision 01
 
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DeadSkullzJr said:
You are assuming that's why there is an update here to begin with. It's not an unusual concept to force updates on a game that's already complete on a cartridge. In fact, I did some digging of my own, and apparently this might have been an intentional lockout at the system firmware level:
https://www.gamesradar.com/games/su...layable-on-switch-2-without-an-online-update/

https://bestgamer.net/games/6134-af...llegedly-becomes-entirely-unplayable-offline/

https://www.doesitplay.org/game/Super Mario Bros. Wonder/switch/Switch 2 BC?region=ESRB&version=Standard, Revision 01
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There it is, it's indeed Nintendo pushing/forcing users to go digital.

Let's say someone in 30-40 years time were to try and play Mario Wonder - Switch 2 cartridge... He or she couldn't as it required an online update and it's discontinued.

These released are a waste of plastic as they don't work without an online update/download.
 
Marc_LFD said:
There it is, it's indeed Nintendo pushing/forcing users to go digital.

Let's say someone in 30-40 years time were to try and play Mario Wonder - Switch 2 cartridge... He or she couldn't as it required an online update and it's discontinued.

These released are a waste of plastic as they don't work without an online update/download.
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That also assumes we don't find a way to bypass the update requirements within the system firmware. That's all it is in this case, the cartridge has the game and the upgrade pack, and based on the information in the third link, it does work without a forced update until firmware version 20.2.0. So custom firmware just needs to do additional patching / bypassing to make this work. Otherwise yes, despite having the game on the cartridge, it's inaccessible unless someone in the future has a Nintendo Switch 2 that isn't on 20.2.0 or newer.
Post automatically merged:

Added the following:
- Disney Afternoon Collection, The
- Mouse: P.I. For Hire
- PGA Tour 2K25
- Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage
- WWE 2K26
- Yoshi and the Mysterious Book
 
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DeadSkullzJr said:
That also assumes we don't find a way to bypass the update requirements within the system firmware. That's all it is in this case, the cartridge has the game and the upgrade pack, and based on the information in the third link, it does work without a forced update until firmware version 20.2.0. So custom firmware just needs to do additional patching / bypassing to make this work. Otherwise yes, despite having the game on the cartridge, it's inaccessible unless someone in the future has a Nintendo Switch 2 that isn't on 20.2.0 or newer.
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I'm not sure this is accurate in this case.

I wasn't forced to download a system update to play this game. I was forced to download a game update. I was already on the most up to date Switch firmware.

If you query the game information with the cartridge inserted, it says that it's version 1.1.0. It will refuse to load on a Switch 2 until you download the 1.2.0 patch.

It appears to have the license for the Switch 2 upgrade pack, but I'm not sure that it has the data.

EDIT: What I gather from those links is that the Switch 2 cartridge will let you play the Switch 1 version of the game on earlier Switch 2 firmware versions, but you can't play the Switch 2 version at all without the download, and if your console is up to date, you can no longer access the Switch 1 version through backcompat without the v1.2 patch either.

So like, even if you figure out a way to bypass the version check and force it to load the Switch 1 version of the game, all you're really left with is a more cumbersome to use cartridge and may have well just used a Switch 1 cartridge instead.
 
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Alright, this all confirms that
Sixfortyfive said:
I'm not sure this is accurate in this case.

I wasn't forced to download a system update to play this game. I was forced to download a game update. I was already on the most up to date Switch firmware.

If you query the game information with the cartridge inserted, it says that it's version 1.1.0. It will refuse to load on a Switch 2 until you download the 1.2.0 patch.

It appears to have the license for the Switch 2 upgrade pack, but I'm not sure that it has the data.

EDIT: What I gather from those links is that the Switch 2 cartridge will let you play the Switch 1 version of the game on earlier Switch 2 firmware versions, but you can't play the Switch 2 version at all without the download, and if your console is up to date, you can no longer access the Switch 1 version through backcompat without the v1.2 patch either.

So like, even if you figure out a way to bypass the version check and force it to load the Switch 1 version of the game, all you're really left with is a more cumbersome to use cartridge and may have well just used a Switch 1 cartridge instead.
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Alright, so having updated my Nintendo Switch to firmware v22.1.0, I no longer am able to launch the Nintendo Switch version of Metroid Prime 4 on my system, without updating the game. Metroid Prime 4 was released for both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 physically, with respective editions. Both cartridges have the full game. I have both versions, and they both ran just fine on my Nintendo Switch prior to firmware v22.1.0. I tested my Nintendo Switch 2 Edition cartridge on the system, and interestingly it did NOT request to force an update. I have a hunch though. The Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 Editions used different builds of the games. The original Nintendo Switch build was 1.0.0, while the Switch 2 Edition was 1.0.1 (I say was because I don't know if there are revisions of this game yet). My hunch is, the new system firmware has additional checks against software versions of titles you run. In my case, it's possible the changes within v22.1.0 detected that I ran 1.0.1 of Metroid Prime 4, and now the "minimum" version threshold has been set to v1.0.1, rendering my v1.0.0 unusable unless I download the update (which is newer than my Nintendo Switch 2 Edition cartridge build as well). Prior to v22.1.0, you could toss in either version of the game and they both worked without needing updates. While this doesn't address your specific issue, it does prove what I said earlier about v22.1.0 doing something to force software updates.

This isn't unsual of a concept, as the Wii U actually suffered a similar issue. On the Wii U, you were able to boot from the game discs without needing to download software updates. The moment you did update however, and lets say you chose to delete the software update, you literally cannot boot from the game disc, because you already established having ran a later version of the game, so you are forced to update. It's reversible via editing a file in the NAND (forgot what it was, been a while, I'll have to recheck). But the only way around it through official means is to completely format the system. I suspect something similar is the case here for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. This also means that this could be reversible within the firmware assets too, meaning custom firmware in theory could definitely fight this.
 
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kleptq said:
Gear club 3 is a gkc
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That's one that made me confused as the initial covers indicated it'd be the full game on cart, but then customers reviewed and the truth came out... GKC.

Shame on the publisher Nacon as they knew exactly what they were doing.
 
Added the following:
- Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition
- Splatoon Raiders
- Star Fox
- Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn Edition

Updated the following:
- Gear.Club Unlimited 3
- Outbound
 
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