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Nintendo Switch 2: The Current State of Physical Releases

  • Thread starter Thread starter DeadSkullzJr
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ChibiMofo said:
Meanwhile the rest of humanity has just made the Switch 2 the fastest selling game machine in the history of the universe. Gee, I guess whining and boycotting is doing a great job of forcing the hands of the companies who lay off employees that they don't need while still putting out great games that people actually buy. But to "switch" around what you said: "If we (game publishers and Nintendo) keep making games that are impossible to pirate because the S2 is unhackable, the thieves will have no choice but to buy them in spite of spending the past 50 years using the excuse that "industry greed" was why they stole games from us every chance they had." You realize the point of capitalism is to make money, right? Call it greed, comrade. But it is that "greedy" system that has produced all the great stuff around you. Have you not learned the lessons of the Cold War still???

And it is so unfortunate that I have to practically make this my mantra, but you clowns need to learn economics before talking nonsense: Adjusted for inflation, the $60 price of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2017 is EXACTLY THE SAME (!!!) as the 2025 $80 price of Mario Kart World. They are literally the same price; Nintendo did NOT raise the price one bit. That's why you 1 percenters who whine, threaten boycotts, and pirate whenever possible are ignored by the 99% of people who get it and just go out an make the S2 the winner of this generation just like the S1 was for the last generation, only now they'll sell a helluva lot more copies of the software, digitally or otherwise.


And if any of you actually still believe the Switch 2 itself is overpriced, I've adjusted for inflation for you:

Switch 2 shipped in June at $449
Switch $299 in 3/2017 = $395 in today's money
Wii U $349 in 11/2012 = $488 in today's money
Wii $249 in 11/2006 = $400 in today's money
Gamecube $199 in 11/2001 = $361 in today's money
N64 $199 in 9/1996 = $406 in today's money
SNES $199 in 8/1991 = $470 in today's money
NES $179 in 10/1985 = $531 in today's money

Switch 2 is a bargain, which is why it is the fastest selling gaming machine of all-time. Just wait till you see the prices of the PS6, new Xbox and Steam Machine.
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Seems like ole Chibi was right again.
 
I was about to make a topic about this, sadly seems the primary post has not been touched since mid-May. Is there a way we can get this propped up and brought back up to date.

I think it's a valid service, and could be really useful especially if you want physical and perhaps a Japanese or Asia-English release exists physical where in the NA markets it's lacking.
 
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Added the following titles:
- Adventures of Elliot, The: The Millennium Tales
- Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave
- Kingdom Hearts Collection [I–III]
- Orbitals

Was wrapped up with other projects folks, sorry. Side note, for whatever reason, I never got notifications for any comments here. I'll add whatever I missed later today probably.
 
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DeadSkullzJr said:
Added the following titles:
- Adventures of Elliot, The: The Millennium Tales
- Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave
- Kingdom Hearts Collection [I–III]
- Orbitals

Was wrapped up with other projects folks, sorry. Side note, for whatever reason, I never got notifications for any comments here. I'll add whatever I missed later today probably.
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For what it’s worth, if there are a few common faces here that are regularly posting updates you can add them as contributors to the post so they can make edits too. Might make things a bit easier to maintain.
 
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@DeadSkullzJr Thanks, good to see it's not an expired thread. It's a good service having this. We're going into a multi-tiered newly charted territory now with this. There's the small and smaller yet game cards now so the keys are going to get interesting to see who uses or abuses, but also the asia-english releases. That coupled with the Sony bullshit being pulled it's sending physical paranoia to a high.
 
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Added the following:
- Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection: Volume 2
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- イナズマイレブン 英雄たちのヴィクトリーロード: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
- カルドセプト ビギンズ: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
- デビル メイ クライ 5 デビルハンターエディション
- ドラゴンズドグマ 2：ダークアリズン
- 白き鋼鉄のX 1+2 デュアルコレクション: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Moved the following from physical releases to game key card releases, and updated the box art image(s):
- LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

IMPORTANT:
If you guys source out images for these releases, please post source links. I perform image data transcoding and general optimizations, this way I can preserve the images in the best ways possible. The closer I can get to source material, the better. Avoid re-uploading if you can, unless it's absolutely necessary. I will likely append this statement in the main thread post for newcomers who may want to toss in a few links of their own.
 
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DeadSkullzJr said:
Physical Releases (Partial)
Total Entries: 1
This category consists of partial physical releases. The software in this category usually have missing content within the confines of the physical cartridge. Results may vary on severity of the situation, ranging from the inability to obtain 100% progress completion, to literal chunks of missing data, rendering the software completely unusable by itself. These releases require that you download the rest of the missing content through a software update, usually day one updates. The software in this category is native to the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware like the genuine physical releases. Offline play is still possible, however your experience may be compromised if you lack all of the necessary data to make the software complete.
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You should add Wolfenstein II to the list of "Partial games". It ends the game on a cliffhanger right at the climactic mid-point of the game, unless you "update" which downloads the 2nd half of the game. Now as someone who buys physical, I was furious the entire game wasn't on the cartridge. Especially now that I own the Limited Run Games version of the cartridge that DOES have the full game and latest update on it, proving it didn't even need to be a "Partial game" at all on release. These tactics by publishers really piss me off to no end.

That said, I want Doom: The Dark Ages on Switch 2 in it's entirety with nothing cut from the game. The DLC can remain digital, but the base game needs to be on a cartridge. PanicButton does good work, so I have faith they'll nail it again like they did with Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal.
 
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Jayro said:
You should add Wolfenstein II to the list of "Partial games". It ends the game on a cliffhanger right at the climactic mid-point of the game, unless you "update" which downloads the 2nd half of the game. Now as someone who buys physical, I was furious the entire game wasn't on the cartridge. Especially now that I own the Limited Run Games version of the cartridge that DOES have the full game and latest update on it, proving it didn't even need to be a "Partial game" at all on release. These tactics by publishers really piss me off to no end.

That said, I want Doom: The Dark Ages on Switch 2 in it's entirety with nothing cut from the game. The DLC can remain digital, but the base game needs to be on a cartridge. PanicButton does good work, so I have faith they'll nail it again like they did with Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal.
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Sounds like Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Back when the those came out, if you bought the 1.0.0 versions physically, you didn't get the full game. You were able to play all the way up to the elite four, but the post game contents were not accessible at all, unless you updated the games. What's worse is the fact there have been multiple revisions of the physical releases thereafter, every single one of which had the full game baked into the cartridge. So basically, every physical version owner who has 1.0.0 got totally screwed right out the gate, unless you went out and bought another physical copy of the game again. I was given a copy of Shining Pearl for free, and it's the 1.0.0 version. I don't think majority of people who bought the game knew this, probably still doesn't know this (until now after reading this), primarily because everyone eagerly updated the games day one. Not even services like DoesItPlay? knew this then, and they probably still don't (seems like they only mention the latest versions of the games on their site anyway, so they definitely won't know this now).

Edit:
Just checked up on Wolfenstein II, that's a regular Nintendo Switch title, not a Nintendo Switch 2 title. This thread is dedicated to the Nintendo Switch 2 line of software. I will say though that I stumbled on the original release version and the Limited Run Games version you mentioned. The original version was a download code only "physical" release. The Limited Run Games version is a true physical version as you stated. Neither of them are Nintendo Switch 2 software though, so adding that to the list wouldn't make sense here.
 
Last edited by DeadSkullzJr,
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DeadSkullzJr said:
Sounds like Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Back when the those came out, if you bought the 1.0.0 versions physically, you didn't get the full game. You were able to play all the way up to the elite four, but the post game contents were not accessible at all, unless you updated the games. What's worse is the fact there have been multiple revisions of the physical releases thereafter, every single one of which had the full game baked into the cartridge. So basically, every physical version owner who has 1.0.0 got totally screwed right out the gate, unless you went out and bought another physical copy of the game again. I was given a copy of Shining Pearl for free, and it's the 1.0.0 version. I don't think majority of people who bought the game knew this, probably still doesn't know this (until now after reading this), primarily because everyone eagerly updated the games day one. Not even services like DoesItPlay? knew this then, and they probably still don't (seems like they only mention the latest versions of the games on their site anyway, so they definitely won't know this now).

Edit:
Just checked up on Wolfenstein II, that's a regular Nintendo Switch title, not a Nintendo Switch 2 title. This thread is dedicated to the Nintendo Switch 2 line of software. I will say though that I stumbled on the original release version and the Limited Run Games version you mentioned. The original version was a download code only "physical" release. The Limited Run Games version is a true physical version as you stated. Neither of them are Nintendo Switch 2 software though, so adding that to the list wouldn't make sense here.
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Ah, I forgot this thread wasn't just for any Switch or Switch 2 games, but I digress. I have a Brilliant Diamond from it's launch, likely v1.0.0 then. It's not even opened either, so maybe I could do some trading to get a later version.
 
Last edited by Jayro,
Razael_of_The_Forest said:
After see all sony have just done. I confirmed myself right from the start. Game-key-card not bad at all
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They are bad long term. Despite the short term benefits, the problem boils down to when the service ends. When that happens, access to the games basically becomes impossible with the game key cards, you'll have plastic paperweights. Game key cards are quite literally just keys to fetch and access digital versions of games. The cartridges don't hold any of the game data. Digital software as a whole is in a compromised state for all platforms. This also doesn't account for service issues along the way. When that happens, you can't access anything from the service if by chance you didn't have the game downloaded prior.
 
Well, if we want to be pedantic @DeadSkullzJr, discs suffer from bitrot and even cartridges eventually fail due to dead internal save batteries, oxidized or dirty metal edge contacts, flash memory charge degradation (bit rot), or cracked solder joints and component fatigue on the internal circuit board. Physical game collections do not guarantee anything either.

Every one of Sony's, Microsoft's and Nintendo eShops are still up and running to redownload old games that you paid for, including the Wii. Want preservation? Buy a PC with multiple external hard drives and start loading up on ROMs and supporting 🏴‍☠️emulation🏴‍☠️ efforts.
 
ChibiMofo said:
Well, if we want to be pedantic @DeadSkullzJr, discs suffer from bitrot and even cartridges eventually fail due to dead internal save batteries, oxidized or dirty metal edge contacts, flash memory charge degradation (bit rot), or cracked solder joints and component fatigue on the internal circuit board. Physical game collections do not guarantee anything either.

Every one of Sony's, Microsoft's and Nintendo eShops are still up and running to redownload old games that you paid for, including the Wii. Want preservation? Buy a PC with multiple external hard drives and start loading up on ROMs and supporting 🏴‍☠️emulation🏴‍☠️ efforts.
Click to expand...
Sure, but solid state drives and hard drives fail too, same thing with computer hardware period. With how expensive that stuff is, have fun replacing and keeping up with that. Nothing lasts forever, we know this, we don't need reminders. We have physical media that has lasted 20+ years though, and we keep finding ways to bring them back if by chance someone mistreats the media. Despite being aging and dying media, it's still outlasting multiple digital storefronts that have come and gone.

Piracy may be your end all be all, but us physical media owners look at media more extensively than that. Unless you care about ownership and the genuine appreciation (not the financial kind) that you build from physical media, you won't understand (no this isn't meant to be a jab either). It's more than just ones and zeros to us. We don't need an all digital future. Putting faith in a scene to crack these services wide open is not an optimal future either. We shouldn't have to sit around and wait for any of that to happen, because it's literally the principle of the matter. Throwing two middle fingers up in the air because you pirate is one's own prerogative, but that doesn't actually fix / address anything in the industry, that's just personal gain.
 
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capsulej said:
Havent games been quasi digital for a while now? Like the disc or cartridge is just a key to download something.
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No, discs contain the games (albeit with no day 1 updates and the like).
The irony is that they install slower than downloading the same game from the internet lol.
 
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capsulej said:
Havent games been quasi digital for a while now? Like the disc or cartridge is just a key to download something.
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No. I don't get how a lot of people got that idea either. Many games for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S are full on the disc. These systems pull the full game data from the disc and installs them onto the drive each respective system uses. This can be done 100% offline too. There have been a few physical releases where only part of the game was on the disc, and the other half requires a download. In those cases, you obviously needed the internet. I don't personally feel these are good releases. There has never been an instance (that I've heard, known, or seen that is) where the disc itself is just a key and nothing more (basically game key cards but instead of a cartridge, it's an optical disc). That would imply that such a concept predates the game key card logic, which didn't actually exist prior (doesn't make any sense either, that's a lot of wasted disc space for a key, especially if it's a Blu-ray disc). If there was an instance of a "physical" release for a digital version of a game, it was always a download code inside of an empty case.

So whoever, whatever, told you that the game discs were just keys, totally lied to you. Even back when physical releases existed for computers in the final days (2010-2013 era), the discs had the full game contents on the disc. Internet access was only needed for software activation, account creation and logging, and any updates for the software. That's basically what it is with physical media on consoles, aside from needing 50,000,000+ different launcher software, and potentially being locked out from activation when the services die off. The game discs house the full game, updates are fetched over the internet. The only exception to this, is if the game disc is reprinted as a revision of the game, containing the game and update contents all on the disc. This is common for game consoles.

What makes this very important:
- You don't need internet to install or run the game (aside from the game requiring account credentials, but that's a game problem, not a disc / cartridge problem).
- You don't lose access to that content once the services end entirely, unlike the digital version from the storefront that basically becomes inaccessible unless you hack your console and pirate.
- Using a hacked system, you not only can back your own discs / cartridges up, but you can create digital versions of your games converted from those backups. So if you are the type that wants digital convenience, you literally get the best of both worlds, with zero loss. Not even the dead service can stop you.
 
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@DeadSkullzJr It's fairly common for Xbox discs to act as a license only and download the game once inserted. It was around long before game key cards was a thing.

Edit: I should clarify what I mean. If you have a Series X then none of the game is on the disc and will be downloaded. The disc will usually only contain the previous gen version. I'm sure I read somewhere though that the Indiana Jones game was basically just a DRM disc, just like the PS5 version (which annoyingly could've fit on a blu ray).
 
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