Game Key Cards - an improved digital release or stripped down physical cartridge?
Since the Direct at the start of the month, Nintendo have attracted a lot of ire regarding the Switch 2. I’ve seen comments on either side of the fence when it comes to the base console pricing, with the price of games being where most people are drawing a line, on top of the C Button ultimately being locked behind a Nintendo Switch Online subscription once the trial period runs out. The topic that interests me the most though is Game Key Cards, these getting almost as much negativity around them as Mario Kart World costing upwards of £75.
If you’ve somehow managed to dodge the discussion, allow me to fill you in on the basics. Game Key Cards are new for the Switch 2, and function similarly to a normal cartridge on paper. You insert it into your system, the game appears on your home menu, and you’re free to play it… Kind of. Where these Key Cards differ from a regular cartridge is in the lack of actual game files being on the cartridge. This means the first time you’re putting the cartridge into a system you’ll need an active internet connection, and naturally the storage available on your system, to download the game.
Since the Direct a few things have been confirmed through various interviews and Nintendo's own help page. These cartridges won’t be linked to your account and can be used in any system, meaning you'll be able to resell them down the line. On top of this you’ll have no issues playing offline once the game has actually downloaded and been launched for the first time. The difference really does seem to be limited to having to download the game before playing; it’s not all that different to a game being unplayable without a day one patch. Not that such a release would exactly be praiseworthy in itself.
There are two ways to look at these cartridges, and I’ve somewhat shown my hand in the thread title. These Key Cards could be viewed as a better way to buy a digital game, and that’s entirely based on your ability to resell them. No digital gaming platform I’m aware of has the capability of taking your purchase and being able to fully transfer it to another person, and that as a concept in isolation is a really great thing. But that’s really all we have for the positives.
Game Key Card boxes come with a disclaimer similar to the "Code in a Box" Switch releases.
I’ve seen far more people looking at these games as lesser physical games, and it’s really not hard to see why; there is an argument they’re lesser digital games in some respects too. These are game cartridges without the games after all. You’re basically taking all the negatives of physical cartridges, primarily the necessity to have it in your system to function, and combining it with all the negatives of digital downloads, a combination of relying on an external server to be alive and both the time and space required to download them. Where this all really struggles is in Nintendo’s directive this generation to price physical games higher than their digital counterparts. To the best of my knowledge both the Bravely Default remaster and Street Fighter 6 haven’t had their digital prices released yet, but I would be shocked if these Key Cards weren’t the more expensive option. You’re likely to be paying more for a less convenient form factor solely for the benefit of being able to sell the game later. It’s not all negative, but it’s certainly not something to be happy about either. Beyond the ability to sell the cartridges on, Nintendo have justified the Key Cards’ existence in giving publishers with larger titles a way into physical retail stores, with cartridges reportedly maxing out at 64GB and being proportionally more expensive as their capacity increases. It’s just a shame they made that justification with the 11GB Bravely Default remake being one of the first to launch; this sense of disingenuity only goes to add to the larger frustrations of the wider community.
The concept of a Game Key Card isn’t something I’m wholly against, but in my mind the implementation would need to be far more generic to find success. Instead of having to buy new cartridges at a likely-inflated price for each Key Card release, it’s almost a shame Nintendo don’t just come out with a reusable flashcard-style cartridge of their own that you could transfer the licence of your digital purchases to and from. It would solve a good chunk of the problems in my mind, though would itself likely not be without its own set of complexities and complaints.
The two confirmed Key Card releases are Bravely Default and Street Fighter 6.
When compared to the atmosphere surrounding the launch of the original Switch things are certainly different this time around, though I am left wondering whether it will have a meaningful impact on the system’s sales through its launch period. Game Key Cards are just one point of animosity among many, and I’m interested to know what you think about them. Are you fundamentally against the concept of Key Cards, or do you think they just needed a better implementation? Would you buy one if they were priced the same as their wholly digital counterparts, or is the inconvenience of an empty cartridge not worth considering at all? Let us know below.
Nintendo Game Key Card Overview
meant to push customers to accept digital format.
