The Nintendo Switch 2 has been out for a little over a month, and it’s already selling well. Despite the popularity of the original Switch, record-breaking sales weren’t a given for the Switch 2. The lead-up to the console’s release saw some backlash from fans, with game prices leading the charge for complaints. However, another change to games with the Switch 2 has also proved controversial – game-key cards.
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These days, digital games are often viewed as the norm. It’s easy to log into your platform’s eshop and grab a new game with a few clicks, and many gamers have shifted to this method. That said, not everyone is on board with digital-only game sales. Physical games are still popular for a number of reasons. Having physical games means you’ve got fewer full downloads eating up room on your device. You can also display physical game cases, making your library a decor option. Despite the ease of buying games online, many people still want the option to grab physical copies. And that’s where Nintendo Switch 2 game-key cards have raised eyebrows.
Gamers were quick to notice that many of the games coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 will not have traditional physical game cards. Instead, buying the “physical” edition for certain Switch 2 games gets you a box with a game-key card instead. These cartridges still need to be inserted into your console to play, but they don’t contain the full game file. Gamers will still need to download the game file before playing the first time, yet the key-card still needs to be in your Switch 2 to play the game.
So far, these game-key cards largely seem to be for third-party games like Hogwarts Legacy or Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 rather than first-party titles like the new Mario Kart World. But regardless, Nintendo has released a new survey to Switch 2 owners in Japan, asking several questions about game-key cards. It’s clear the company is feeling out fan opinion on this new offering to see how it’s landing with Switch 2 early adopters.
Nintendo Polls Players About Its New Game-Key Cards
Online opinions on the new key-cards are mixed. Some gamers don’t mind the need to download, given that digital games have to be fully downloaded anyway. But others see it as a threat to physical game ownership, since the key-cards don’t actually house the game. Why buy a physical copy if it’s still going to require a big data file download onto your Switch 2 console?
Nintendo clearly wants to see how gamers are responding to the key-cards in a more concrete way than online comments. A recent survey in Japan asked a few questions of those who purchased a Nintendo Switch 2 console. While they weren’t fully opinion questions so much as seeing how well customers actually understand what key cards are, it still shows that Nintendo is aware that the game-key cards could be confusing or even unwanted for their fan base.
The Nintendo news site Nintendo Soup shared their translation of the survey questions, giving us a good look at what specifically got asked. There were just three questions. The first asked if the Switch 2 owners were aware of game-key cards at all. The second asked about specific features, such as game-key cards letting you access the game offline (after the initial download), the need for memory space, and being able to use the same game-key card on multiple systems. The last question asked how likely people were to buy the game-key cards after learning more about them via the survey.
For now, the survey seems to have only been released for Switch 2 owners in Japan. It’s possible that it will roll out to other countries eventually, as well. Regardless, it looks like Nintendo is trying to gauge how things are going before they commit to releasing more games on game-key cards instead of traditional cartridges.
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