In an era dominated by digital downloads and streaming services, the importance of physical media in gaming remains a topic of discussion. With Nintendo reaffirming its commitment to releasing physical copies alongside digital versions, it underscores the enduring value some players place on tangible game discs and cartridges. For many, physical media represents more than just a means of accessing games; it embodies a sense of ownership and nostalgia. The ability to hold a game in one’s hands, display it on a shelf, and share it with friends adds to the overall gaming experience. Moreover, physical copies can serve as collectibles, cherished by enthusiasts and preserving gaming history for future generations.
As Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa recently stated, “Our objective is not to simply increase the share of digital sales, but to maximize overall game software sales, including sales of physical software.” This commitment to physical media underscores Nintendo’s recognition of its importance to certain segments of its audience.
Nintendo’s decision to continue supporting physical media aligns with its business strategy, catering to diverse consumer preferences and maintaining strong partnerships with retail outlets. By offering games in stores, Nintendo ensures accessibility for a wide audience, including parents and collectors who prefer physical formats. Beyond consumer sentiment, concerns about the long-term preservation of digital-only titles drive the advocacy for physical media. With digital storefronts occasionally delisting games and platforms shutting down, there’s a risk of losing access to beloved titles forever. Physical copies offer a sense of security, safeguarding against potential digital obsolescence and ensuring continued enjoyment of classic games.
Uh-huh. Watch it, they’ll change their tune if the competition does digital-only and it sells well.
We are so cooked.
Shit I hope so.
It’s Nintendo, they like doing the opposite of what the competition is doing.
If they did what Sony and Microsoft were doing, the Switch 2 would be more powerful than the PS5 and be like $700 for 1TB model with a 1440p.
Trust me, Nintendo hate doing what the others are doing, plus Sony is more American than Japanese now a days, so of course they’re going more digital than physical.
A Switch 2 that’s more powerful than PS5 and Series X/S would cost thousand’s of dollars. Maybe not as much as a gaming laptop but still very expensive.
No it wouldn’t. Maybe 6-700 but thousands no. You can get a rtx 3070 for like 300 which means they would only need to pay like 200-250 for one. The series x comparable is a 3060.
I hope so man, I like owning physically my games, just gave my friend persona 5 royal so he can experience it without paying anything, sharing videogames you like and discussing it with your friends is such a good time
No mate you’re a mug. Get your tramp pal to buy his own so more are sold
Nah I don’t have shitty friends
If you do that, you are a horrible friend
I don’t think so, I think Sony will change its tune. Microsoft on the other hand, I could care less, I’m not giving one more cent to Gates or his minions.
So they’re committed to retail but not video game conservation then?
Nintendo is committed to video game conservation. They are not committed to piracy and those that use the label “conservation” as an excuse to download illegally games for free.
So where can I legally buy LOZ Four Swords Anniversary, or Super Mario 3D All Stars, or Tiny Toons: Buster Busts Loose, or Mother 3 in English?
Yet here we are in the west asking for Mario Kart plus Expansion pass and Breath of the Wild plus expansion on physical cartridges and getting ignored.
This is the same company that releases different revisions of each cartridge without placing any info on the outer cases of the reprinted cartridges to let everyone know the reprints have the patches on the actual cartridge, and yes this is a huge issue with switch physical releases.
Don’t even get me started on those trash pokemon plus expansion releases with only half of the dlc on the cartridge.
You would have to gamble $85+ risking getting newer revisions of the Japanese versions on Amazon for a chance to get the reprinted versions of the pokemon scarlet and violet plus expansions that actually have all of the dlc on the cartridge.
Nintendo’s quality has declined dramatically, I have zero faith in their western physical releases.
Nintendo are so full of BS. If they’re so committed to physical media, then why do Switch cartridges only go up to 32GB, and are so prohibitively expensive that the vast majority of developers won’t use them, hell, they won’t even use 16GB cartridges. The Switch is over 7 years old and there’s literally around a dozen games that have used a 32GB cartridge.
This is an issue they need to sort out for Switch 2. The amount of 3rd party games that released on Switch that have the banner “DOWNLOAD REQUIRED” is insane. The Switch is the worst platform EVER for legitimately owning physical games properly.
Oh but there’s more, if Nintendo are so committed to physical games, then why do all their hardware bundles that include a game only have a download code for said digital game? It’s because Nintendo are cheating out, but it’s also because they don’t want people owning games physically anymore. Some people think they own these digital games, but they don’t really. It’s kind of a long-term rental scheme with built-in obsolescence. These games are tied to the system and probably Switch 2 as it’s rumoured to have backwards compatibility. But don’t expect it to go beyond that. So if your system breaks or when the servers inevitably closes down, that’s it, your purchases are gone.
Yet more. It’s tied in to the physical game releases. How many games release piecemeal, incomplete or require patches? Even many of Nintendo’s games have day 1 patches. Meaning these physical releases don’t have everything on the cartridges. This is a deliberate tactic by Nintendo, to try and sabotage the games down the road, in a similar way to digital games. That if your system breaks and when you no longer have access to these patches, the games are somewhat borked. Why you ask? So on future systems, they can try and sell these games again, complete with all the patches and whatever bells and whistles they might add.
Sony and Microsoft have entered the chat.
Dude you have no idea how bad it is on the other platforms. Games on media and you can’t play them from the media. They all have to be installed now and often most of the content isn’t even on the disc.
But you still have the whole game there at least. Not an “incomplete” version that requires an extra download. It’s all in the disc most of the times. And the installation is quick.
All my games on my 3ds dissapeared yesterday. It said my sd card was corrupted. I cant redownload them anymore. All that time and money gone. Id been progressing in some of them for 8 years. (Etrian games, Monster hunter, lots more) Im not doing anymore downloaded games. My physical collection is the only reason to even own the 3ds now.