Probably the most controversial thing in gamers minds with the Nintendo Switch 2 is those pesky Game-Key Cards which are gaining in popularity with companies that pump out AAA games. We’ve already heard that they allow the games assets to load quicker than traditional cartridges, hence why they are a popular choice with graphically intensive games. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director has chimed into the discussion with his own thoughts on the subject of physical media on Nintendo Switch 2 and Game-Key Cards.
“I do understand why there are a number of people out there who maybe don’t like this new format, and I get the reasons why they don’t like it.”
“I think it’s, in some ways, part of a larger trend that we can’t avoid,” citing physical media becoming “less and less part of the industry”, with digital becoming more prevalent on PlayStation, Xbox, and physical PC games being all but extinct. However, he acknowledges that “the user, the fans, the customers on Switch 2 very much value what’s good about physical media. So, for that platform in particular, it’s going to be an even slower change.”
Tthe trend is going towards digital. But within that, where the key card falls into that – I understand why a lot of people don’t like this and maybe want to push back against it. But from a creator’s perspective, I kind of think it gives us opportunities to put some games on Switch 2.” He also echoes the perspective of the Star Wars Outlaws developer, saying “There are some especially high-end, real high-quality games that require a lot of memory that we probably couldn’t put on it without this – as a physical version, without the key card.”
Yeah, but I can.
Me too!
I can avoid them.
Me too, it’s all too easy for me to avoid them. Especially since I game on all three current platforms. Any game that says “Lame Key Card” down below? I avoid it like the plague and wait for other platforms to get the port. At least on PS5, I know I’m getting a proper release.
You can just get a proper release digitally and be smart about your purchase instead of woefully arrogant like this
There’s nothing more powerful than the power of the people. This goes for absolutely anything in this world.
If everyone stuck together and didn’t buy key cards or digital or expensive a solution would evolve, trouble is everyone does as they are told too much!
Or as they want.
I personally don’t care for collecting anymore so these are perfect for me.
It’s essentially what MS wanted to do with digital games, but in a somewhat physical format which I was fully in when it was announced. If I can sell these digital copies, I’m all for it.
No gamer sells their games, especially if you’re a proponent of game preservation. Otherwise you’re just a casual hobbyist and your opinion on gaming in general is irrelevant.
I’ve been gaming and collecting since the 90s, I have kids now. It’s just a hobby now. Gaming isn’t my identity, it’s a passed time. But go ahead and tell me how your little collection is making a dent on the average of 30 games released every day. I mean, you’re all about preservation right Mr real gamer?
Because if you aren’t really that serious about TRUE game preservation, then you’re just a casual hobbyist and your opinion on gaming in general… Is irrelevant.
It wouldn’t fit on a game card otherwise so there’s not really a choice for some games.
Exactly, Kevin. Also, the game cards are not fast enough.
I was under the impression that the SDE cards were faster than discs. It was never about speed,or even storage for some games, its about cost. thats why developers are going with key-cards. so what do you mean by “fast enough”? fast enough for what?
Games aren’t played off discs. PS5 and Xbox installs games to the system. Many developers have spoken about the game cards for Switch 2 not being fast enough. The SD express cards are faster than the game cards, and the internal system is even quicker still.
I don’t understand what he meant about that too.
Straight up will not buy key cards, its a bad choice, people aren’t buying switch for the fastest loading experience
If you want the fastest loading experience, go digital. A physical card is not fast enough. It took me 20 seconds to load a race track in Mario Kart World on a physical card.
You really have no argument… I don’t see how these key cards are a problem, especially since classic cards don’t exceed 64 GB (I’m ignoring their argument about speed…), we need to find a system or else we move directly to all digital…
For example, if Baldur’s Gate 3 comes out on the Switch 2, it will inevitably be digital, it’s nearly 150 GB…
Physical media is disappearing, we have to accept it unfortunately.
I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Unless companies are content with alienating a large portion of their market, then they’ll take that risk. Maybe if the portion of physical ownership is smaller than it is, then maybe. There are still parts of the world where there is no internet access, and people don’t want to download a 50GB+ game over slow internet.
*a portion that keeps shrinking year after year. And no, it’s not a large portion anymore, in facts it’s insanely small now a days.
And Internet is steadily increasing. In the last 10 years Internet speeds have gone from under 30 mbps to just over 200mbps.
Wanna know what’s wild, from 2005 to 2015 it went from 2mbps to 30mbps.
And that’s just the average.
The physical distribution for console games is definitely shrinking. PC games were shelved a while ago, which is why we don’t see the optical drive included in PCs/Laptops anymore. One Google search for the distribution reveals physical distribution decreases every year by 3-7% (The stats show for the U.S.). The question is, how low will the percentage have to be for companies to stop production for that? It was reported this year in April that Europe relies heavily on the physical market by a whopping 80%. It makes you think if maybe they’ll stop production in the U.S. and keep manufacturing elsewhere.
If the physcial market is so small, then why release a physcial item at all when digital has better margins? It’s because retail shopping, especially as the holidays approach, are still a very significant source of sales. Look at releases that are available digitally and physically and the physcial side of things isnt small at all (often 40-60 or even 60-40 for nintendo). No company is willing to lose even a fraction of those sales, and thus they do things like code in a box because they know its needed for your average Joe to find your game and buy it. Digital is a fantastic option for those who are only casually interested in games, have a very limited amount of space, and have access to reliable internet, but that’s not your average console gamer. The issue with the speed you’ve listed is that while the speeds have increased, coverage really hasn’t outside of pricing satellite plans. Its just urban areas seeing speed increases for those who already had high speed to begin with.
Well I live at we average 50 to 150 mbs.
What was the average 10 years ago?
Ya know, another aspect of this to take into account is that with the rise of digital media and the concept of “not owning the product that one paid for”, we are giving rise to more and more incentives for people to pirate content and media that they want. I am not going to say whether I am for or against piracy, but with the push for even our physical options being turned into digital (game key cards), this WILL have an inverse affect on people who pirate citing it as, “If purchasing isn’t owning, then piracy isn’t stealing.”
We can make arguments all we want, but piracy is growing, and the lack of options the consumers are being given is playing a huge part in that statistically.
The trend of Not Letting Us Own Anything Anymore
Is Game Key cards is really a bad mistake for Nintendo’s behalf? I can see why some people won’t buy the system because of it.
Only by minorities like you. The rest don’t give a crap. Whether they want to buy the game digitally or game key card, you must require a MicroSD Express Memory Card… up to 2TB.
Which minorities? You?
We Can Easily Avoid This but Majority Company Investors always want to spend less while making more money than you can imagine. They don’t care about Consumers, Quality, or Making Good Products, only Money.
Are you a Republican?
I’ll never buy Key Cards, Nintendo could have and should have designed a better Physical Format. There’s reason why Nobody else has used cartridges since the late 90’s. Knowing Nintendo they didn’t want to ise Discs because it’d make hacking, Modding, and Pirating easier.
Hmm, the PlayStation Vita says “hello” to you…
As for Blu-ray, it’s not infinitely expandable, you know… and using ultraviolet as a wavelength won’t work for reading, it destroys the plastic over time. So unless other low-cost storage methods are found, the physical medium is going to disappear, that’s all.
Hmm, the PlayStation Vita says “hello” to you…
As for Blu-ray, it’s not infinitely expandable, you know… and using ultraviolet as a wavelength won’t work for reading, it destroys the plastic over time. So unless other low-cost storage methods are found, the physical medium is going to disappear, that’s all…
Your funeral.
I can avoid, by not paying for crap like this.
Have it your way, Republican.
Even more nonsense from the elite, that needs to be relevent. These people are so tone-deaf, it hurts. But then again, those people live above us, how could they even understand us in the slightest.
I think he can’t say what he wants to say because of different contracts and stuff with companies I don’t believe most of these companies like this stuff but professionalism
I went to pick up my pre-order of Persona 3 Reload. Unfortunately, I found out that it was a game key card. I left without it. I found out that Octopath Traveler 0 on Switch 2 was also a game key card. The Switch version is on the card though so I switched my pre-order to that.
Seems pretty easy to avoid to me. I refuse to buy game key cards, and even if that became my only option I still wouldn’t. I’ve supported Nintendo on every mainline system since the NES and I am still holding out on getting a Switch 2 because of these Game Key Cards.
Sane although I actually bought the Switch 2 and I’m actually Regretting it. I ike Nintendo Games but I didn’t buy the Switch 2 only for Nintendo Games. I feel extremely scammed. I don’t even like Mario Kart World. I have like four hundred hours in 8 Deluxe. Ive owned ever Nintendo Console besides the WiiU because I knew that one would fail. I’ve bought over two thousand physical games across all my consoles. Switch 1 i have over two hundred games. Switch 2 I only have two…
No such thing as a Switch 1. It’s your fault if you’re buying physical games over the last decade. WiiU only “failed” (library was amazing so I don’t consider that a failure) because of EA, and before EA turned their back on Nintendo and started sabotaging them openly the WiiU was the most highly anticipated console at the time. Don’t buy into the media lies EA started like every other moron.
I’m in a similar boat. With the Switch 1, I have over 100 games and around 85% of them are 3rd party, but I might as well buy Nintendo because even though 1st party wasn’t my main priority I was going to want those anyway. With Switch 2 if most 3rd party games I want are going to be GKC’s or digital then there’s little reason to buy a Switch 2 for me.
Running out of data much?
With all of the developer stories we hear from the PS1 days and earlier, I think modern dev teams have forgotten that there’s a difference between what’s possible and easy. Nintendo could also solve this problem by allowing downloads from the cart for games that “can’t go without.”
Not really. Almost everything I have is a physical version and I don’t need a big storage device for that.
So just buy digitally like every smart gamer. No real gamer sells their games, every real gamer knows ownership is the exact same, and every real gamer cares about preservation; something only digital gaming can accomplish. Stop being a luddite. You want to eliminate key cards? Buy digitally. Vote with your wallet. If you’re just avoiding them then that’s one more person who will buy it and you’ve just handed them the ballot and walked away genius. If 75% buy digitally then we win the battle. If 50% of that 75 though choose to be ignorant like you, key cards outsell and Nintendo thinks they’re a good idea. I can’t stand you casuals
I don’t like digital either, so buying that fixes nothing for me. Buying digital instead of GKC’s are going to just all of a sudden make them start releasing real physical games instead of GKC’s. Buying neither version may make them hesitate to make a Switch 2 version at all, but if I was never going to get a real physical version anyway then I didn’t lose anything by them choosing to do that.
Nintendo Switch 1/2, is also a portable console. In 2025, if you have like 50 game key cards, how you transport that kind of thing, with you. Then bypass/increase maximum size 2 TB Micro SD Express card limit, to 4TB or more. Or go cloud only.
I can avoid them and pushing game key card are promoting piracy so why?
There are so any games to pick from, and I can choose to not buy games that IMO should have a Physical copy. After all FF7 and Outlaws are massive games which if we are honest take up way too much of your time and are best avoided.
Fact is with such limited storage space on the Switch 2 and decent sized SD express card (1TB) being prohibitively expensive the case for Physical of Switch 2 is stronger than it was for Switch 1.
I find downloading-deleteing-redownloading to play my games an annoyance and a time waster. I can gladly go without the game with huge files sizes to avoid this. There is too much to pick from, I’ll pick something else which is not annoying and doesn’t want to take over my life.
I’m avoiding them. Nintendo Switch 2 has passed the point of enshitification and I’m opting out.
There is a way to avoid it. It’s called a Steam Deck (a better, less restrictive console).
So to teach Nintendo a lesson that game-key cards that have some of the game physically on the card while the rest is digital is bad, you’re going to get your games on a device that only allows digital games? Yeah! That’ll TOTALLY teach Nintendo a lesson! 🙄🤣