The Switch 2 Game Key Cards Aren't Just A Bad Idea, They're Terrible For Game Preservation

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct was a bit of a mixed bag. While many applauded the far-too-many third-party reveals as well as the plethora of ways Nintendo is innovating on the original Switch's technology, some were let down by a lack of first-party titles and the ridiculously high cost of the console and its myriad of games. Of course, that level of division was always going to happen to some degree, and for many, launch day will prove to be the defining moment for the console.

However, while it is true one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, Nintendo has already revealed a few pages, and they don't look great. Amidst the many huge Switch 2 reveals during the Direct, there were a couple of smaller announcements that flew a little under the radar. One such announcement was for the Switch 2's Game-Key Cards, an idea so bafflingly confusing and genuinely terrible that one has to wonder why Nintendo bothered to create them in the first place.

The Switch 2's Game-Key Cards Are Weird

They're Digital And Physical Media At The Same Time

During the extremely disappointing Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo unveiled Game-Key Cards, a new type of physical media that is, for the lack of a better word, weird. They look just like a normal Nintendo Switch cartridge and go in the same slot. They even come in a red plastic case, just like any other physical Nintendo Switch game. From appearances alone, many may be wondering how they're any different from a regular Nintendo Switch 2 game. Unfortunately, the Switch 2 Game-Key Cards are not physical media at all, despite being a tangible product.

Game-Key Cards are digital games hidden within a physical cartridge. Players put them into their Nintendo Switch 2 to unlock a digital product, which they then have to download. You need to have the Game-Key Card in at all times to access the game, but if you don't have any internet, you won't be able to download it and launch the game for the first time. Essentially, it is a hybrid product, one designed to bridge the gap between physical and digital media. There are good intentions behind it, at least.

The Nintendo Switch 2 over an image of the Welcome Tour game

Nintendo Explains Its Controversial Decision To Charge $10 For The Switch 2 Welcome Tour

After announcing that the Welcome Tour experience for the Nintendo Switch 2 won't be a free pack-in game, the company speaks to its decision.

Posts2

The Switch 2's technical director, Tetsuya Sasakihas, has confirmed to Gamespot that, unlike a regular digital product, the Game-Key Card can be lent to a friend or even sold on. The digital product it unlocks isn't tied to the console it is first activated on, which is a bonus. It is clear then that Nintendo has put some thought into this new Switch 2 feature, but that doesn't mean it is necessarily good. Most fans are confused by it, and many actively worry that these Game-Key Cards are bad for physical media.

Game-Key Cards Aren't For Anyone

They're Not Good For Physical Collectors Or Digital Ones

A Nintendo Switch 2 Game Key Card with Mario Kart World key art on it.

In reality, Game-Key Cards aren't for anyone. Their need for an internet connection, at least initially, will put off physical collectors who want the game to work out of the box. Similarly, digital collectors won't want it because you need to have it in your Switch 2 at all times for it to work, defeating the point of a digital game in the first place. Just like with the disappointing Game Chat feature, by playing it safe and attempting to appeal to both sides of this particular spectrum, Nintendo has managed to make a product that no one seemingly wants.

However, as much as this feature may not really appeal to anyone, there is a specific reason for its existence. Nintendo Switch 2 games are massive, at least in terms of file size, with CD Projekt Red already confirming that Cyberpunk 2077 takes up every bit of space on its Switch 2 64GB cartridge. Of course, compared to the likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Xbox or PlayStation, 64GB is relatively small. However, games are only going to get bigger, and Nintendo needs a way of accommodating that in the future.

These Game-Key Cards are its way of ensuring that when games eventually do balloon beyond their 64GB limit, there is still a way of offering a physical product to fans.

A lot of interviews with Nintendo employees recently have been about how it wants to future-proof the Switch 2, likely because it is very aware of how it's already lagging behind the competition and will continue to do so in the future. There are even reports that Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't run well on the Switch 2, and neither does Hogwarts Legacy. These Game-Key Cards are its way of ensuring that when games eventually do balloon beyond their 64GB limit, there is still a way of offering a physical product to fans.

Nintendo Shouldn't Use Game-Key Cards For First-Party Games

They Should Be Reserved For Third-Party Developers

Rosalina, Peach, and Daisy hanging out on bikes in Mario Kart World.

That is admirable and a further showcase of just how much Nintendo cares about physical media. However, it does come to the detriment of game preservation. Physical media that unlocks a digital product is antithetical to the idea of ensuring that people own the things they buy. It is a continuation of the terrible trend of people needing to get used to not owning the things they buy and now, I suppose, even have on their shelves. It is just as useful as the code-in-a-box method that has been used thus far, only it's a little flashier and more tangible.

While it may be a necessary step as a result of the way the industry has gone, it in no way benefits physical collectors or game preservation. It also, in an ideal world, shouldn't be used by Nintendo. It knows its hardware better than anyone else and would, hopefully, be able to find a way to optimize its first-party Switch 2 exclusives so that they can fit them on a normal cartridge. Nintendo's first-party developers have managed this in the past, with Monolith Soft famously just barely squeezing Xenoblade Chronicles X onto a single Wii U disc.

Nintendo Switch 2's C Button Will Be Locked Behind A Paywall After A Certain Time

The C button, used to launch Nintendo's GameChat feature, will essentially be useless to those who do not want to pay for a Switch Online membership.

Posts

It will be interesting to see how Nintendo responds to all the vitriol surrounding the Game-Key Cards. Frankly, much like how it hand-waved away the ridiculously expensive Switch 2 game prices or has attempted to justify its decision-making around a lot of the console's more controversial features, I doubt it'll do anything about it. These are here to stay, no matter how ultimately pointless they are. Perhaps third-party developers won't end up using them, but I suspect for the truly massive games coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, these Game-Key Cards will be a necessity, and that is a shame.

Source: Gamespot