Joule Member Nov 19, 2017 4,908 Considering their physical sales have historically outpaced their digital counterparts and the same can't be said about PS or Xbox. Although digital has been gaining on physical sales in the Nintendo business, it isn't close to where the PS and Xbox business are. 2024 data(varies by location) PS: ~68-78% digital (US: Source 1, Europe: Source 2) Xbox: ~81-91% digital (US: Source 1, Europe: Source 2) Nintendo: ~35-53% digital (US: Source 1, Europe: Source 2) https://www.tweaktown.com/news/96120/nintendo-champions-physical-game-sales-in-latest-results/index.html Now that CIAB (game-key cards) games are dominating Switch 2 launch window (seemingly because of 64gb size limit + price of carts) how long before 3rd party devs abandon physical carts entirely on Switch 2? As game sizes increase and digital sales on the rise I'm afraid it's only going to get worse as the Switch 2 generation runs on. It will accelerate the death of "real" physical copies of video games. View: https://bsky.app/profile/gematsu.com/post/3lniuq7ix4k25 Are the sales of these titles even be considered as physical game sales when they require an internet download to be playable? I really don't know how Nintendo categorizes these types of sales in their financials. It's hard for me to consider them "real" physical games since they are unplayable without an internet connection. It's a fascinating development. I thought Nintendo was going to be the last one standing for physical titles. At least 1st party titles seemingly don't need to download the full game separately for now...  NotLiquid One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 37,681 I think the fact that these Game Key Cards exist at all is emblematic of them not wanting to abandon physical copies as they exist functionally.   L Thammy Spacenoid Member Oct 25, 2017 54,533 I admittedly haven't been paying much attention, but looking at the OP, the fact that these are third parties makes me wonder if this is just Nintendo listening to publishers, and they did it first because they're just transitioning to new hardware before the rest.   mopinks Member Oct 27, 2017 32,526 I expect first party games will be entirely on the cart 99% of the time third parties will pick the cheapest option 99% of the time  cw_sasuke Member Oct 27, 2017 29,852 This is like the 4th thread on the same topic since yesterday. I don't really agree with the notion though. Things are gonna even out as Switch 2 replaces Switch and the sales expectations for games increase, Post launch. You would have a point if Nintendo's own games were all GKC, which would mean there is no realistic way for prices to really come down as the generation progresses.  Praedyth Member Feb 25, 2020 8,447 Brazil The thing is that even if cartridges become cheaper, this period will train people to get used to game key cards. Game discs that require downloads are already a bummer. I guess it's better than having only the eshop, but it's infinitely worse than having the entire game on the cartridge.  Baby Bird Member Nov 5, 2017 1,744 NotLiquid said: I think the fact that these Game Key Cards exist at all is emblematic of them not wanting to abandon physical copies as they exist functionally. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Precisely Game Key Cards are a compromise because the economics of Switch 2 carts, at this point in time, simply do not work. It is one of least bad solutions to a problem which has no good solutions at all.  Chris. Member Oct 27, 2017 1,946 NotLiquid said: I think the fact that these Game Key Cards exist at all is emblematic of them not wanting to abandon physical copies as they exist functionally. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Is it though ? I would argue its more of a sign that they're ( not nintendo as tbh this seems more like a third party thing) terrified of the backlash that XB1 got. Plus the retail presence aswell. Game cards never took off the way it should. At east not in uK I don't agree that nintendo will be the first to go all digital, their games don't lose value so they don't have the same risk xbox and playstation have. 9.9/10 nintendo games will come fully on cartridge all. To answer OPs question it will be Xbox. Half the "xbox devices" will never have a disc drive e.g fire stick and with Game pass there's no way xbox isn't the first all digital "console". But I don't think they will take the option away so much that the consumers no longer want the option and it becomes obsolete.  Lotus One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 123,067 cw_sasuke said: This is like the 4th thread on the same topic since yesterday. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yea I was gonna say lol I dunno, best of a bad situation and all that. Just happy first party titles is unaffected for now  PallasKitten Member Jul 11, 2022 1,716 cw_sasuke said: This is like the 4th thread on the same topic since yesterday. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I've been noticing tons of posts and threads about this since yesterday as well, not even just on Era, but Reddit and a couple other forums I frequent as well. I don't really know why, I assume maybe because a lot of third party games have been confirmed to be key card releases very recently? Anyway, I don't really have much to say on this topic that I feel I haven't already said in one of the many other threads. The key cards "make sense" since games are just getting larger, but the storage capacity and prices of carts aren't really improving or keeping up with that. It's definitely a shame, I foresee myself buying a lot less 3rd party games on Switch 2, but I'm pretty confident almost all 1st party games will actually be on the cart at least.  Richietto One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 25,824 North Carolina Nintendo will hold onto physical for as long as they physically can. Just recently we saw how many physical copies people buy of Nintendo products. Nintendo knows people want their stuff physical and that shows in none of their games being key carts. 3rd parties being almost all key carts is simply a better solution than not having anything physical at all. It's not ideal but at least it's a digital copy you can sell and better than a code in a box. Not everyone can be as based as CDPR   NotLiquid One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 37,681 Chris. said: Is it though ? I would argue its more of a sign that they're ( not nintendo as tbh this seems more like a third party thing) terrified of the backlash that XB1 got. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Up until now it's been commonly assumed that Nintendo is the last of the three console makers where their physical ratio on sales is thought to be stronger than digital. Third parties undoubtedly want to have a piece of that pie if they're going to start treating Switch 2 as a serious platform to support major games with release parity, but that cost of manufacturing isn't going to square itself. I'm sure they fear "backlash", but that's only because in this case there's actually a material aspect in it for them to lose.   Rouk' Member Jan 10, 2018 9,497 Let's wait for Nintendo to actually use the game key system for one of their in-house game before making any conclusion   Phellps Member Oct 25, 2017 13,394 With the higher cost of cartridges, I think mobile platforms were specifically primed to be the first to abandon or phase out physical media. The Switch already showed signs of that.   Twister Member Feb 11, 2019 6,577 I think there will still be games that come on cart (Nintendo first-party, some of the more core-focused third-party games), but yeah I can understand why they did this. Between this and the virtual game cards, I think Nintendo is trying to ease people into digital while still retaining some sense of the benefits that come with physical. I used to be fully on the "physical until I die" train, but I decided long ago that this generation with the Switch was my last for physical copies. Feeling a bit vindicated in my choice with the recent revelations, but I hope that they continue to produce physical copies for the many collectors and families who like them  Belphegor Member Sep 24, 2021 1,362 3rd parties aren't Nintendo. As far as we know both Mario Kart and DK don't use those key cards   808s & Villainy Member Oct 27, 2017 46,347 Chris. said: I would argue its more of a sign that they're ( not nintendo as tbh this seems more like a third party thing) terrified of the backlash that XB1 got. Plus the retail presence aswell. Game cards never took off the way it should. At east not in uK Click to expand... Click to shrink... I don't know if Xbox backlash factored into anything. As OPs charts show, physical games are still a significant portion of Nintendo system software sales. They know it and 3rd parties know it, and to maintain some semblance of that audience and retail presence, GKCs are their solution for the game card costs getting prohibitively high for 3rd parties. With the assumption that if people have to download part of their physical games anyway, they might as well download the full game and still get all the other benefits of physical. I wonder if this will mean less "Switch tax" with Switch versions of games being costlier to cover the game card costs over discs. That might be an unexpected upside  TheZynster Member Oct 26, 2017 14,671 Twister said: I think there will still be games that come on cart (Nintendo first-party, some of the more core-focused third-party games), but yeah I can understand why they did this. Between this and the virtual game cards, I think Nintendo is trying to ease people into digital while still retaining some sense of the benefits that come with physical. I used to be fully on the "physical until I die" train, but I decided long ago that this generation with the Switch was my last for physical copies. Feeling a bit vindicated in my choice with the recent revelations, but I hope that they continue to produce physical copies for the many collectors and families who like them Click to expand... Click to shrink... yup, if they didn't want to transition more the bundle wouldn't be a download code....but a physical copy for mario kart world. But, lets not pretend big 3rd party publishers haven't already gone this route. I mean call of duty has been a launcher for...3 years now?  Dis Member Oct 27, 2017 6,564 Xbox has basically done the same thing for most of its first party output for a decade now. No data or half the data makes little difference to the outcome of having to download stuff. Nintendo aren't the first to do this, Xbox first party and third party have done it for years now on discs. It sucks either way but Nintendo aren't the first console maker to do this style of stuff at all. I at least expect Nintendo to actually put their games on the cart in most cases even if third parties aren't, which I haven't been able to say I expect of Xbox for years now.  TechnicPuppet Member Oct 28, 2017 11,865 It's physical in name only basically. I the move away from physical.   HardRojo One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 28,662 Peru Yeah, it's one of the most disappointing things about the Switch 2 and has hampered my excitement by quite a bit, despite being really excited for the console when they finally officially revealed it. It's weird.   Truno Member Jan 16, 2020 5,682 HardRojo said: Yeah, it's one of the most disappointing things about the Switch 2 and has hampered my excitement by quite a bit, despite being really excited for the console when they finally officially revealed it. It's weird. Click to expand... Click to shrink... You've already said multiple times that you don't buy third party games on Nintendo platforms, and all announced first party games don't use this system. What's the fuss?  EmergencyPasta Member Aug 17, 2022 2,437 I was personally surprised how many people buy Switch carts. I love physical media, but it's such a pain dealing with little cartridges in giant boxes of empty plastic. I own a single Switch game on cartridge and that's Mario Odyssey because it came with the Switch.   alexjimithing Member Aug 20, 2019 1,564 It's really not that crazy to me. The writing has been on the wall for physical games for years now. It's a forgone conclusion for Xbox/Sony/Nintendo.  Watershed Member Oct 26, 2017 10,442 The use of game-key cards clearly demonstrates how important physical game sales and retail shelf space is to Nintendo. Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft have both released digital only editions of their consoles.   OP OP Joule Member Nov 19, 2017 4,908 alexjimithing said: It's really not that crazy to me. The writing has been on the wall for physical games for years now. It's a forgone conclusion for Xbox/Sony/Nintendo. Click to expand... Click to shrink... No doubt but I didn't think Nintendo would come first (or second even)   Lant_War Classic Anus Game The Fallen Jul 14, 2018 25,111 ... do people realize Nintendo created these key cards? They are giving publishers the option and made a system for it even if they don't use it themselves.   JRedCX Member Nov 10, 2020 1,039 No hate OP. It's a well done thread but I have seen at least two more thread today about the same subject.   Vanguard Member Jan 15, 2025 412 I'm not sure why they can't use slower and cheaper game cards and have it install to system storage that way if they want something cheaper than a full speed game card.   J_ToSaveTheDay "This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance Avenger Oct 25, 2017 22,283 USA I still maintain high excitement for Switch 2 and I've made my peace with the inevitability of digital replacing physical eventually, but yeah, it is lamentable to see it so suddenly here now on Switch 2 of all things, especially since I had moved back to physical preference on my Switch in the past couple of years and really come to enjoy Nintendo's practice of updating game data on cart for their biggest titles. Really neat to pop in such a compact piece of kit with a more updated version of a game on it. I will still plan to buy games that have confirmation of containing full game data on-cart (Nintendo first party) but I will be buying digital editions of games that only release physically as Game-key Cards. :/  cw_sasuke Member Oct 27, 2017 29,852 Joule said: No doubt but I didn't think Nintendo would come first (or second even) Click to expand... Click to shrink... Ita been 5 years since the launch of a new console platform, of course whatever they have going on will reflect more of the changes of the last couple years than the competition. Vanguard said: I'm not sure why they can't use slower and cheaper game cards and have it install to system storage that way if they want something cheaper than a full speed game card. Click to expand... Click to shrink... They could and people would complain about it as well. Since it would be a step back from previous systems and still not be cheap enough for publishers who are fine with being digital only.   HiredN00bs Member Oct 25, 2017 885 Laurel, MD Xbox was trying to do the opposite of this. They wanted to use game discs for distribution and require everyone to purchase single-use licenses directly from them to access games. The Switch key cards are just physical items that carry the game license so you can still borrow, gift, or resell your game. The games are distributed digitally over the internet.  Mandos Member Nov 27, 2017 38,637 Joule said: No doubt but I didn't think Nintendo would come first (or second even) Click to expand... Click to shrink... I mean limitations of existing tech vs cost Vs game demands. You can't stick a disc drive in a portable like this and games can't even run off BR's anymore. They can run off these carts now but the cost is literally greater Also unlike say Microsoft as of now all their first party physical releases still seem to be fully on cart.  Warrior of Light Member Jan 11, 2018 11,600 NotLiquid said: I think the fact that these Game Key Cards exist at all is emblematic of them not wanting to abandon physical copies as they exist functionally. Click to expand... Click to shrink... It's them not wanting to abandon physical game boxes for retail presence. They are clearly fine with dropping physical media that contains the actual game data on it. alexjimithing said: It's really not that crazy to me. The writing has been on the wall for physical games for years now. It's a forgone conclusion for Xbox/Sony/Nintendo. Click to expand... Click to shrink... The crazy part, I think, is that it's Nintendo taking the lead on killing physical media. It used to be Xbox. I think many people thought Sony would be next in line to sort of force a hastening of the transition to digital downloads, but now they're the ones offering the most solid options for physical media out of the three instead.  InfinitePotat0 Member May 29, 2018 1,654 This argument doesn't make sense to me when 99% of games have a day one patch that fixes problems so you're almost always going to have to download SOMETHING. I get it that it's great having the whole game on a cartridge but I just want the physical thing on my shelf like I've said before. I get it some people want the 1.0 version of the game with the exploits and everything but hopefully the prices of these cartridges will go down with time. Edit: it's not a 1:1 but no ones complains about having to copy a new game to the SSD on PlayStation  Devilgunman Member Oct 27, 2017 7,900 I still don't understand why people are upset over this. This have been a thing for many physical console games for years now. We have seen games shipped with a fraction of actual games on the disk, requiring you to download massive amount of data before getting to play it. What is the difference between that and the Game-Key card? It's actually nice for Nintendo to be upfront which physical games have actual game in it and which ones don't.   RPGsandFGCs Member Jun 30, 2024 760 California Warrior of Light said: It's them not wanting to abandon physical game boxes for retail presence. They are clearly fine with dropping physical media that contains the actual game data on it. Click to expand... Click to shrink... If that was their goal they just would have done codes in the box. Cheaper than the GKC and they still get their retail presence. Obviously the GKC give them something they want that boxed codes don't.  Digital Dinosaur Member Oct 25, 2017 9,368 Rita Repulsa's Moon Palace NotLiquid said: I think the fact that these Game Key Cards exist at all is emblematic of them not wanting to abandon physical copies as they exist functionally. Click to expand... Click to shrink... This really. They can never abandon families and kids, and physical media not tied to an account is too valuable in that space. It's essential, really. This is more the effect of Nintendo determined to stick with cartridges / solid state media. Of course, with how successful a hybrid console has been, solid state media was a wise decision. Nobody wants a rerun of UMDs. From a game preservation standpoint it's unfortunate - but another way to look at it: the key card device puts A LOT of pressure on Nintendo to support their digital services moving forward. The data for these games must remain available for the physical cards to have any sense of value or appeal. If they stick with the Switch lineage moving forward, they are pretty much committed to preserving the digital library as long as the company exists.  gary! Member Jan 17, 2024 208 I welcome being forced to buying digital. I like really like and prefer physical games but I know it's dumb.  HardRojo One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 28,662 Peru Truno said: You've already said multiple times that you don't buy third party games on Nintendo platforms, and all announced first party games don't use this system. What's the fuss? Click to expand... Click to shrink... If you're keeping tabs on me then you'd also know I have more than 60 physical Switch games, several of which are third party titles and do not require, in fact, a download to be able to work. That's the fuss. I don't get most third party titles on Switch, I still get some of them.   Mandos Member Nov 27, 2017 38,637 Digital Dinosaur said: This really. They can never abandon families and kids, and physical media not tied to an account is too valuable in that space. It's essential, really. This is more the effect of Nintendo determined to stick with cartridges / solid state media. Of course, with how successful a hybrid console has been, solid state media was a wise decision. Nobody wants a rerun of UMDs. From a game preservation standpoint it's unfortunate - but another way to look at it: the key card device puts A LOT of pressure on Nintendo to support their digital services moving forward. The data for these games must remain available for the physical cards to have any sense of value or appeal. If they stick with the Switch lineage moving forward, they are pretty much committed to preserving the digital library as long as the company exists. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Heck we know that was the entire goal of how they overhauled their online systems for the switch: to make sure everything moves forward smoothly without a break point again   Dyle One Winged Slayer The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 32,713 You've got it backwards. They're the only ones making sure every system can run them.   Full Recovery Needs a sandwich Member Oct 26, 2017 442 USA I'm just going to speak with my wallet. Don't buy them.   Vanguard Member Jan 15, 2025 412 cw_sasuke said: They could and people would complain about it as well. Since it would be a step back from previous systems and still not be cheap enough for publishers who are fine with being digital only. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Of course, but I think it would be better received than a download that requires a server.  808s & Villainy Member Oct 27, 2017 46,347 Digital Dinosaur said: From a game preservation standpoint it's unfortunate - but another way to look at it: the key card device puts A LOT of pressure on Nintendo to support their digital services moving forward. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Why was this ever in doubt? They still support all their digital downloads back to the Wii, despite those shops closing. This was always such an odd, unfounded fear people on here have   Hours Left Member Oct 26, 2017 19,899 I will never buy these. An atrocious practice that I hope flops hard.   Madao Avalanche's One Winged Slayer Member Oct 26, 2017 5,566 Panama if there's a weakness the whole hybrid concept has, it's this one. storage is just too expensive in cart form.   Warrior of Light Member Jan 11, 2018 11,600 RPGsandFGCs said: If that was their goal they just would have done codes in the box. Cheaper than the GKC and they still get their retail presence. Click to expand... Click to shrink... No, because the "code-in-a-box" format doesn't poll well, so to speak. RPGsandFGCs said: Obviously the GKC give them something they want that boxed codes don't. Click to expand... Click to shrink... It gives them a new chance to sell a similar product that's not the game itself included on a physical format inside a box. Happens all the time. Corporation is hell bent on selling something to the consumer. The consumer doesn't respond favourably. They change a few things about it, rebrand it and try to sell it again. A physical cartridge, even if it's essentially just a license key with no game data on it, makes this new attempt look a lot less "cheap" and will probably see much bigger success with casual gamers.  Nano-Nandy Member Mar 26, 2019 2,779 So much drama over something that is functionally better than what everyone was doing with download codes or incomplete games on discs. But suddenly an empty cart with a key to download a game, that you can trade later is a disaster.  Warrior of Light Member Jan 11, 2018 11,600 Nano-Nandy said: So much drama over something that is functionally better than what everyone was doing with download codes or incomplete games on discs. But suddenly an empty cart with a key to download a game, that you can trade later is a disaster. Click to expand... Click to shrink... It's a disaster when these are clearly, so far, replacing a large chunk of what otherwise would have NOT been code-in-a-box releases but proper physical releases with all the game data on the cartridges.