“It breaks my heart” These Nintendo fans are super disappointed despite the live on the switch 1 and 2

News Game “It breaks my heart” These Nintendo fans are super disappointed despite the live on the switch 1 and 2

The recent Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase of this late July generated a wave of disappointment among fansnot only by the absence of major revelations but also by confirmation of the predominance of “Game Key Cards“For many titles to come on the Nintendo Switch 2. These cards, presented as physical supports, actually serve keys to download the entire game via the Internet. Indeed, The cartridge itself does not contain complete data.

The controversy around Game Key Card

The operation of the Key Cards Game is simple: once the card inserted, the game must be downloaded via an internet connection. The cartridge is actually almost empty, and only serves as a key to unlock the download. The worst in this story is that the Key Card game must still be inserted into the console to launch the game, even if it does not contain the latter. This download dependence arouses fears of players concerning the accessibility of games if the servers were to disappeareven if some ensure that the files are downloaded independently of the eshop. The main criticism of players concerns the fact that this solution allows publishers to reduce manufacturing costs, but without leading to a drop in the price of games.

The disappointment is palpable among Internet users. Many perceive key cards as an unacceptable compromise which “breeze“, As an internet user expressed on X, in the post above. Another player on Reddit castigated the practice: “What is the point of interest of the Key Cards? (…) Why are Sonic X Shadow Generation and Bravely Default on Game Key Cards?“. This feeling of absurdity is reinforced by the loss of what made the industry of the unique physical game. Alex Hutchinson, a former Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry official, for example said in an interview that he “hated” les Game Key Cards, car “We are losing part of what made the industry special“.

A compromise for publishers and future prospects

Several major titles are affected by the Game Key Cardsin particular Persona 3: Reload, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero and Borderlands 4, the latter requiring a download of 40 GB. Octopath Traveler 0, will also have his Game Key Card, but the version of the game for the Switch 1 will have a classic game cartridge. Randy Pitchford, boss of Gearbox, explained that it would be necessary to download Borderlands 4 because the game would be too heavy for a cartridge. However, other publishers like CD Projekt have shown that it is possible to integrate full games on 64 GB cartridges, proof is with Cyberpunk 2077. Nintendo, for its part, says that “physical games remain a key element of our activity“, Despite the increase in file sizes that led to the introduction of these cards.