Everyone Hates The Switch 2’s Game-Key Card Releases, But Some Are Actually Grading Them

The Nintendo Switch 2 hasn’t even been out for a month, and with only a handful of games to its name, but it appears that it hasn’t stopped collectors from attempting to cash-in on the graded collectible craze.

As first shared on Reddit, someone decided to get a sealed copy of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Street Fighter 6 graded by CGC. Perhaps most noteworthy, beyond the fact that it received a 9.9, is that Street Fighter 6 is a dreaded Game Key Card, meaning that the entire game isn’t actually on the cartridge.

If that wasn’t enough, then it’s also worth pointing out that the Years 1-2 of DLC for Street Fighter 6 is a download code … that expires in two years (June 5, 2027). In other words, anyone buying this game in the future won’t have access to the DLC and will have to hope the servers are still online to let you download the game, otherwise it’s a paperweight.

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Nintendo Switch 2 Cartridges Are Already Too Confusing For Their Own Good

Game key cards are going to cause a lot of headaches on Nintendo Switch 2.

Graded Video Games Have Quickly Become The Latest Fad

While graded comic books and graded trading cards, particularly those from Pokemon, have long since been a thing treasured by collectors, graded video games have quickly taken root in the larger collectible industry.

It’s massive enough that CGC, the company that graded the copy of Street Fighter 6, has opened up its own wing of video game grading, where for as little as $40, you can have a sealed copy of a game graded. Additional services like cleaning are also offered to help raise value.

Simply typing “Graded Video Game” on a site like eBay will pull up over 15,000 results, ranging from the latest hits to hard-to-find classics. For instance, someone is selling a 9.8 copy of Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 on PS1 for $139.95.

That actually represents the lower end, as someone is also concurrently trying to sell a sealed copy of Ocarina of Time for $85,000, and that’s not a typo, either. Which is to say that perhaps one day we’ll be writing about how that sealed and graded copy of Street Fighter 6 Switch 2 Edition sold for $50,000.

Brand

Nintendo

Original Release Date

June 5, 2025

Original MSRP (USD)

$449.99

Operating System

Proprietary

Resolution

1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked)

HDR Support

Yes

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