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👉 Nintendo Switch 2 game-key cards are physical copies that function as digital download keys, requiring storage space and the card to be in the system
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👎 Japan’s National Diet Library has deemed these cards ineligible for preservation, as they don’t qualify as physical media containing the game content
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😤 Many publishers have opted for game-key cards to save costs, leading to widespread dissatisfaction among players
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🤷♂️ Nintendo, however, has committed to releasing all its games on fully installed cartridges, contrasting with third-party practices
There’s been a lot of backlash against Nintendo Switch 2 game-key cards. Essentially, they’re physical copies of Switch 2 games, but they only act as digital download keys. It means you’ll need to sacrifice storage space for the data to install, and you still need the game card in your system for them to work.
Introduced as a way for publishers to save money on the more expensive Switch 2 game cards, there are more game-key cards of Switch 2 games than actual, genuine physical copies, where an entire game is installed onto the cartridge.
Now, Japan’s own national legal deposit library has taken issue with Switch 2 game-key cards, as they aren’t eligible for preservation.
The National Diet Library, which has archived more than 9,600 video games, doesn’t consider Switch 2 game-key cards physical media. Therefore, they can’t be preserved.
As reported by Famitsu (via Automaton), the NDL said “only physical media that contains the content itself” can be preserved, and that “since a key card, on its own, does not qualify as content, it falls outside of [the] scope for collection and preservation”.
Nintendo hasn’t released any game-key cards and has vowed that all its games will be installed on a cartridge. However, countless publishers have seized the opportunity to save money, with Japan seeing almost every third-party release be a Switch 2 game-key card.
Unsurprisingly, many are refusing to buy game-key cards and are encouraging publishers to release the entire game on a physical cartridge. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition has been widely praised for including the entire game on the cart.
Nintendo recently sent around a survey asking Switch 2 owners what they thought of game-key cards. You can imagine the response will have been overly negative, judging by the reaction online.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.
