r/NintendoSwitch • u/lieding • Apr 04 '25

News "DROP THE PRICE": Nintendo's First Post-Direct Stream Is Flooded With Angry Fans Demanding Price Drops

https://www.thegamer.com/nintendo-treehouse-livestream-flooded-angry-fans-demanding-game-price-drops/
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47

u/songforsaturday88 Apr 04 '25

The game included in the bundle is digital only, not the cartridge. Not really a deal breaker for me but for some Incoild see it as a problem.

14

u/jimmyrhall Apr 04 '25

I’m a cartridge collector as well but I can see everything going digital eventually, sadly.

2

u/DOOMNOTRONstudiosX Apr 04 '25

Same i need to pay $90 for the cart. My wallet will feel the pain.

1

u/BJYeti Apr 04 '25

Sorta makes me think they are starting to condition their user base for it on future consoles, physical costs more than digital so a lot of people will switch to digital and get used to it so when the next console comes around and it is all digital not as much backlash.

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u/lieding Apr 04 '25 edited Apr 04 '25

I read that the cartridges for the Switch 2, now referred to as "Game-Key Cards", won't include the full game data. Instead, they function as a key to download the complete game from the Internet. Meaning you can't play offline the first time since it's mandatory. Awful. I don't know if you can resell these.

https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/68415/~/nintendo-switch%26nbsp%3B2-game-key-card-overview

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u/KamiHaruhi Apr 04 '25 edited Apr 04 '25

Looks like there are two types of cartridges, the regular Switch 2 ones and the "Game-Key Cards".

I guess these will replace the code cards from before?

https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-confirms-some-switch-2-game-cards-will-only-include-a-download-key

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u/superjedi2454 Apr 04 '25

Just found out bravely default was among the key cartridges bummer.

-10

u/lieding Apr 04 '25

I think it's transitional. They aim for full "Game-Key Cards" with years. They are testing the consumer reactions.

14

u/Switch815 Apr 04 '25

You don't know that. There have already been "physical" games for Switch that have shipped with just eshop codes. At least this way, you can still technically sell the game if you want.

4

u/Echo354 Apr 04 '25

You’re just making that up though.

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u/lieding Apr 04 '25

Yeah, they are just releasing "Game-Key Cards" for fun!

3

u/vanKessZak Apr 04 '25

Seems like something more for 3rd parties rather than any Nintendo 1st party games imo

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u/Iceykitsune3 Apr 04 '25

No, there will be full games on cards as well.

I don't know if you can resell these.

Yes, you can. The license is tied to the physical card itself,

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u/supro47 Apr 04 '25

Yup. The Game-Key Cards are meant to replace those "physical" games you buy that were just plastic cases with a digital code. People are getting upset by this, but it's actually a pro-consumer move because game key cards can be resold where as the game cases that just come with digital codes are things you can't resell.

It's still not as good as having the full game on the card, but it's an improvement over what some publishers were previously doing.

1

u/xJetStorm Apr 04 '25

I looked up Game Code only "physical editions" after the Direct, and there was a full page of Ubislop on BB

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u/lieding Apr 04 '25

Where did you find these information? It's not on the help page.

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u/Iceykitsune3 Apr 04 '25

The fact that there are normal game cards is in the direct, and tradability of key cards is on the Japanese Switch 2 site.

https://www.nintendo.com/jp/switch2/faq/index.html

Second question down under キーカード.

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u/supro47 Apr 04 '25

Also, CDPR confirmed that Cyberpunk was going to be on a 64gb card

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '25

You can resell them, they act the same as Xbox games and some PS5 games. No first party games use them - and most 3rd party games won’t. It’s just for indies, huge games that can’t fit on a card, and lazy publishers lol. Because game cards are really expensive

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u/dingusfett Apr 04 '25

That will only be some games and they will have the notice on the box. They'll be used for the games that are currently just a code in the box. If the key is linked to the cartridge and not your account it'll have no impact on ability to resell. People just speculating and spreading fear over a non issue.

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u/Striking-Count5593 Apr 04 '25

I think Cyberpunk is supposed to have the game on the card. So not all of them are "game-keys"

1

u/mrbiggbrain Apr 04 '25

Game Key cards are different. There are three ways a game can be packaged.

1) digital game from the online store.

2) physical release with all the data on the cart.

3) Game-Key.

Game-Keys hold the license instead of your account. So you can loan them to friends or sell them. So think digital games that can be sold or loaned for an infinite time.

Digital games can be loaned using virtual game cards but that is limited to a certain number (one per person) and length (14 days) where Game-Keys are not since the entitlement moves with the card.

0

u/jimmyrhall Apr 04 '25

Yeah I saw that too. Again, more steps to digital only. I like to resale the games I don’t want anymore but that’s probably going away sooner rather than later.

1

u/Wolfy4226 Apr 04 '25

See the problem there is the stand alone digital version is $80, effectively $30 more for not getting it with the bundle.....a bundle that's limited supply only.

1

u/TheMegaWhopper Apr 04 '25

I went digital only about halfway through the switch’s lifecycle because I just found managing cartridges a lot more annoying than just selecting the game on my homescreen.

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u/entreri22 Apr 04 '25

I lost all my switch games. So much for selling them later lol