Support NeoGAF

[Punished Miku]

I guess Nintendo couldn't come up with a mini-disc format like Sony did..

I would assume no mini-disc would be able to hold modern games. They could sell you a blu-ray with an external drive where you plug it into the Switch and download it on the HDD. Sounds pretty horrible. Honestly, Key Cards is the best thing they could come up with at this point. Affordable physical media isn't a thing for handhelds with file sizes that big.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

We ain't buying game Keycards.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

We ain't buying game Keycards.

Yes, we are.

 

[Fake]

Nope, you're talking about virtual game cards. Different thing. Game key cards are physical cards that act as a key for playing game, but the game itself isn't on the card, you have to download it.

aka voucher

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Yes, we are.

Numbers say otherwise.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Numbers say otherwise.

Sure they don't... you're just falling in to the trap of digital people trying to get others not to buy them so everything becomes digital-only. If you've bought PS5 games then you have Game Key Discs that function the same as Game Key Cards do. Stop supporting them and embrace a digital-only future.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

If not for WHERE ARE THE GAMES, It would be a case of WHERE ARE THE SWITCH 1 GAME PATCHES.

Like honestly I'm still waiting on Switch 1 games to get the go ahead on patching so they no longer run like total dog shit on the new hardware.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

​

And if they can't afford to release without GKCs, that means the game was not viable to develop. Everyone wants to have their digital cake and eat it too.

 

[cireza]

Game Key Cards are utter shit. Publishers : use the fucking 64 GB card already.

You can't complain about physical sales being bad when the physical thing you sell doesn't contain anything.

 

[Baemono]

​

Mochizuki article, of course, the only one who can turn the Swtich 2 success in Japan to something somewhat somehow negative

 

[Astray]

People laughed at me when I suggested that Nintendo is pushing devs into their dumbass Game-Key scheme, well who's laughing now?

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Game Key Cards are utter shit. Publishers : use the fucking 64 GB card already.

You can't complain about physical sales being bad when the physical thing you sell doesn't contain anything.

You'd really have two options: pay higher prices for physical carts or buy digital. Nobody is going to pay $100 for physical option.

 

[cireza]

You'd really have two options: pay higher prices for physical carts or buy digital. Nobody is going to pay $100 for physical option.

And where exactly do these 100$ come from ? Of course people will put 10$ or 15$ more in a real physical game. You can also release both.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

And where exactly do these 100$ come from ? Of course people will put 10$ or 15$ more in a real physical game. You can also release both.

Doubt. What about bigger games like FFVIIR? There really is no other solution here.

 

[cireza]

Doubt. What about bigger games like FFVIIR? There really is no other solution here.

If you can't fit your game in 64GB then maybe the issue is somewhere else, but that's only my opinion.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Sure they don't... you're just falling in to the trap of digital people trying to get others not to buy them so everything becomes digital-only. If you've bought PS5 games then you have Game Key Discs that function the same as Game Key Cards do. Stop supporting them and embrace a digital-only future.

Sure do.
Publisher's have complained and the top sellers aren't game Keycards.

 

[Woopah]

Why is there only a single size card available to developers? What about the Switch and 3DS, were there more options for different sized games?

Nintendo hoped that only offering one card size would lead to high demand for the 64GB cards, and therefore lead to lower prices. Instead, third party publishers largely went for GKCs and so this has backfired.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

If you can't fit your game in 64GB then maybe the issue is somewhere else, but that's only my opinion.

I guess they could make Cart 1 and Cart 2... but fuck that.

Sure do.
Publisher's have complained and the top sellers aren't game Keycards.

I wish there were a better option, but even if Nintendo switched, it would cost even more for real games, and people hit the roof over $80 games already.

 

[InterMusketeer]

Nintendo needs to start making lower capacity cartridges available to publishers. It's embarrassing that this situation is allowed to continue.

 

[Scrawnton]

Pretty much the new game key card policy. Digital games on NS got a rework, remember?

Digital games are now inside the game key card catalogue.

That is called Virtual Game Cards, it is a new way to manage DIGITAL games and share them between your systems and lend them to friends.

We are talking about Game Key Cards which is a PHYSICAL game that requires a download but it is recognized as a physical game form the system. The only time a GKC shows up in the Virtual Game Card section of the OS is if it has paid DLC tied to it that has a digital license.

You are getting these two very different things mixed up.

 

[RoadHazard]

aka voucher

No, not the same.

 

[Fake]

That is called Virtual Game Cards, it is a new way to manage DIGITAL games and share them between your systems and lend them to friends.

We are talking about Game Key Cards which is a PHYSICAL game that requires a download but it is recognized as a physical game form the system. The only time a GKC shows up in the Virtual Game Card section of the OS is if it has paid DLC tied to it that has a digital license.

You are getting these two very different things mixed up.

Yes. I mix up the term, but the issue still remains.

 

[RoadHazard]

That is called Virtual Game Cards, it is a new way to manage DIGITAL games and share them between your systems and lend them to friends.

We are talking about Game Key Cards which is a PHYSICAL game that requires a download but it is recognized as a physical game form the system. The only time a GKC shows up in the Virtual Game Card section of the OS is if it has paid DLC tied to it that has a digital license.

You are getting these two very different things mixed up.

I already explained this to him, he doesn't get it.

 

[Hudo]

It would totally be a Nintendo thing to happen if Switch 2 ends up being a failure because of the fucking game key cards, lmao.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

I guess they could make Cart 1 and Cart 2... but fuck that.

I wish there were a better option, but even if Nintendo switched, it would cost even more for real games, and people hit the roof over $80 games already.

We don't know that.
MKW is not a 64GB title but Nintendo charged $80. MP4 is bigger in size but $70 as is CP2077.
Nintendo will offer bigger than 64GB's the cost if not swallowed by the publisher will likely be $5-10 more for a 128GB cartridge.

 

[Evil Calvin]

???????? if the end result is copying the game to the internal memory then might as well just buy the digital version

...and the internal storage is tiny. Even adding an expensive SD card it's still way less then XSX or PS5. If the Switch 2 was planning on this game key card crap, they should have had a 1TB internal storage at MINIMUM.

 

[Scrawnton]

It would totally be a Nintendo thing to happen if Switch 2 ends up being a failure because of the fucking game key cards, lmao.

It won't be. Most people don't care about just buying their games digitally. This is just Nintendo fans going through the same "but my physical games" crisis that PC gamers, xbox gamers, and PS5 gamers went through. In the end it won't make any difference to the success of the system and the games that release.

 

[Baemono]

Again,

 

[bender]

I still think Game Key Cards are a good idea, but marred by Nintendo allowing publishers to also release 'codes in a box' and not having wide availability of smaller cartridge sizes.

 

[StereoVsn]

Game key card is absolutely not a factor at all. Most people are digital now.

They are not on the Switch and especially in Asia. Most major games are at least 50% physical.

 

[ADiTAR]

are the 64gb different on tech level? faster than og switch card? do we know?

 

[StereoVsn]

I still think Game Key Cards are a good idea, but marred by Nintendo allowing publishers to still release 'codes in a box' and not having wide availability of smaller cartridge sizes.

That's the thing, isn't it? If Nintendo mandated key-card as the minimum and have 16gb, 32gb carts to lower cost, the whole thing would have gone a lot smoother.

Key-card, for all its faults, is still better vs pure digital or code in the box.

 

[Deerock71]

I refuse to believe Star Wars Outlaws hasn't been given a boost. It's near the top of the eshop charts since it launched. That is, unless Ubisoft and CDPR have gone first party for Nintendo.

 

[Three]

Takashi Mochizuki at it again with the doom and gloom ahead of TGS.

Why is there only a single size card available to developers? What about the Switch and 3DS, were there more options for different sized games?

Ironically I actually thinks it's due to cost. It is probably cheaper for Nintendo to order a given size memory in greater volume than to order and manufacture different versions for developers. Unfortunately this isn't good for developers even if it means greater profits for Nintendo.

 

[StereoVsn]

are the 64gb different on tech level? faster than og switch card? do we know?

Magnitude faster, like 100MB vs 600-800MB.

 

[StereoVsn]

I guess they could make Cart 1 and Cart 2... but fuck that.

I wish there were a better option, but even if Nintendo switched, it would cost even more for real games, and people hit the roof over $80 games already.

Considering Switch 2 likely revolutions and textures, even CoD should fit into 64GB.

 

[ADiTAR]

Magnitude faster, like 100MB vs 600-800MB.

well I guess that's why they don't have more carts.

 

[bender]

That's the thing, isn't it? If Nintendo mandated key-card as the minimum and have 16gb, 32gb carts to lower cost, the whole thing would have gone a lot smoother.

Key-card, for all its faults, is still better vs pure digital or code in the box.

Yeah, it just ends up being a confusing mess for the consumer and an overly expensive proposition for publishers who do want to release their games physically but are forced to purchase 64GB carts when their games are a fraction of the size. The implementation is just leaving everyone unhappy.

 

[LordOcidax]

The solution is digital only, and them nobody is going to get mad because Key disc/cards.

 

[Killer8]

Game key card is absolutely not a factor at all. Most people are digital now.

If the developers being interviewed are Japanese then it's probably a bigger problem in Japan, where many game sales are still physical.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Nintedno makes the worse of the best selling HW platforms except their legacy handhelds and pre-wii era consoles.

 

[//DEVIL//]

Game key card is a fraud. I got two Nintendo Switch connected 100% of the time on the internet and this shit still doesn't work.

Fuck you Nintendo.

That's why i refuse to buy them. I am not going to buy any Nintendo game that is not physical.

So far, I have Mario Kart ( sadly, this is online because it came with the system), but then again it was much cheaper than a physical purchase, so I am good. )

My other game is Donkey Kong, and that is physical. next game is Metroid Prime 4, and if its not a physical whole game on the card, I am going to pass on this game too.

Their game ? sure. But it's my money. Let's see who will win lol.

 

[Tg89]

These devs/pubs are just dumbasses honestly. It has nothing to do with Game Key Cards (which are fine, we live in a digital world and this isn't a problem on any other console) and everything to do with outdated ports. No one is buying a Switch 2 to play Cyberpunk or Star Wars Outlaws. Yeah, a few people might grab it and it's cool that you were able to do it but it's not the play. They did the same thing with stuff like Doom and Witcher 3 on Switch 1. The reality is most people who want to play those games have a better place to do it and outside of the handheld novelty you're not adding much.

Until these devs make good games that target the system (which did do well on Switch) it's going to be the same old story.

 

[VGA-Games]

Game key card is absolutely not a factor at all. Most people are digital now.

Sorry, not on Nintendo Consoles

 

[Shadowstar39]

You guys are not making it easy for me to want to get a Switch 2.
For now I'm staying away.

I don't even know or understand what I need to do to get my games from Switch 1 to Switch 2. My take away is to simply not buy a Switch 2.

Don't listen to those people the one guy is fake, oh that's his name... lol..
Anyway Switch 2 is great! I kept my oled as storage for switch 2 is too expensive. I got a 256gb card for $55 but a 1tb is like $200+ (OG switch 1tb was like that in 2018 though). I play smaller games on switch 1 oled and play newer games or games that get a boost on switch2.

All you have to do is link your new switch 2 to your nintendo account. You can link 2 consoles and play any games with them, and you can unlink and relink a different console at anytime.
Once linked you just redownload the games or do a system transfer (but if you are keeping the switch 1 don't do the transfer).

Cart games all work normally. Insert and done. Many get a boost in fps and loading times just for the newer tech. Some even get a resolution bump if they were dynamic res. Otherwise it upscales to 1080p in handheld, and some games have updates, many free, some $1 or 10.

So far only nintendo games and a few others are fully on switch 2 cards. Cyberpunk complete is all on a 64gb cart. It's amazing and looks stunning! Runs great and the switch 2 never gets hot like the steam deck, all in 1080p on the go.

New Games or games that got upgrades for switch 2 (and that I play)
Donkey Kong Bonanza, Super mario odyssey, BOTW/TOTK, Cyberpunk 2077, Star wars outlaws (20gb gem), Rune Factory azuma, Fantasy Life, SM3d world, Fast Fusion, Braverly Default, Shadow Labyrinth, Hogwarts Legacy, No mans sky , Subnautica, Trials in the sky 1st, Disgaea 7, Suikoden 1&2, Pac man re-pak 2 and FFTactics (coming next week).

 

[Mozza]

What, Nintendo's own software selling the most units......... Who would have ever saw that coming lol. Surely these guys saw a bit of a pattern emerging.

 

[diffusionx]

I guess Nintendo couldn't come up with a mini-disc format like Sony did..

discs are moving parts, which means reliability issues and decreased battery life to power the motors.

 

[TheChumpNation]

It feels like there is a different article every week setting out a specific issue in the gaming industry, that can be attributed to the prevalence of a few online games, mostly free to play, that dominate consumer's time and spending. Ie there are lots of symptoms, but the problem always seems to be the same.

Maybe it's time to admit that consumer choices are the issue, in the same way that the movie industry has been artistically demolished by consumers preferring CGI/Marvel/Fast&Furious etc type slop.

 

[//DEVIL//]

aka voucher

no. you can resell the game key card. you cant do that with voucher.

the only problem with game key card is Nintendo. if the server shut down you are screwed and you cant use the game you bought. which is why we hate it. but if I had to pick between voucher and game key card then its the card 100% all the time. will at least give me the option to resell it when I am done with it.

In general. No to both. I do want my physical games with Nintendo specifically due to their shitty server handling.

 

[Hookshot]

What big 3rd party exclusives are there?

Unless they expected people to be buying years old games for full price when they are probably 10 bucks on the other consoles.