Support NeoGAF

[cireza]

Okay, I was wrong on that part. Just read up on what you've mentioned here. The cost of distributing on the larger 64GB cart is a problem, but a problem Nintendo created deliberately then?

Have they ever mentioned why they've stopped offering the other tiers as options?

Hum, I think that this is tied to the format they need. It is now higher speed on Switch 2, and in that format, there are no manufacturers of 8/16/32 sizes. So they would have to pay themselves to have such product lines created. They didn't, and simply offered this Game Key Cards as an alternate solution. Except that third parties are not using the 64 GB at all, despite their games being sometimes 50+ GB.

They created a bad situation for them (or did they ?), because third party games sales on Switch 2 are not going to get the traction they hope too, especially facing direct competition from... the exact same games on Switch 1.

Can't believe how nobody at Nintendo could predict this situation. Unless they did ? But didn't care in order to favor their own games at launch (all on 64 GB carts) to then come out and say "Oh my God your games are not selling ? We are so fucking sorry, we are going to introduce new carts now that our own games are the only ones that got sold during this super complicated launch year for us, and we are not telling you we are quite happy with the situation because this will definitely make better reports for our shareholders". This, more or less.

 

[existensmaximum]

That just makes it sound like you put more importance on the resale value of your purchase instead of being important because it's something that you can keep forever that doesn't required a full game install/download or a server validation to work.

If Nintendo allows you to trad/resale digital games back to them would you be OK with digital games at that point?

For me it's a matter of not trusting Nintendo because of their long history of quickly shutting down every other online service and eShop that they have used up until this point.

I'm looking at my SEGA Genesis 3 system that's still plugged to my CRT TV that still have those games I had for years now that still work

These Game Key Card games? I expect them to be in a landfill 20-30 years from now because clearly not enough people want them now and even less people are going to want them later.

Oh no, I agree with you 100%. I don't trust them or Sony or anyone else one else when it comes to that.

For me there are two issues: the one you mention, and the fact that I want a physical copy of the game to collect or resell, should I ever want to. Buying a game that you can't even resell is insane and extremely anti-consumer.

Digital only games hold no value to me, like pirated copies. All I'm saying is that game key cards are at least better than digital downloads.

 

[Dacvak]

Oh no, I agree with you 100%. I don't trust them or Sony or anyone else one else when it comes to that.

For me there are two issues: the one you mention, and the fact that I want a physical copy of the game to collect or resell, should I ever want to. Buying a game that you can't even resell is insane and extremely anti-consumer.

Digital only games hold no value to me, like pirated copies. All I'm saying is that game key cards are at least better than digital downloads.

Exactly. They're a better alternative to a download code in a box, and they open up the opportunity for indie games that can't afford a X0,000 copy minimum on a 64gb card the ability to still have a physical release.

The biggest problem with the whole thing are publishers that will abuse the lower costs of the key cards and choose to release their games on those, when they can afford the margins and minimums of a real game card.

The best compromise solution Nintendo could make, imo, is enforcing an order "maximum" on key card releases. This way if you're ordering, say, 100,000 physical copies of your game, you're forced to use a real game card.

The option to use key cards should only be available for publishers that NEED them, where the only alternative would be a download code in a box, or a digital-only release.

Key cards are not inherently a bad idea. It's whether or not publishers abuse the system, and if Nintendo has consumer protections in place or not.

 

[ReyBrujo]

Have they ever mentioned why they've stopped offering the other tiers as options?

Literally Samsung nor other companies are building small sized cards anymore. It's like wanting to buy a new 2gb graphics card today. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the 64gb is expensive because they (manufacturers, not Nintendo) don't want to produce such small cards anymore.

 

[digdug2]

The idea that Nintendo will ever phase out a platform with >150mil online consoles in the wild is absurd.
If the big consoles (PS2, SNES) had been online from the start studios would still be making games for them and users would still be buying those games.
Users won't ever abandon a console that keeps getting new games and studios won't ever stop making games for a platform that has lots of users.

A smarter Nintendo could've made their "SNES Classic" console an online only SNES console with 5GB of storage (1GB holds the entire existing SNES library) and sold it for $200 with one wired SNES controller.
If it looked exactly like an SNES and had the exact same wired SNES controllers - hundreds of millions of people would buy it, regardless of what it actually does.
Brand new AAA SNES games would start rolling in from studios because users would buy them.
They could sell new collectible carts (box, manual, extras) that just tell the console which digital game to play and rack up an another $10-20 per game from people who want the full SNES experience.

Nintendo could launch or relaunch additional online consoles but it would be insane for them to ever stop selling games to users with existing ones.
Nintendo being publicly traded means that an obviously counterproductive move like that would effectively be impossible.

It's not absurd that Nintendo would do that. They shut down their Wii and 3DS servers. Wii sold over 101 million consoles and 3DS sold over 75 million. Nintendo was a publicly traded company when they stopped letting people download their purchased games on both of the above mentioned consoles, so what's stopping them from doing it again?

 

[Sorcerer]

I think it's obvious that Nintendo saw keycards as a way to maintain a retail presence. The cards literally don't make sense. Nintendo wants it both ways, they want to be all digital but want to be in stores so customers can be remined of Nintendo every time they pass an electronics department in a store. Worth it just for the advertising aspect alone, doesn't even matter if you buy a game or not because you may just go home and download the game on your own. Bad for the retailer, great for Nintendo.

 

[CrustyBritches]

If given the option between game on cart or game key, nobody would chose the cart without the game.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Hum, I think that this is tied to the format they need. It is now higher speed on Switch 2, and in that format, there are no manufacturers of 8/16/32 sizes. So they would have to pay themselves to have such product lines created. They didn't, and simply offered this Game Key Cards as an alternate solution. Except that third parties are not using the 64 GB at all, despite their games being sometimes 50+ GB.

They created a bad situation for them (or did they ?), because third party games sales on Switch 2 are not going to get the traction they hope too, especially facing direct competition from... the exact same games on Switch 1.

Can't believe how nobody at Nintendo could predict this situation. Unless they did ? But didn't care in order to favor their own games at launch (all on 64 GB carts) to then come out and say "Oh my God your games are not selling ? We are so fucking sorry, we are going to introduce new carts now that our own games are the only ones that got sold during this super complicated launch year for us, and we are not telling you we are quite happy with the situation because this will definitely make better reports for our shareholders". This, more or less.

Specifically, they need SD Express format support

In reality SD Express has existed as a defined format spec for nearly a decade now but nobody bothered to make SD Express cards because no one really used SD Express until Nintendo came along and had the problem where they needed to build the Switch 2 but didn't want to use full blown PCIe SSD's as the internal storage format probably because of expense, large internal space needed, and trying to figure out how to make an internal SSD easily user-replaceable but also foolproof and not compromise the durability of the handheld

At this point nobody is going to go out of their way to develop smaller than 64 GB flash memory modules for anything really not just SD Express so Nintendo is kind of stuck. Thus, Game Key Cards

 

[Jacobson]

me reading all the fuck nintendo comments: see profile pic

nintendo provided the option to publishers/devs, so ultimately it's up to them.

nintendo is complicit still of course, but publishers/devs need to be held accountable as well.

 

[Ebrietas]

Switch 2 means you can play in bed. It might run better on Switch 2 than Steam Deck too. And maybe you don't have the PC in the living room but want to play in the couch. Etc

You don't need a Switch 2 to do that.

 

[Sorcerer]

edit

 

[Sorcerer]

Switch 2 means you can play in bed. It might run better on Switch 2 than Steam Deck too. And maybe you don't have the PC in the living room but want to play in the couch. Etc

It's all relative. Switch 2 runs better because its newer. If a Steamdeck 2 comes out it will run better than a Switch 2, presumably. Nintendo makes hardware for the long haul so at a certain point in time, the tech will seem long in the tooth. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[awwr999999]

It's not absurd that Nintendo would do that. They shut down their Wii and 3DS servers. Wii sold over 101 million consoles and 3DS sold over 75 million. Nintendo was a publicly traded company when they stopped letting people download their purchased games on both of the above mentioned consoles, so what's stopping them from doing it again?

A few things. Namely, this is their chance to beat Sony and take the number one spot away from the PS2. Taking that spot will be one thing and taking Switch sales beyond that point as far as possible to make it stick will be another.
All it will take for Sony to maintain (or regain) the PS2's number one spot is them releasing another PS2 console and tacking those sales onto the existing ones.

The second big thing is the reality that the maximum number of potential users for any new console is shrinking everyday.
Users only have so much time and they can spend it on a wide range of beloved legacy consoles from Nintendo and PlayStation.