Nintendo Switch 2 leak about cartridge sizes reveals why Game-Key Cards are widely used

[Redaktion]

Nintendo Switch 2 games may only release on one cartridge size. Hacked files from Arc System Works show only a pricey 64 GB option. Game-Key Cards and digital downloads are ways for publishers to save money.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Nintendo-Switch-2-leak-about-cartridge-sizes-reveals-why-Game-Key-Cards-are-widely-used.1014131.0.html

[Gallo123]

They've been feasting on massive profits that come from no discount digital downloads for years and now they want to 'save' $16 of costs for a memory card on top of increasing the price ceiling by $10.

Greed. Pure greed.

[MrRom92]

Exactly what is "preservation" about the full game being on the cartridge or not?

[Adam Corsetti]

Exactly what is "preservation" about the full game being on the cartridge or not?

In theory, many years down the line, you can pop a cartridge into a Switch 2, and it will just play. Without relying on the servers to download a game still being active, or connecting an old console to a modern home network. Other gamers just like having a physical copy of a title.

[MrRom92]

Exactly what is "preservation" about the full game being on the cartridge or not?

In theory, many years down the line, you can pop a cartridge into a Switch 2, and it will just play. Without relying on the servers to download a game still being active, or connecting an old console to a modern home network. Other gamers just like having a physical copy of a title.

In reality, many years down the line many Switch and Switch 2 cartridges will fail to function, as their data will have been corrupted, just as we are starting to see in Nintendo DS games and other cartridges that use variations of flash rather than true mask ROMs like the cartridges of yore.

Physical releases have absolutely nothing to do with preservation. Having the game downloaded on an SD card that can then be backed up and carefully managed by the owner is a more legitimate form of personal preservation than it simply existing on a cartridge you purchased from a retailer and expect to be able to run 20+ years down the line.