Why some Switch 2 cartswon’thave games on them
One of the stranger details that came out of last weekas big Nintendo Switch 2 event was the existence of game-key cards. They wonat be used for all releases, but essentially theyare Switch 2 cartridges that donat actually contain a game, but instead feature a akeya thatas used for adownloading the full game to your system via the internet.a
As video games continue to shift away from physical releases, game-key cards understandably created some confusion among fans. I had the chance to ask Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser why they exist, and the answer was pretty simple: retail stores.
aIn essence, itas a digital game on a card,a he said. aWhat itas beneficial for is for our publishing partners to be able to bring games to market that may be of a significant size, and therefore they may need too large a cartridge for that game. It allows them to sell those physical games at retail.a
That makes a certain amount of sense, as retail stores are still a notable market for Nintendo in particular. Bowser also noted that, in an attempt to make the distinction between the Switch 2 and its predecessor more clear, the company is aworking with our r …