Depending on who you ask, the most recent Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase was either decent or horrible. Because the presentation focused on third-party games like Square Enix RPGs, some fans were pretty upset at the lack of major reveals, while others were just happy Pac-Man World 2: Re-PAC was confirmed.
However, one thing that all the fans can agree on is that most of these titles being game-key cards is pretty disappointing. Seeing these cartridges dominate the Switch 2 ecosystem this early in the console’s life is depressing. It’s even more head-scratching when you consider how some of these games have true physical releases on the original Switch.
Fans hoping to get true physical releases of games like Persona 3: Reload and Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero were disappointed by the time this Nintendo Direct was over. Even smaller games like the aforementioned Pac-Man World 2 are in a game-key card, and it’s a 6GB release. This is a real shame when you consider how anticipated the Switch 2 was, as it’s starting to feel like a digital-only console.
Valve’s Steam Deck has gotten away with this criticism because it’s a handheld computer, which doesn’t use disc drives or cartridge slots. It also helps that Steam is consumer-friendly compared to Nintendo, as they don’t deactivate your console when it's modded. Seeing Nintendo be so strict with a console that barely has any physical games is maddening.
To play devil’s advocate for a moment, full game cartridges for the Switch 2 only come in 64GB copies. Compare that to the original Switch, which has multiple cartridges that ranged from 4GB to 32GB, and it’s easy to see why publishers would choose the game-key cards. Blaming these third-party devs is valid, but it’s not like Nintendo is giving them cheaper options for their physical games.
All this talk about game-key cards has soured the discussion around a lot of these games, turning a decent Nintendo Direct into a horrible one. Even if game-key cards aren’t the worst thing ever, the system’s lack of true physical games is disappointing, especially for collectors. The original Switch was a great console to collect for, so seeing its more powerful successor buck that trend is very disappointing.
It wasn’t that long ago when I wrote about making my eventual Switch 2 a mostly-digital machine, as it saves space and is more convenient. However, that doesn’t mean I wanted physical options to be removed entirely. While some devs will argue that game-key cards are still physical games, we all know that isn’t the case.
Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase? More like…Nintendo Direct game-key card Showcase.
For more Nintendo discussions, stick with us here at Gfinityesports.com: the best website for gamers.