Topic: Will you be willing to buy Virtual Game Cards, or would go all digital instead?

[Kairon]

Assuming a full on-cartridge physical copy isn't available, would you be willing to buy a game on a Virtual Game Card, or would you just bite the bullet and get a full digital copy if it came to that?

I'm thinking I might just go full digital at that point... my Switch 1 collection is primarily physical, and I had fun lending stuff out that way. But in reality I didn't do a lot of lending... Sometime I'd lend games to my brother, but he's on my family account and I could lend him a digital copy that way if it came to it, or we'd just buy a second copy completely. And with a Digital Copy I sort of have the license tied to my account wherever I take that account in the future, and I don't have to worry about "losing" the physical copy.

It's neat that the Game Key Card preserves a way to lend (or sell) the game to ANYONE outside my family account (or "second console"), but it feels icky to have a whole physical thing that's basically just a license to download the actual real thing.

Oh my god, are Game Key Cards just NFTs???

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't own a single physical Switch game, but every once in a while I decide to resubscribe to GameFly for a little while to try things out, so having physical versions that would theoretically still work with a service like that, even if they require downloads, is a plus.

[Ian Sane]

I mostly buy physical but it's to have a copy that will in theory work long term, like if 10 years from now my Switch broke I could still play those games on another system.  I have not been perfect at keeping up on what patches are needed and how crucial they are but I don't have any code in a box games or anything that requires a download to work.

I also own some digital titles.  Some are digital exclusives and some are games I didn't become familiar with until physical copies had become out-of-print and hard to come by.  I also got Tears of the Kingdom digital because my brother bought it physical and I figured having two copies in the family was redundant.

I actually prefer the experience with my digital games because I can swap between them very easily in the menu.  I find it to be kind of a pain to swap carts on the Switch.  I chew my nails so they're always very short and I literally cannot open the little flap to get the cart out.  I keep a broken guitar pick handy specifically to swap carts.  So in that sense a Game Key Card is a waste of time.  It wouldn't be as convenient as a proper digital download but lacks the permanence of a proper physical copy.  It lacks the benefits of either format.

Part of why I support physical games is that their continued existence keeps things honest.  Once we get 100% digital I assume we'll have always-online DRM and games getting removed from our systems, not just the digital store.  They don't want you to "own" the game you bought.  They want the remote off-switch.  In a world where there are current games that you can own copies of they can't quite go that far because there's an alternative.  So I don't want to hasten this bleak future that I figure will eventually arrive in my lifetime.

[ThePerm]

Long term the biggest quality of life things have been things with custom batteries. They are terrible. DS. PSP, and the Wii U controller have had problems with their old custom batteries. My Sega Saturn's battery dies every few years, but it has never been a problem to replace a cr2032 battery. May they produce these forever.

[BeautifulShy]

I always prefer physical mainly because it is tangable and there needs to be a balance between digital and physical.  Not only because of choice but also becasue of the practices the game industry has done with Seasons Passes, DLC and loot boxes would be a boon for the higher ups in VG companies but not the developers or gamers. 

Most of my Switch Libraries although I have a few Digital games like Tears of the Kingdom.  Basically games where I could see playing on the bus or just loading up right away.  Physical games I would want so I can sit down and enjoy for long stretches of time.

[JamesJamison]

Assuming a full on-cartridge physical copy isn't available, would you be willing to buy a game on a Virtual Game Card, or would you just bite the bullet and get a full digital copy if it came to that?

I'm thinking I might just go full digital at that point... my Switch 1 collection is primarily physical, and I had fun lending stuff out that way. But in reality I didn't do a lot of lending... Sometime I'd lend games to my brother, but he's on my family account and I could lend him a digital copy that way if it came to it, or we'd just buy a second copy completely. And with a Digital Copy I sort of have the license tied to my account wherever I take that account in the future, and I don't have to worry about "losing" the physical copy.

It's neat that the Game Key Card preserves a way to lend (or sell) the game to ANYONE outside my family account (or "second console"), but it feels icky to have a whole physical thing that's basically just a license to download the actual real thing.

Oh my god, are Game Key Cards just NFTs???

I’m also torn between getting a Game Key Card or going full digital. If there isn’t a physical copy available, I think I’d lean towards digital because it’s more convenient and I don’t have to worry about losing a cartridge. Plus, with digital games, I can play on any console as long as I’m logged into my account, which is super flexible.
I think I’d stick with digital unless the game isn’t available in that format.
poor bunny

[broodwars]

As someone who buys physical primarily to future-proof my collection as much as possible (because all these digital services WILL get taken down eventually), I just don't see a reason to buy Game Key Cards. It's like buying physical games that require an always online connection to play. What's the point? I might as well buy digital-only and save myself the trouble.The only advantage I could see in Game Key Cards is that MAYBE they go on sale more often because retailers want to get rid of them?

[Adrock]

Assuming a full on-cartridge physical copy isn't available, would you be willing to buy a game on a Virtual Game Card, or would you just bite the bullet and get a full digital copy if it came to that?

I’ve long planned to go fully digital on Switch 2 for the convenience. However, I’ve softened this stance and will get a physical copy if I see a Godfather offer. For example, I got Super Mario RPG at Staples for $30 last year.

Virtual Game Cards are the worst of both worlds for my purposes. I have to download a large file and physically switch out a game card that takes up space in my house. The main benefits are you can share with friends and trade them in, neither of which I generally do anymore.

I did recently find out that later releases of Switch game cards sometimes include version updates which partially addresses one of my problems with physical media. Something to keep in mind if I eventually buy a Switch 2 game card especially since I rarely buy games on release day.

[lolmonade]

I'm sincerely considering mostly digital for Switch 2.  In middle age I have less patience for storage & things filling up my home.  The Switch 2 itself probably won't have that big a footprint, but that coupled with the rest of my gaming pile is kind of an eyesore.  Maybe it'll make me less prone to impulse buying full price games if I know there's no return policy.

I'm fortunate enough to have a library that stocks games too, so that'd be a supplementary resource for me.

[Ian Sane]

The Game Key Card thing has become more concerning to me lately.  In Japan every single third party "physical" release is a Game Key Card.  A lot of the North American third party games are going to be them as well.  This includes games that are going to be released simultaneously on the Switch 1 and 2 and the Switch 1 version is going to be a proper physical release.

Raidou Remastered is a game I'm interested in for the Switch 1.  The Collector's Edition of the Switch 2 version has been revealed to be a Game Key Card so that's a couple hundred bucks for essentially a code in a box.  And Limited Run is handling that version.  The whole point of that company is that they offer physical versions that are complete on the cart.

The way that third parties have so enthusiastically embraced this phony physical game it feels like Nintendo is somewhat releasing a digital-only console backdoor and hoping we don't notice.  Rumour has it that Nintendo is not offering smaller sizes for the cartridges so third parties either have to pay full price for the largest size card or go with the Key Card option with no options in between.  I was hoping this concept would crash and burn once it was released to the market but with no option for a physical third party release in Japan it seems unlikely that the early adopters won't just give in.  Or these "physical" games will sell poorly and that will get used as justification to offer more digital-only releases.  You don't want people buying physical games anymore so you sabotage the concept and then when it gets rejected you act as if removing the option outright is just reacting to the market's wishes.

The Switch 2's price point was keeping me from buying it any time soon anyway but now I feel like I purposely want to stick with the Switch 1 to keep supporting proper physical releases.

[M.K.Ultra]

So how do you tell if physical game is a game key card vs. game stored on the cartridge? What is the labeling like?

[UncleBob]

Big banner on the bottom of the front cover.

[M.K.Ultra]

I found the following site explaining the process for the US:
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/68415/~/nintendo-switch%26nbsp%3B2-game-key-card-overview
Here is what the banner looks like on US game cases: