Despite Fan Backlash, New Survey Reveals Gamers Are Still Purchasing Switch 2 Game Key Cards
Game key cards have been a bit of a letdown for fans during the Switch 2’s launch year. While digital downloads have become the norm, many dedicated Nintendo enthusiasts still cherish physical copies for collecting, preservation, or simply for their aesthetic appeal. A cartridge that lacks the actual game just doesn’t cut it. However, despite the backlash, recent data indicates that game key cards are still selling well.
Deku Deals, a platform that tracks sales and discounts for physical games, recently shared insights from its user base, revealing that game key cards are performing quite well. According to their findings, out of 1,070 users who added third-party physical releases to their collections, 735 own one or more Game-Key Card titles. A pie chart even illustrates this trend.
The platform also highlighted the most popular Switch 2 games among its users, with six of them being game key cards (the bolded titles).
It’s important to note that a significant portion of Switch 2 physical games are indeed game key cards. So, if you’re someone who tends to buy a lot of games or a die-hard fan aiming to collect the entire launch library, you’ll likely end up with several game key cards by default. The survey suggests that those who prefer physical copies are still choosing game key cards over digital purchases from the eShop, which likely influenced Nintendo’s decision to introduce them in the first place.
Initially, companies only had access to 64GB card sizes for physical Switch 2 games, which led many to opt for game key cards due to the higher costs. For instance, Hades 2 is priced at $50 for the Switch 2 cartridge but only $30 on the eShop. Some companies have absorbed the loss on margins, as seen with CD Projekt Red and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition.
Fortunately, it seems that this limitation is no longer a barrier for developers moving forward. Inin Games, the publisher of R-Type Dimensions 3, inadvertently revealed that more cartridge sizes became available back in December before retracting the post. Game key cards will still be necessary for certain titles, as the file size for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on Switch 2 exceeds cartridge capacity. Additionally, developers of open-world games like Star Wars Outlaws have argued that loading data from a physical cartridge can hinder performance. It remains to be seen if players will shift away from game key cards as they become less common.
