Nintendo Executive Confirms Switch 2 Will Continue Supporting Physical Media: “We Understand Fans Value It”

Sony has faced significant backlash for its choice to move away from physical games. Throughout the summer, fans flooded PlayStation State of Play livestreams with chants of “no disc, no buy,” while compiling a list of instances where the company previously asserted that players owned their digital titles. In this environment, other hardware makers have been cautious. Microsoft has maintained a neutral position regarding the future of physical games with its upcoming Project Helix Xbox devices. Meanwhile, Nintendo is actively reassuring its community that physical games will remain a staple, at least for the Switch 2.

Bill van Zyll, Vice President and General Manager for Nintendo in Latin America, addressed this topic in a recent interview with a YouTuber during the Brazil Game Show. The Nintendo-centric channel covered various subjects related to the company’s initiatives in the region, including localized Nintendo Directs. Naturally, the discussion turned to physical games, and van Zyll was eager to highlight the advantages of this format while confirming Nintendo’s commitment to producing physical titles.

“Historically, we haven’t had a preference for a specific format,” he stated. “We take consumer preferences very much into consideration. We also have a platform that was just launched. We’ve been around for a little over a year with the Nintendo Switch 2, and it offers both digital and physical games. Therefore, we have no plans to abandon physical media. We know how much fans enjoy it.”

Interestingly, consumer preferences lean more towards physical sales on Nintendo platforms compared to their competitors. While Sony’s share of digital full game downloads versus physical stands at 82 percent, Nintendo’s latest financial report indicates a digital sales ratio of 61.5 percent. Recent sales data from the U.S. also reveals that despite frustrations with Game Key Cards—essentially plastic cards containing DRM keys—consumers are still purchasing them.

Nintendo’s stronger reliance on physical sales weakens any argument for a complete shift to digital, making the decision to continue supporting physical media a logical one for the company. As Sony engages in discussions with various entities regarding its strategy, it’s at least comforting for Nintendo fans to know that the company has no intention of following Sony’s path—at least for the time being.