When Nintendo revealed the Switch 2, it showed off the console’s Game-Key Cards feature, which allows a small amount of data to be stored on the cart, and the rest of the game gets downloaded directly to the system. There were expectations that this would only be used by third-party developers for the new console and Nintendo would keep the entire game on the cartridges for those titles it publishes. However, that appears not to be the case with the newest Pokemon game.
Pokemon Pokopia, a game that mixes the monster-catching game with a social game similar to Animal Crossing, will hit the Switch 2 on March 5, according to the Nintendo Store page for the game. For reasons not made clear by Nintendo, the game will use the Game-Key Card feature, and to explain how it works, the company released a short video that has since garnered thousands of dislikes.
Why are people upset with Nintendo over the Game-Key Card feature?
The reason for the dislikes stems from Nintendo not putting the entire game of Pokemon Pokopia on physical storage, requiring players to download the rest. A growing number of gamers are concerned about the lack of ownership of a game they purchased. Publishers can delist games — meaning they can remove the game from storefronts — at any time. This can be due to a licensing issue, like with 2019’s John Wick Hex, as the film franchise has grown substantially since the game’s release, thus increasing the cost to license a game carrying that name. Delisting a game is common with much older titles, but even a popular title that’s just a generation old could be removed. PUBG for the PS4 and Xbox One came out in 2018, but the publisher announced in August that it would no longer support those versions, which makes them unplayable.
Last year, a consumer movement began called Stop Killing Games, with the goal to challenge the legal rights of game companies to essentially destroy the games bought by consumers. It has made strides in both the UK and EU, with hopes of the respective legislative bodies to pass consumer protection laws to prevent companies from disabling games already purchased.
How does the Game-Key Card feature work?
When someone buys a game using the feature, the cartridge they receive will not have the entire game on it. Instead, it will contain specific data that will require the Switch 2 to download the game. Once complete, the game is fully playable, and as long as the cartridge is in the Switch 2, there is no need for an internet connection to play it.
Can I sell or borrow a Game-Key Card game?
Yes. A Game-Key Card game acts like any standard Switch 2 game; it just doesn’t have the game on it. Instead, the card is, as the name implies, a key to unlock a downloaded version of the game, and needs to be inserted into the console to play it. If lent to someone else or sold, the other person would need to download the game data to their Switch 2 and insert the card to play.
What other titles make use of the Game-Key Card feature?
Third-party games such as Street Fighter 6, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster and Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening for now. Every game that uses the feature will have a key icon on the cover showing how much data must be downloaded.
A sample of what the Game-Key Card icon looks like on a Switch 2 game cover.
What’s the point of the Game-Key Card feature?
Nintendo has yet to be up-front about why it instituted the Game-Key Card feature for the Switch 2. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said in a call with investors this past July that it would help the company “strive to receive active support” from third-party developers, as reported by Nintendo Everything.
It does seem that the most likely reason, however, is just costs. Since the Switch 2 can handle higher-end graphics, it needs enough storage for those larger game files. The current max size for Switch 2 cartridges is 64GB, confirmed by Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red, which uses the whole cartridge for Switch 2 for its game. Some games are going to need more space, such as the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Remake Integrade that is set to require 88GB of storage. For those games, a Game-Key Card will be the only way to be playable on the Switch 2 via a physical cartridge.
Still, a game such as Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster only takes up just over 9GB of storage, yet it still uses a Game-Key Card. This means Nintendo could be offering discounted cartridges for those developers who make use of the Game-Key Card, as they need much less storage on the actual cart. This has yet to be confirmed, but this would help explain why Super Mario Kart World for the Switch 2 is the first game to have a regular price of $80 to help offset some of the costs of releasing it on a physical cartridge.
