Over the past year, gamers have been very vocal about game key cards. They’re physical cartridges that still require you to download a digital game to your Nintendo Switch 2 console. There’s currently more than 40 games that use this format, and there will inevitably be more in the future. People don’t like this because it’s essentially digital games masquerading as physical ones. But maybe it’s not a bad thing any more following announcements by Sony and Microsoft.
Sony announced that they’re going to end production of physical game discs beginning in 2028. Every single PlayStation game after that will be digital only. No more buying physical copies at stores, lending games to friends, buying used copies for cheap, or collecting. XBOX made a similar announcement. It appears that Nintendo might be the last pillar left of physical games.
If Nintendo wants to make a similar decision, they’d have to wait at least until their next console releases. That could be at least half a decade away. Physical switch games should be safe until at least then, even if the number of game key cards goes up significantly. In the coming years, people will begin to view game key cards as the lesser of two evils, and grow to accept them.
This is because even though they’re “fake” physical games, they may soon be the only physical games in the world. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If Nintendo fully goes the route of game key cards, these can still be bought, sold, traded, and lended freely. Plus each game key card still gets an official physical case. When physical goes away, game key cards might become the next best alternative. This may also create scenarios where developers port more games to the Nintendo Switch 2 so that they can have physical releases.