Game preservationists say Switch2 GameKey Cards are disheartening but inevitable

Summary

Game preservationists have been giving their opinions on Nintendo Switch 2’s new Game-Key Cards.Game-Key Cards are Nintendo’s new branding for cartridges that still require the game to be downloaded from the Switch 2 online store before the game can be played. The cartridge doesn’t contain the game data, rather it’s simply a ‘key’ that enables a download.“Game-key cards are different from regular game cards, because they don’t contain the full game data,” Nintendo’s own description says. “Instead, the game-key card is your ‘key’ to downloading the full game to your system via the internet. After it’s downloaded, you can play the game by inserting the game-key card into your system and starting it up like a standard physical game card.”So far the vast majority of third-party Switch 2 games are Game-Key Cards, with only a few exceptions such as Cyberpunk 2077 and the Western version of Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion.When Japanese store Yodobashi started listing Switch 2 games, of the 11 new third-party Switch 2 games initially listed on the site with box art, all 11 had a logo on the front of the box designating them as Game-Key Cards.The issue some players have with Game-Key Cards is that because they don’t contain the full game content on the cartridge, should the Switch 2 shop servers ever close down in the distant future – and therefore no longer provide the downloads necessary – those cartridges may become unplayable.Most third-party Switch 2 games on the Yodobashi site are Game-Key Cards (as noted by the white bar on the bottom of the box).In a new report by GamesIndustry.biz, several people involved in game preservation and re-releases have given their views on the situation.Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios (which specialises in modern remasters of older, often out-of-print games) said that “seeing Nintendo do this is a little disheartening”, adding: “You would hope that a company that big, that has such a storied history, would take preservation a littl...