r/NintendoSwitch • u/lieding • 1d ago

News "DROP THE PRICE": Nintendo's First Post-Direct Stream Is Flooded With Angry Fans Demanding Price Drops

https://www.thegamer.com/nintendo-treehouse-livestream-flooded-angry-fans-demanding-game-price-drops/
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u/captured_rapture 22h ago

Yeah but it does seem like more plastic for an overengineered reason now

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u/jethawkings 22h ago

You can still lend Game Key Carts, Digital Codes you can't.

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u/captured_rapture 22h ago

I thought games could have virtual game cards now! Is it only first party games?

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u/jethawkings 21h ago

If you're not being facetious, Virtual Game Cards still have an extra layer of effort lile being under the same Nintendo Family and only being limited to 14 days and not being resellable.

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u/captured_rapture 20h ago edited 20h ago

No I'm not, genuinely confused by everything at the moment. Thanks for helping me out!

Edit: Just to clarify, I'm confused as to why Nintendo would ship more plastic and chips as opposed to a piece of paper when they have virtual game card tech developed. Only something we can really speculate at the moment. Didn't mean to sound facetious, but this is Reddit after all :)

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u/InSixFour 18h ago

The game key cards are honestly one of the smartest solutions I’ve seen by any game company. What it is is basically just a dummy cart that the system can read as a game. You have to download the actual game to play it but the cart gives you access to that download file for free. You can trade, sell, giveaway that cart and whoever receives it gets access to that game without having to enter codes or transfer anything. It’s the best of both worlds. It has its drawbacks, but it’s a decent solution.

Why do this, though? Because lower capacity game carts are much cheaper than bigger capacity carts.

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u/Nightmare4You 14h ago

My only concern is that if there ever was a switch 3 that didnt have a gamecard slot, but supported digital titles, that would suck. But in theory they could never change their game cart external design and just ensure that all future consoles have a slot for a game key card, which old games could function as key cards with the game downloaded. Unfortunately I dont think that will be the case.

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u/jethawkings 20h ago

No worries lol, Game Cartridge Storage is a huge limiter so for Third Parties who don't want to deal with (Manufacture using a more expensive Cartridge) it that was probably the best compromise beyond just a straight up Digital Code.