One of the new quirks of the Nintendo Switch 2 revolves around its Game-Key Card system. These cartridges require the game to be downloaded from the Nintendo Switch 2’s eShop prior to being played. This has been a point of controversy because, despite being a physical cartridge, it doesn’t house any data besides an ‘unlock’ key.
There’s been a brewing conversation regarding the Game-Key Cards and why Nintendo has opted to use them. Speculation has mounted that it’s somehow cheaper than traditional cartridges, which store the entirety of the game. Without solid answers, some players have opted to avoid purchasing Game-Key Cards due to concerns of preservation in the event Nintendo’s Game-Key Card servers are one day shut down. However, a Ubisoft engineer has pulled the curtain back a little bit on why developers may opt to use Game-Key Cards.
Rob Bantin, an audio architect for Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine, has spoken out following the release of Star Wars Outlaws on Nintendo Switch 2. Seeing as though the game is available by way of a Game-Key Card, Bantin shed some light on Ubisoft’s experience. On Bluesky, Bantin explains that the Switch 2 cartridges aren’t able to transfer data as fast as internal storage. Thus, Ubisoft chose to release Star Wars Outlaws as a Game-Key Card to allow players to play the game on the faster internal storage.
“Snowdrop relies heavily on disk streaming for its open world environments, and we found the Switch 2 cards simply didn’t give the performance we needed at the quality target we were going for, Bantin wrote. “I don’t recall the cost of the cards ever entering the discussion – probably because it was moot.”
Batin went on to explain, “I think if we’d designed a game for Switch 2 from the ground up it might have been different. As it was, we’d build a game around the SSDs of the initial target platforms, and then the Switch 2 came along a while later. In this case, I think our leadership made the right call.”
“To be fair to Nintendo, they have to consider a ton of factors when choosing components for a new console,” Batin said to another user who criticized Nintendo’s decision to use Game-Key Cards. “The Switch 2 is a miraculous piece of kit in most respects.”
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Sounds like another flop. Why does Nintendo rank every 2nd console? It’s like they strike gold and then go out of their way to make the follow-up worse in every possible way.
Even though the Switch 2 cartridges aren’t as fast as internal storage for direct gameplay, what would be the problem with using them just to transfer the game to the internal storage and then play it from that faster storage? That would alleviate the fears of loosing the ownership of the games if the servers are shut down. Basically, bring back the standard cartridges. But they cost more, so I guess it’s a cost cutting measure. But then, why go with a physical cartridge just to house an unlock key; why not make it downloadable like any software registration key?