• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.

Discussion Nintendo will continue to support physical media for the forseeable future

Barahir_MJH said:
For what it's worth physical media in both video and music has made a bit of a comeback. Vinyl's trend is well-known and a couple decades old, but DVDs, Blu-rays, and even CDs are slightly up (still not huge) in the last couple years. Sales are still low but I think they'll be around for the foreseeable future. It makes sense, with the balkanization of streaming you can't be sure that movie you liked will be on the same (or any!) streaming service in a year.

I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happens with games eventually.
Click to expand...
Even if it's a comeback it'll definitely never be the way it used to be. I think physical is going to be a very collector/enthusiast based market soon. And in some ways, it's for the best. Less mass market physical plastic garbage while still having physical options for those who want.

Though if we had less cheats like LRG, that'd be great.
 
Lugia667 said:
it's mainly cause they also said they are monitoring the changes in cosumer behavior
Click to expand...
Where? They say "At this moment, if digital content continues to become more useful and convenient over time, we believe that more of our consumers will choose digital products with the successor to Nintendo Switch, just as they did with Nintendo Switch.", but that doesn't come with any thoughts on the continuation of physical media sales.

Nowhere in their goals/comments does it say anything even remotely about potentially ending physical sales if digital continues to rise, in fact they want to maximise physical game sales (as well as digital), enhance the experience for physical and digital alike going forward - "The policy will remain unchanged". There is no "we are watching consumer behavior to see if physical sales drop any further so we can go all digital" just "we intend to maximise and improve physical and digital software sales and experiences for users."

Having "at least at the moment" in the headline says something Nintendo are absolutely not saying in any way shape or form.
 
ceres15 said:
Maybe I'm wrong here, but isn't it true that a lot of the leaked Nintendo games go out around the time that (digital) review codes are sent out? Or am I mistaken?

Either way, games for Switch that are not Nintendo games and games for Playstation with physical editions do not usually leak as early or as frequently as first-party Nintendo games do. There is a subset of gaming culture where leaking/dumping unreleased Nintendo games is seen as okay or even morally good because "Nintendo bad/anticonsumer". I think that attitude has more to do with the games leaking than the medium that the games are in.
Click to expand...
Cartridge dumps are anonymous by default. Download codes can include fingerprints that identify who it was sold to.

I'm not at this moment arguing against physical media, just stating that mass manufactured means it is anonymous by default.
 
Lugia667 said:
it's mainly cause they also said they are monitoring the changes in cosumer behavior
Click to expand...
Even if that's the case, I'm pretty sure them saying their policy will remain unchanged going forward is more definitive than any implication that it's only at the moment.
 
bmfrosty said:
Cartridge dumps are anonymous by default. Download codes can include fingerprints that identify who it was sold to.

I'm not at this moment arguing against physical media, just stating that mass manufactured means it is anonymous by default.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that makes sense. Some light googling also makes it seem like the leaks do indeed come from physical cartridge dumps usually so I will add a note to my initial post.
 
Lord Azrael said:
This is a non-statement. Sony and Microsoft support physical media "at the moment" too
Click to expand...
The companies with digital only machines?

The Microsoft roadmap from the court case showed that their future systems won't even have a SKU that supports physical media.

PlayStation has a detchable disc drive.

Neither of those companies would go out of their way to say they support physical media.
 
Not surprising. I believe Nintendo will only abandon physical if the digital to physical ratio surpasses 9 : 1, something very hard to imagine in the next 10 - 20 years.
 
Sin & Punishment said:
The companies with digital only machines?

The Microsoft roadmap from the court case showed that their future systems won't even have a SKU that supports physical media.

PlayStation has a detchable disc drive.

Neither of those companies would go out of their way to say they support physical media.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty certain both companies want to get out of the business of including a $100 disk drive with every console. If they can get rid of that, then they have a reduced barrier to entry. If they can get rid of the console entirely and just sell you a joystick and stream it over the internet, that's an even lower barrier to entry, but that's tangential.

EDIT:
gsr said:
Not surprising. I believe Nintendo will only abandon physical if the digital to physical ratio surpasses 9 : 1, something very hard to imagine in the next 10 - 20 years.
Click to expand...
My expectation is that they'll just stop putting out physical games eventually. They'll keep the card slot as long as they can keep backwards compatibility.

The business model is now that big games get digital releases and smaller games are digital unless they're bigger than expected and someone like Limited Run Games picks them up. I expect that they'll eventually move more in that direction over time. Eventually a game will have to be expected to sell 1,000,000 copies to get a physical edition, and it will just go up from there.
 
Last edited:
Quoted by: gsr
1
Physical does very well on Switch, what im curious about is how they handle storage capacity.
So many games on Switch come with large chunks or with a large day 1 patch that makes the on cart game not worth it.
 
Sin & Punishment said:
The companies with digital only machines?

The Microsoft roadmap from the court case showed that their future systems won't even have a SKU that supports physical media.

PlayStation has a detchable disc drive.

Neither of those companies would go out of their way to say they support physical media.
Click to expand...
Nintendo wouldn't go out of their way either, they were asked about it lol

I don't even disagree with your point, but it's not like Nintendo made some binding commitment or scathing callout of the shift to digital. They basically just answered "business as usual." I'm sure it they could switch to full digital right now without losing any sales they'd be willing to do it
 
0
Sure. Because I think it's around 50:50. Once it's 80+ this conversation will change. Like everyone else, they follow the money.

I hope we never get there.
 
I wasn’t too worried about this, but like others have said: it’s nice to have confirmation.

I do think I’ll probably be doing fewer physical purchases next gen. It got a bit out of hand for me this generation with LRG releases, WiiU reissues, and Square-Enix reissuing like three generations worth of games. I definitely foresee Switch 2 not seeing nearly as many reissues, and it’s a matter of time before I give up on LRG or they go out of business. So I think this problem will sort itself out naturally but this is something I’m thinking about already with the new generation looming.

indospot said:
Only bring back the size though. Pleasr don't make the cardboard so flimsy.
Click to expand...
The dimensions of Switch shells relative to the carts themselves genuinely bothers me at this point since it’s just a waste of plastic. I would be 110% down with getting back to DS/3DS cases (or smaller) with the same width.

EvilChameleon said:
I think I'm gonna need a bigger shelf (to store all these games).
Click to expand...
Same. I added more storage space 6 months ago with a bigger entertainment center and a new bookcase and moving things around and I’m already back to being at capacity where I keep my Switch games 😵‍💫
 
The height of Switch cases - being similar to other game cases - is most likely done for psychological effect to convey it is also a home console, especially now that it's the only Nintendo console with games available in shelves. I doubt they would change the height even if they switched to cardboard.
 
shoptroll said:
The dimensions of Switch shells relative to the carts themselves genuinely bothers me at this point since it’s just a waste of plastic. I would be 110% down with getting back to DS/3DS cases (or smaller) with the same width.
Click to expand...
It wouldn't bother me so much if there was still a little manual included, but yeah, at this point it does feel a bit wasteful.
 
Tentacle-tropes said:
Considering how the 3DS handles it, it’ll probably be something like that
Click to expand...
I would hope so, but I’m still gonna be slightly worried until it’s 100% confirmed, lol.

But I’m also worried that, if physical Switch games are compatible with the successor, they’ll have way slower load times than digital Switch games, since I assume digital Switch games should be able to utilize the benefits of faster loading times on the newer hardware, but physical Switch games are kinda stuck on the old game card technology so I’m not sure any of that would be able to apply to them…
 
ColdGoldLazarus said:
It wouldn't bother me so much if there was still a little manual included, but yeah, at this point it does feel a bit wasteful.
Click to expand...
What’s great is you can tell they designed them to have a manual in the case and they just don’t make them 🤬 It makes me happy when there’s a small manual in some of the LRG releases I’ve acquired but that’s more the exception than the rule.
 
Nintendo being a family-friendly gaming company, physical games makes sense for them because you have a physical item to give as a gift to a kid, as opposed to a digital code or keycard. Plus it's easy to move games between members of a household, they do have that digital sharing option, but it's a pain to set up and disable if you ever change consoles. I think with Xbox games being so big, and them not using UltraHD Blu-Ray discs, they've boxed themselves into a corner with a lot of games requiring 2 discs. PS5 at least has more headroom with their 100GB disc size. Switch 2's games won't be as big as those other consoles, and the cartridges will have higher capacities this time around so we should be good.
 
bmfrosty said:
My expectation is that they'll just stop putting out physical games eventually. They'll keep the card slot as long as they can keep backwards compatibility.

The business model is now that big games get digital releases and smaller games are digital unless they're bigger than expected and someone like Limited Run Games picks them up. I expect that they'll eventually move more in that direction over time. Eventually a game will have to be expected to sell 1,000,000 copies to get a physical edition, and it will just go up from there.
Click to expand...
Based on my understanding their thinking is that they will follow consumer trends. If consumers decide to abandon physical en masse over time (which is very unlikely to happen in the next 1 - 2 generations), then you'll see them react accordingly. Even Xbox, which right now has extremely weak physical sales across 1st party and 3rd party outside the United States, continues to support physical.

Regarding your point on smaller games, you can also see Nintendo has started thinking locally for certain releases. Nintendo World Championships NES Edition, for instance, is only getting a Deluxe release in NOA and NOE regions (USD59.99), whereas a standard release (~USD29.99) and Special Edition (~USD59.99) is coming to NCL region, and the NHT and NOK regions are only getting a standard release (~USD29.99).

In Japan, Asia, and some European markets, first party tends to strongly lean physical because there are many retailers selling the game under the digital SRP on the eShop, not to mention Nintendo rarely devalues their games on the distribution level and first party discounts on the eShop happen a few times a year.

So I don't think they are going to be like PlayStation or Xbox trying to force a transition to digital with digital SKUs, greatly devalue the SRP of the digital version, or come up with something similar to Game Pass.

If anyone here wants Nintendo to continue supporting physical, just keep supporting physical whether it's 1st party or 3rd party.
 
Triistan said:
If they want to sell more than one switch per household they should implement some sort of digital family sharing. Until then, physical is the way for me.
Click to expand...

I’d love to see this. I want to build out a small digital library, and the all but confirmed BC makes it easier to get onboard, but sharing a digital game with my wife is such a pain. Until then I’ll lean towards buying physical.
 
My prediction is Switch 2 absolutely still has physical carts and a retail presence... but it's the last console to allow physical games. Definitely can't see Microsoft keeping physical games the way they're going and wouldn't be surprised if Sony follows suit. Nintendo will just be last to the party.
 
0
The retail space is crucial to Nintendo's marketing strategy, not just for games but for IP branding and such stuff. During the years where there were very few games releasing for Wii U and 3DS, Nintendo invented new ways to keep the retail space (with things like amiibo and NES/SNES Mini).

And as long as the Japanese market favor physical games, Nintendo will keep physical games.
 
Would be nice if Nintendo went back to adding booklets or small features inside the box, like keychains.
 
As physical does wane for Sony and Microsoft, I wonder if Nintendo would see fit to try and push their brand harder onto physical stores. Like, way more Nintendo centric sections in general, and maybe a semi-return to the "World of Nintendo" style retail area where they essentially took over whole parts of the store. Seeing as Nintendo has more than just games to offer, that might be something they'd be interested in pushing with their partners.
 
The way they talk about it in the Q and A it sounds like they want to make things easier for physical AND digital buyers, while also mentioning families owning multiple units. I wonder if they will introduce something akin to family sharing or maybe a family price for games that come with a physical + digital version.
 
0
Good. I just hope physical means actually 100% physical and not like the other systems where it's often just a key, which then installs the game off the Internet.

Even games like the Mario Sports games and Splatoon aren't "really" physical since a ton of content isn't on the cartridge. Especially the sports titles are terrible at it.
 
I don’t think physical will ever completely go away. I still buy DVD’s after all, but as a 95% physical owner on my consoles, it’s reassuring to hear a company outright state that they’re not going to leave physical behind.
 
My Switch collection is pretty much 99% digital however when it comes to Nintendo, physical titles still make a lot of sense.
 
0
Unpopular opinion: I’d sacrifice the cartridge for a “code in a box”.

The DD comfort + a new red box in my collection = perfect ❤️
 
Last edited:
0
I have close to 100 physical Switch games. I do like physical but also I trust them more than the eShop if I'm being honest. I agree with the others saying Nintendo visibility in person in stores is extremely important to them.
 
Yeah as I always said, Nintendo being a toy company back then, they still hold that value internally that it's cool to actually hold a product in your hand imo. They'll be the very very last one to go full digital, and I honestly don't see it happening in the next 20 years.
 
Very glad to hear that. They will continue to get my business.

MisterSpo said:
I'm definitely a cardboard advocate. Switch packaging is really wasteful, so I'm hoping cardboard returns one way or another next time out. Minimise that plastic waste, please. Sturdy cardboard packaging is possible - it doesn't need to be an empty box but could be a reinforced sleeve, essentially, with the cartridge able to be pulled out via an interior tab.

Be interesting to see if there are price hikes for software next time out. I feel there are reasons why Nintendo doesn't need to move upwards on software prices; they're able to maintain full price for the vast majority of releases for years at a time, they make a ton in royalties given how high their first party software sales are, and they also sell to a broader demographic than the other platform holders so perhaps, given the large family market for their games, there's an incentive not price themselves too far out of that demographic.

There'd be other pressures to move upwards though: third parties will want to match prices on other formats and Nintendo might not want their brands to appear 'cheap' by way of comparison, but I also wonder if larger and faster cartridges (presumably required) will be more expensive and lead to price hikes. I don't mind some upwards movement for the most cost-intensive games, but I'd hope we don't see rises across all Nintendo releases.
Click to expand...
Yeah, no thanks.

I absolutely hate cardboard for packaging.
 
This is fantastic news. I've always been an advocate for physical media. It bums me out when those who have gone digital-only celebrate a game not getting a physical release. I can never understand the mindset of being happy for having fewer options, but it is what it is. I'm so glad Nintendo is leading the way on this.
 
I love physical, though I do agree Switch boxes could be half their size to reduce plastic and I wouldn't be upset. I get why they didn't want to go with ds/3ds sized boxes, but I also get how wasteful the average Switch box is space wise.
 
BassForever said:
I love physical, though I do agree Switch boxes could be half their size to reduce plastic and I wouldn't be upset. I get why they didn't want to go with ds/3ds sized boxes, but I also get how wasteful the average Switch box is space wise.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree. When you consider the size of the case to the size of the cartridge it seems unnecessary. But I guess the choice was down to the psychology of seeing the boxes relative to the size of the PS4 and Xbox One cases at retail. A much smaller box might be considered a more inferior choice compared to the bigger boxes of their rivals. Probably doesn't work for everyone, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a consideration.
 
Triistan said:
Fun fact: have you ever noticed that the switch game cases have the exact same size of switch body (tablet without joucon)?
Click to expand...
Yes. The OG dock has the same dimensions as well, so you can almost perfectly stack the dock, the OG Switch tablet and a game case on top of each other.
 
Triistan said:
Fun fact: have you ever noticed that the switch game cases have the exact same size of switch body (tablet without joucon)?
Click to expand...
I do wonder if it has anything to do with logistics and shipping; they could make the case any size and they chose those dimensions
 
ColossalFailure said:
Yeah I agree. When you consider the size of the case to the size of the cartridge it seems unnecessary. But I guess the choice was down to the psychology of seeing the boxes relative to the size of the PS4 and Xbox One cases at retail. A much smaller box might be considered a more inferior choice compared to the bigger boxes of their rivals. Probably doesn't work for everyone, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a consideration.
Click to expand...
Now that Nintendo is back in good graces, maybe they'll feel more confident to shrink the boxes down. Especially since their competitors aren't competing in that market much anymore. They'll save a few cents, and less plastic garbage is good in my book.
 
So we'll have physical Nintendo games for one more generation. Thank heavens! Xbox is on the verge of phasing out boxed software and perhaps even hardware in the not too distant future. As far as Sony is concerned I predict they'll still offer physical games for PS6 via an optional disc drive attachment like they do now. However, they'll be in smaller numbers and/or more limited.

By Switch 3 and PS7 if we make it that far all bets are off then. Physical media will be a relic of the bygone age and we'll have moved to strictly a collectors market for such things.
 
0
My position is very simple - physical goes away, I stop buying games day one.

I will never pay full price for a game without actually owning something physical that I can resell at a later date.

Last non-PC digital game I purchased was TLOU2 back on PS4 when I had a gift card to use up. I have a strong distaste for the idea of digital-only, it's a net negative for consumers.
 
It's nice to get confirmation but Nintendo would be momentously stupid not to, so it's pretty much a given. Almost half of their turnover comes from the Holiday period, because Nintendo comparatively has a much larger child demographic. And children want games as gifts. Sure you can gift a digital code, but that sucks and so people would more readily choose to gift something else over the holidays, heavily cutting into Nintendo's profits.

Edit: I see ZonaiResearcher already made this point.
 
Last edited:
ZonaiResearcher said:
Nintendo being a family-friendly gaming company, physical games makes sense for them because you have a physical item to give as a gift to a kid, as opposed to a digital code or keycard. Plus it's easy to move games between members of a household, they do have that digital sharing option, but it's a pain to set up and disable if you ever change consoles. I think with Xbox games being so big, and them not using UltraHD Blu-Ray discs, they've boxed themselves into a corner with a lot of games requiring 2 discs. PS5 at least has more headroom with their 100GB disc size. Switch 2's games won't be as big as those other consoles, and the cartridges will have higher capacities this time around so we should be good.
Click to expand...
All going well, Nintendo should be able to provide physical media that's fast enough to play the games straight off them while also providing the largest capacities. 128GB should be possible.

If they want to avoid games needing installs across multiple Game Cards (more likely over the internet), the Game Cards will certainly need to be big!
 
Nintendo and physical media is basically what is keeping physical games alive.

I also believe that if it weren’t for Nintendo, a place like GameStop would have closed long ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom