Capcom says it considers Switch 2’s controversial Game Key Card titles as ‘digital sales’
The ‘digital keys in a box’ have attracted criticism from preservationists
Capcom considers Switch 2’s controversial Game Key Card releases as digital titles, it’s said.
Asked in its most recent financial results whether sales of Game Key Card title Street Fighter 6 are recorded by the company as physical or digital units, the company stated that they would be recorded as digital sales.
Game Key Cards have attracted criticism around Switch 2’s launch, for the fact that they contain no more than a digital activation key for game titles, rather than any game data.
The only difference between a Game Key Card title and a digital download is that the former can be resold and will work on other Switch 2 systems, without the need for Virtual Game Card lending.
So far, the majority of third-party Switch 2 games are Game-Key Cards, with only a few exceptions, reportedly because only one size of card is available to developers: 64GB.
Game preservationists have come out against the system, calling it “disheartening.”
Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios (which specialises in modern remasters of older, often out-of-print games) told GamesIndustry.biz 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 little more seriously.”
Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed 3, and Revenge of the Savage Planet director Alex Hutchinson similarly criticized the Game Key Card system.
“I hate it,” said Hutchinson in an interview with VideoGamer. “I think it’s sort of lame. I don’t know, I just feel like it’s getting away… we’re losing some of what made the business special. Trading Game Boy cartridges at school, or, you know, DS for the modern audience. There’s something nice about that.
“It’s funny that Nintendo is going to get away with it,” Hutchinson continued. “It just shows you the power of nostalgia in our business that the way they will beat up Microsoft versus Nintendo is just not the same, especially in Europe. It’s like, ‘oh, Nintendo’s doing it, alright, we’re not gonna say much.’”
