Nintendo is holding the line on physical media. In an interview with a Brazilian YouTube channel, Nintendo's VP and General Manager for Latin America, Bill van Zyll, said the company has no plans to abandon cartridges. He noted that Nintendo has historically been agnostic and follows what consumers prefer, and that the Switch 2, just over a year old, supports both digital and physical formats. "There's no plans to ditch physical," he said, citing how much fans like it.
Physical media on Switch 2 is not what it used to be, though. Cartridges top out at 32GB on the original Switch and 64GB on Switch 2, which is too small for many modern AAA games. As a result, publishers are turning to game-key cards—physical cards that hold a license to download the full game rather than the game data itself. Titles like Black Myth: Wukong and Grand Theft Auto VI use this model. These cards can still be traded or sold, unlike fully digital purchases.
Pricing is a point of tension. As of May 2026, physical versions of Nintendo's first-party titles cost $10 more than their digital counterparts. Nintendo attributes this to manufacturing, packaging, and distribution costs, but frames the difference as a $10 price cut on digital games rather than a surcharge on physical ones.
With the Switch 2 expected to have a lifespan of six to seven years, Nintendo's commitment means physical media will likely remain an option for that period—even as Sony moves toward a digital-only future. The article notes that no one anticipated Sony's disc phase-out, leaving Nintendo's long-term position uncertain, but for now the company is standing by cartridges.