The Nintendo Switch 2 Game-Key cards are far from being the most popular game format among users, but they are proving to be way more popular among developers, as they allow them to overcome some of the limitations of traditional cartridges, according to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi.
Speaking with German publication JP Games, Hamaguchi-san acknowledged why users don’t like them, but from a developer’s perspective, the discussion on Game-Key cards is much different. This new format allows developers to overcome storage restrictions, as releasing on a Game-Key card allows the developer to overcome the Nintendo Switch 2 cartridges 64 GB limitation.
The biggest issue for developers, especially those making high-end AAA games, is the loading speed of traditional cartridges, which is slower than the speed of solid-state drives. By releasing games on Nintendo Switch 2 in this “semi-download” format, developers can leverage the faster loading speed of the console’s internal storage, allowing them to release their AAA games on the system.
While acknowledging how users may not like Nintendo Switch 2 Game-Key cards, the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director hopes that, in time, they will come to like them and accept them as part of the culture of gaming on the system. Not only is using them optional for a developer, but it also allows studios to release high-end experiences that may not have hit the system without them.