They are tradeable and resellable which is a very important property for poorer gamers instead of rich collectors like us.

Edit: Switch 2 is also biggest proponent of SD Express. Any supporter of SD cards coming back to phones and other devices should appreciate the stance taken here. Nintendo could've gone the Google/Apple route and just sold 512GB and 1TB models. Instead this effort, like Sony's Xperia phones, are completely unrecognized.

GKCs aren't perfect, but both PS5 and Xbox Series consoles have had games where the disc is near useless too, either with only part of the game on the disc (e.g., Oblivion Remastered) or virtually none of the game on the disc (Indiana Jones). GKCs are at least upfront and clear on the packaging. I wish they had banned the practice of codes in a box. THOSE SUCK.

And just yesterday I had to use my modded 3DS to rescue a physical 3DS cart that wasn't booting. Luckily I was able to but there's no guarantee a physical game will last forever either.

Game key cards are cheaper to make because normal cartridges with the full game cost a fortune right now. And guess why? AI data centers buying up all the memory chips.

On the physical games part, Nintendo still puts their own games on full cartridges, so I don't think they're the ones that deserve the backlash here.

options for switch1, ps5, xbox: Disc or code in box.

options for switch 2: Full game on cartridge, switch 2 edition (including switch 1 support), Game Key Card (half physical), Code in the box.

I don't see why should nintendo be blamed for providing more options. if anythng you should blame the publishers for chosing "Code in the box" (looking at you diablo) when GKC would do. or GKC when full cartridge would do.

> Game keycards keep the appearance of physical ownership without delivering what people expect from a cartridge.

How's that? Can't you buy & resell them on the used market? That seems like the only thing a physical cartridge gets you, and not shipping the outdated-on-day-one bits on the cart saves some money, too. Seems like win-win?

The Nintendo cartridges contain the full playable version of the game.

Third party publishers often just put the key on it. So blame them for that

Well then the cost of physical has to go up. We can guess what your opinion on that is.

I mean the GKC is a compromise considering the high cost of larger storage capacities for carts, driven especially by AI. They're just upfront about it. Sony and MS have been doing "game key discs" for years now but didn't provide a clear label for it.