Despite Switch 2's controversial game-key cards, Nintendo president says "physical games are still a key part of our business"

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"We value our relationships in particular with our retailers"

A screenshot of Mario Kart 9, shown during the Switch 2 reveal trailer.
(Image credit: Nintendo)

With Switch, Nintendo is currently offering the platform friendliest to physical game collectors, but the existence of game-key cards for Switch 2 has the holdouts from the supposedly inevitable digital future feeling nervous. For now, though, it seems Nintendo has no plans to abandon proper retail cartridges.

"In the immediate future, physical games are still a key part of our business," Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser tells IGN. "And we value our relationships in particular with our retailers, and want to make sure we have products available for them to sell to their consumers."

"When you look at Game-Key Cards," Bowser continues, "For us, our goal with Nintendo Switch 2 – similar to what we were able to accomplish on Nintendo Switch – is to have the broadest and deepest library of content we possibly can. And that includes our publishing partners. And Game-Key Cards are a way that our publishing partners are able to bring more content onto the platform, deeper and larger, more immersive content on the platform."

Dustin Bailey
Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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