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Not everyone is happy about the Switch 2's new game-key cards, including former Assassin's Creed and Far Cry developer Alex Hutchinson, who says "I hate it" and that it feels like "we're losing some of what made the business special."
Some upcoming Switch 2 games – despite coming with a physical card – won't actually be downloaded onto the card itself and playable out of the box like they are currently on the OG Switch. "Instead," Nintendo explains, "the game-key card is your 'key' to downloading the full game to your console via the internet," and once downloaded, the game is playable when you insert the card.
While the good news is that these are better than regular download codes since they won't be a one-use thing (thanks, GameSpot), it's not clear how this'll work years into the future if the Switch 2 eShop follows in the footsteps of the Wii Shop Channel and 3DS/Wii U eShops before it and shuts down for good. Needless to say, the uncertainty here doesn't have everyone on board.
Speaking to VideoGamer in an interview, Hutchinson – who served as creative director on Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 4 before more recently becoming a co-founder of Raccoon Logic – speculates that "Nintendo is going to get away with it," even though he doesn't like it.
He explains: "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.'"
Expanding on this, Hutchinson says "I hate it," adding: "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."
Although he argues that people aren't "gonna say much" about the game-key cards, it's one of the bits of Nintendo Switch 2 news that's caused some of the biggest uproar from players and devs alike. For example, it's raised concerns about game preservation – Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios (famed for its retro remasters like The Thing and Doom 64) previously stated that "you would hope that a company that big, that has such a storied history, would take preservation a little more seriously."
