Monday, October 12th 2026
Nintendo Says Physical Switch 2 Games Are Here to Stay
Nintendo isn't following Sony toward a digital-only future, at least for now. Videocardz reports that Bill van Zyll, Nintendo's Vice President and General Manager for Latin America, said the company has no plans to drop physical games on the Switch 2. He spoke to Brazilian YouTube channel Coelho no Japão at Brasil Game Show (BGS) 2026, telling them that Nintendo goes by what customers prefer and that the Switch 2 supports both physical and digital releases. His exact words were: "There's no plans to ditch physical. We know how much the fans like it as well." Apparently, physical games are especially popular in Latin America, Brazil included.
Nintendo's clarification is important, as Sony, on the other hand, confirmed in July that disc production for new PlayStation games will end in January 2028, although games released before then won't be affected. That decision drew plenty of backlash, and data from Alinea Analytics later showed discs still bring in a sizeable share of revenue for PlayStation's biggest exclusives. Nintendo's own numbers point toward digital dominance too, with 61.5% of its software sales coming from digital in the April to June quarter. The company has also been pricing digital Switch 2 exclusives lower than their physical versions since May. Of course, plans can change, though for the foreseeable future, cartridges seem safe on the Switch 2.
Sources:
Coelho no Japão on YouTube, via Videocardz
Nintendo's clarification is important, as Sony, on the other hand, confirmed in July that disc production for new PlayStation games will end in January 2028, although games released before then won't be affected. That decision drew plenty of backlash, and data from Alinea Analytics later showed discs still bring in a sizeable share of revenue for PlayStation's biggest exclusives. Nintendo's own numbers point toward digital dominance too, with 61.5% of its software sales coming from digital in the April to June quarter. The company has also been pricing digital Switch 2 exclusives lower than their physical versions since May. Of course, plans can change, though for the foreseeable future, cartridges seem safe on the Switch 2.
10 Comments on Nintendo Says Physical Switch 2 Games Are Here to Stay
Side note, disks arent that fast as nowadays computer ssd. I do.wonder, how fast are the flashes which NS2 uses for "cartridges".
A) This is a list of thid party games that are NOT game cards (~100 games released to the date, say claude, duckduck and gemini):
nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_Switch_2_third-party_games_that_are_not_Game-Key_Cards
Which means, their "physically" sell a box, a cover paper and a code card. If thats a pyhisical copy to you its ok.
"Oh maybe they talk about Nintendo's own releases", Yeah maybe Sony talks about only sony studios game releases dropping disks.
B) Then there is the price difference, which is happening now, digital copies have different prices than physical copies.
www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-switch-2-physical-games-will-now-be-more-expensive-than-digital-versions-with-10-price-difference-for-yoshi-and-the-mysterious-book
Who would think that eventually the "code" game will cost lets say 50% of the "none-code" one because its a "collectors" or "premium", we have seen this tactics before.
They have no plans to drop the copy just to segment the product.
C) Finally there's the "day one patch games". Games come in physical format but you require internet connection to download the patches.
gamerant.com/games-need-switch-2-upgrade-patches/
If there's anything you can be sure about current Nintendo is: behind Mario, Link and their colorful worlds there are only psycho-neo-liberals in suits driving expensive lexus. Like any other.
This is 100% PR bullshit.