The backlash against Sony‘s decision to stop manufacturing PlayStation discs from January 2028 is still echoing throughout the games industry. So far, though, the other two console makers have been silent.
That changed recently for Nintendo, with Bill van Zyll (VP and general manager for Nintendo in Latin America) talking about this very subject in an interview with Brazilian YouTuber Coelho no Japão:
Look, historically, we’ve been very agnostic, right? We go off of what the consumer prefers and take that into account very heavily. We also have a platform that just launched. We’re barely just over a year into Nintendo Switch 2, and it’s got both, you know, digital, but it also has physical, that capability. So, there’s no plans to ditch physical. We know how much the fans like it as well.
That’s an entirely unsurprising answer from the executive, as Nintendo’s particular audience notoriously skews far more toward physical games than PlayStation or Xbox gamers. Though it should be noted that Nintendo Switch 2 games also often ship with the so-called Game-Key Card: a physical cartridge that acts as a key to download and play the game, rather than storing the game itself. Unlike regular download codes, though, the card is not permanently tied to an account or a particular console, so it can be lent, traded, or resold much like a conventional cartridge.
Van Zyll also noted that physical games are specifically big in Latin America, more so than in other regions.
It varies so much by game and certainly availability at times can also have a factor, and just what’s happening in general. You did see an upswing during COVID, just to use a big, easy to grasp example, where people were just staying home and digital was so simple. But we certainly lean, not just in Brazil but all of Latin America, we do lean more towards physical. There is a preference for it. It applies everywhere, but it applies that much more in Latin America and in Brazil. It’s a collectibility. It’s being able to share it so easily. Although, you also have Game Share on Nintendo Switch 2. I hope the fans use that as well. So, you can share digital games as well. But the sharability, the resale, whatever you want to, it does have its advantages, as does digital.
It is likely that Nintendo will keep making new Game Cards for at least the remainder of the Nintendo Switch 2 generation. The real question is what Microsoft chooses to do; Xbox fans actually love digital even more than PlayStation gamers, possibly because they’re used to it with Game Pass. A previous rumor suggested they might keep physical discs for the Project Helix console in order to win some goodwill with hardcore gamers, though this is far from confirmed as of now.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief.
In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech’s gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews.
Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications.
His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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