🙌 Nintendo confirmed it has no plans to ditch physical media, remaining agnostic and following consumer preference
👏 The Nintendo Switch 2 supports both physical and digital formats, using physical Game-Key Cards
🤔 Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has never released a digital-only video game console
📅 Sony faces fan backlash after announcing it will cease PS5 disc production by January 2028
Nintendo has made its position clear on whether it will ditch physical games in favor of an all-digital future: and the answer is no.
In an interview with Caelho, Bill van Zyll, VP and general manager for Nintendo in Latin America, says the Japanese company isn’t ditching physical games, and recognized the importance the format still has (thanks, Nintendo Everything).
Zyll said: “Historically, we’ve been very agnostic, right? We go off what the consumer prefers, and take that into account very heavily. We also have a platform that was just launched. We’re barely just over a year into NS2 [Nintendo Switch 2]. It’s got both digital and physical – that capability. There’s no plans to ditch physical. We know how much the fans like it as well, so our position has been to be agnostic.”
To date, Nintendo hasn’t ever released a digital-only console, while both Sony and Microsoft have. Microsoft’s first digital-only console was the Xbox Series S All-Digital Edition, while Sony has always been ahead of the pack with digital-only systems, starting with the PSP Go in 2019.
Nintendo has committed to physical games with every handheld and console it has released, though the Nintendo Switch 2 has Game-Key Cards, which are essentially a cartridge with a digital unlock license attached. However, you can still collect them, trade them, and sell them like a regular cartridge, making them far more appealing than a code in a box like GTA 6 will be.
Sony announced that it will no longer be producing PS5 discs from January 2028, which strongly implies that the PS6 will also be a digital-only console. The backlash over that decision is yet to die down, as fans continue to spam Sony’s social media with “No disc, no buy” and similar rhetoric.
Up next: Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 restock: Best Buy offering units at midnight launch
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.