Nintendo President Shuntaro Fuukawa avoids Switch 2 key card question at AGM – NotebookCheck.net news

July 4, 2025

The Nintendo Switch 2 uses Game Key Cards as physical licenses for games that then need to be downloaded over the internet (image source: Nintendo)

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa recently avoided providing exact figures about the Nintendo Switch 2’s Game Key Card sales and did not respond to user feedback about them at an AGM while highlighting them as an option for publishers to release larger-sized titles.

At Nintendo’s 85th Annual Shareholders Meeting, investors raised questions about a number of topics, including the apparent lack in popularity of Game Key Cards within the gaming community.

Furukawa responded to a shareholder’s question about the online opinion that Game Key Card are “unappealing”and could discourage third-party developers if sales lag. Furukawa explained the new format was created due to the increasing size of games for the handheld.
Publishers are also concerned about the cost of using cartridges that have up to 64GB storage space. Furukawa, Nintendo’s President, did not provide any sales figures or specifics. He only stated that Nintendo was committed to “working with third-party publishers” to ensure their support for the platform. Doug Bowser’s comments from earlier confirm that Game Key Cards will allow publishers to publish more immersive and larger titles on the Switch 2.

However ongoing rumors suggest that the publishers were given the choice between the 64GB cartridge and the Game Key Card without any additional compromise. Nintendo has not confirmed the claim.

Game Key Card requires players to download the full game. The cards are only a physical license and do not contain any physical storage data. They are essentially a digital license that must be validated before the user can play.

Reports from Game Business and Circana indicate that Game Key Cards are the majority of Switch 2 first-party titles. CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk… 2077was the exception, as it shipped on the Switch 2’s proprietary game card. Cyberpunk… 2077 is the only third-party launch game that has top sales records. It only trails behind Nintendo’s first party releases. This shows that physical cartridges are still popular.

Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmed explained that a number of factors contributed to the reduced sales of third-party titles at launch. The Switch 2’s increased storage capacity from 32GB to up to 256GB, and the microSD card compatibility make digital downloads more accessible. However, collectors and people with limited or no internet connectivity may still find it difficult to move away from physical releases.