Gaming CEO explains why developers may not ship full games on Switch 2 cartridges

Video game developers, especially smaller-scale ones, are less likely to ship their full game on a Switch 2 cartridge for one big reason: Price.

2

We've known for a while that full capacity Switch game cartridges are expensive. Publishers and developers have gotten around these costs by using smaller capacity Switch cartridges and splitting their games between the data on the cartridge and a digital download. The costs haven't come down for Switch 2 cartridges especially now that the new console uses MicroSD Express.

Nintendo has innovated with the Switch 2 by introducing Game-key Cards, which are basically special ultra-low capacity Switch 2 cartridges that come with an authentication key to download the game. This trend mixes both physical cartridges with digital downloads in a more uniform, low-cost way.

That being said, some developers are opting to ship their full games on Switch 2 cartridges with no mandatory downloads required. CD Projekt RED, for example, is shipping Cyberpunk 2077's Switch 2 release complete on the cartridge.

Pricing is and has been prohibitive for developers in this regard, especially ones like Marvelous, the Japanese games-maker responsible for titles like Senran Kagura, Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, and God Eater.

Even still, Marvelous--who made just $49 million last fiscal year--is shipping Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion's Switch 2 port full on cartridge.

Marvelous USA CEO Ken Berry explained this rationale to RPG Site, indicating that the higher cost of Switch 2 cartridges means not every game from every developer will be shipped fully on cart--especially for lower-earning companies and games that sell for less than $50.

"We still wanted to go with the full ROM version in our Switch 2 release in the West and thankfully the development team at Marvelous Japan obliged, and though I'd love to say all Switch 2 releases from us in the future will go the full ROM route, nothing is guaranteed.

"If our initial lineup sells well and we can make a clear association with its success being tied to being a ROM offering then that will greatly help our cause in the future, but may still not make financial sense on smaller releases that have a price point under $50 such as an indie title being offered physically for $39.99 or less."

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently indicated that the file size of Switch 2 games could affect the price tag. This corresponds with what we know about Switch 2 cartridge pricing.