Nintendo has offered an explanation on whether Switch 2 Game-Key Cards are affecting sales of the console’s third-party launch titles.
During an annual shareholder meeting (via NStyles/Genki_JPN), an investor mentioned hearing that third-party games don’t sell well on Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. They also expressed concerns regarding Game-Key Cards, calling them a half-baked solution and not very appealing. They asked whether Game-Key Cards will deter people from third-party games.
In its response, Nintendo said that Switch 2 Game-Key Cards don’t contain game content itself, rather a key for activation. The company clarified that a download is required when playing the game for the first time. It mentioned that the system was adopted because the internal storage capacity is larger than that of the original Switch.
Furthermore, Nintendo assured its investors that it will make efforts to ensure that third-party Switch 2 software is able to sell.
Speaking of the success rate of third-party Nintendo Switch 2 titles, Mat Piscatella, Executive Director and Video Game Industry Analyst at Circana (NPD), recently shared that the third-party share of the console’s software in the US is far better than it was during the original Switch launch. More specifically, third-party unit share of physical software for Nintendo’s new console during its first week reached just shy of 40%. During the first month of the original Switch launch, it was less than 20%.
The stats shared by Piscatella indicated that third-party software on the Nintendo Switch 2 has roughly doubled that of the original Switch. That said, he cautioned that it’s far too early to claim anything concrete when it comes to the success of third-party titles on Nintendo’s new console. He reminded his followers that the console hasn’t even been in the market for 3 weeks yet. He added that the sample size of games is far too small to derive any meaningful conclusions.
