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New Nintendo Switch Owner: Physical or Digital?
- Thread starter Lockjaw333
- Start date
Account
Account
boiled goose
good with gravy
Physical.
Nintendo is a huge risk with digital.
No resale value and your content will probably not transfer to next generation.
Nintendo is a huge risk with digital.
No resale value and your content will probably not transfer to next generation.
Schucky Ducky
Banned
Physical because its the cheapest way to get Nintendo games. I haven't paid out of pocket more than $38 for any of my big first party Nintendo Switch games thanks to the GCU plus Visa Checkout deal. Doubt that I'd ever get discounts like that on the E-Shop.
Jaded Alyx
Member
You say this all the time like such a thing isn't the norm with consoles.
Forerunner
Member
I go digital on the Switch. The game sizes are generally small and download quick.
Thank god they finaly do it!
right now so far im gonna go physical for the switch, im only going digital for virtual consoles.
Buddy Mcpuddy
Member
Digital because after moving into an apartment, my gaming collection became an enormous burden. I had a 64gb micro sd laying around that I threw in, I'll eventually upgrade to a 128 though.
That said I picked up Splatoon 2 physical because I had a gift card, and it meant paying $20 instead of $70.
That said I picked up Splatoon 2 physical because I had a gift card, and it meant paying $20 instead of $70.
It all depends on what you want to optimize for:
- Price: Physical is usually cheaper, but not always. GCU will get you 20% off of everything, but there have been a few eShop sales where the codes were 20% off. Obviously, you can't resell digital games.
- Convenience: Going all digital means you always have your games with you. Going physical means you can forget or lose your games, but you can lend them to friends or resell them.
For a home console, I would typically do whatever is cheaper (like with the PS4). But since the Switch is portable, I don't want to have to worry about not having an awesome game with me, so I went 100% digital, knowing that it's going to cost me a bit more in the long run.
- Price: Physical is usually cheaper, but not always. GCU will get you 20% off of everything, but there have been a few eShop sales where the codes were 20% off. Obviously, you can't resell digital games.
- Convenience: Going all digital means you always have your games with you. Going physical means you can forget or lose your games, but you can lend them to friends or resell them.
For a home console, I would typically do whatever is cheaper (like with the PS4). But since the Switch is portable, I don't want to have to worry about not having an awesome game with me, so I went 100% digital, knowing that it's going to cost me a bit more in the long run.
audio_delay
Neo Member
Physical, until 1TB microSD are affordable i would say.
Jaded Alyx
Member
Why on Earth would you need so much for Switch games?
shotgunbob04
Member
Went physical for Zelda and digital for MK8D.
I hate the idea of having to swap carts everytime I want to play a game, and I generally hold onto my games forever anyways so it doesn't matter if I can't sell them.
It's also nice knowing if someone ever stole my Switch, I still have all my games (well, minus Zelda lol).
I hate the idea of having to swap carts everytime I want to play a game, and I generally hold onto my games forever anyways so it doesn't matter if I can't sell them.
It's also nice knowing if someone ever stole my Switch, I still have all my games (well, minus Zelda lol).
Dragon Quest Heroes, a launch game (in Japan) is 32GB, and games will likely only get bigger. So the 128 could - potentially - only fit 3 games.
I've been going physical - the notion so many people have that the cartridges aren't portable (when the switch itself weighs more than 100 carts) is kind of absurd.
Went digital on wii u and that turned out to be a major mistake - would have gladly sold mario kart and splatoon 1 now that we have superior Switch versions... if I had the chance.
Not a DQ fan, but isn't that a 2-in-1 package that looks to be pretty poorly optimized? But you're right in that I was thinking mainly of first party titles; we can't expect third parties to work to keep the file size down.
Digital all the way!
It's incredibly convenient being able to effortlessly switch between Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 and ARMS and so on, without having to fumble with any tiny easy-to-lose cartridges. Especially for a console that doubles as a portable, being able to bring your whole collection simply by taking the system off the dock is so good.
It's incredibly convenient being able to effortlessly switch between Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 and ARMS and so on, without having to fumble with any tiny easy-to-lose cartridges. Especially for a console that doubles as a portable, being able to bring your whole collection simply by taking the system off the dock is so good.
Business
Member
Got Zelda physical because I thought I wouldn't like it and I'd sell it but it wasn't the case. Since then I paid the digital tax for MK8 and Splatoon 2. The price sucks but not having to carry and switch cartidges is good. Still didn't need to buy an external sd card so that's a plus.
Jaded Alyx
Member
That's 2 games in one.
Genghis Khan
Member
If you do go physical, I think one of these 24 cartridge cases is a must for when you travel with the system. I only have four games currently (BoTW, MK8, ARMS, Splat2), but it's still more convenient than carrying the boxes around: https://www.target.com/p/nintendo-1...VErbACh3XpgBzEAQYASABEgLvNfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
While I do think having your entire library digitally saved on your console is more convenient, I still have gone physical because I like displaying the cases, feeling like I actually own something, and being able to sell them if I ever wanted to. If that's important to you, go physical. If it's not, buy a bigger SD card and go digital.
While I do think having your entire library digitally saved on your console is more convenient, I still have gone physical because I like displaying the cases, feeling like I actually own something, and being able to sell them if I ever wanted to. If that's important to you, go physical. If it's not, buy a bigger SD card and go digital.
LegendofLex
Member
Physical for me.
For starters, I'm happy to support another cartridge-based system. And I love having games on my physical shelf. Switch cases are relatively small and so they don't take up a ton of room.
My wife also owns a Switch and it's nice for us to be able to share our games. (You can transfer licenses now, but you can't download digital games to more than one system at a time.)
Plus I get a 20% discount on all new physical games through Best Buy.
If Nintendo ever made digital cheaper than retail, decided to offer a family account sharing option for digital games, and pledged to commit to an architecture and maintain backward compatibility forever on future hardware, I'd go digital and never look back.
Nintendo is the only console company that's made all your digital content transfer over to the next generation for more than one of their platforms.
For starters, I'm happy to support another cartridge-based system. And I love having games on my physical shelf. Switch cases are relatively small and so they don't take up a ton of room.
My wife also owns a Switch and it's nice for us to be able to share our games. (You can transfer licenses now, but you can't download digital games to more than one system at a time.)
Plus I get a 20% discount on all new physical games through Best Buy.
If Nintendo ever made digital cheaper than retail, decided to offer a family account sharing option for digital games, and pledged to commit to an architecture and maintain backward compatibility forever on future hardware, I'd go digital and never look back.
Nintendo is the only console company that's made all your digital content transfer over to the next generation for more than one of their platforms.
Burning Justice
the superior princess
The big issue with going digital with Switch is the relatively high price of SD cards per GB. If you buy an SD card, you will more than likely fill it up eventually and have to buy another one.
audio_delay
Neo Member
Bigger sounds always better ^_^
I just checked and super bomberman already has 611MB on my SD card (DLC+Patch) and splatoon 2 has 314MB. So I am guessing even if you have the digital version some games will grow over time.
Jaded Alyx
Member
....Or you can just delete games/transfer them to PC? Do you buy a new Hard Drive every time it gets full?
AppleSautts
Member
Every physical game I've bought for Switch I've kind of regretted it. Digital is just so convenient and having to switch out carts whenever I want to play one of my physical games just feels like a pain.
Burning Justice
the superior princess
You can delete stuff, but having to redownload games when I want to play them is a far bigger hassle for me than swapping carts out. I've had the issue on other consoles before where I was forced to swap stuff out way too much.
Astral Dog
Member
Carts
Same. Figured I won't really go back to Zelda once i beat it, whereas people can always be up for a game of MK.
PerfectFlaw
Member
The only game that I went digital with was Splatoon 2. It's literally the best shooter on the market right now, and it'll be in my gaming rotation for a long time to come.
Everything else has been physical so far.
Everything else has been physical so far.
Merchandise
Member
I feel as though the "changing carts is such a hassle" argument is like one of those infomercial type things
Digital.
For the love of god and all that is holy - go digital.
My 7 yr old son lost my Zelda BoTW cart within a week after getting our Switch. He said he was swapping it out with Mario Kart and must have dropped it.
Digital.
Do you hear me?
Digital.
I'm trying to save you the pain that I went through.
For the love of god and all that is holy - go digital.
My 7 yr old son lost my Zelda BoTW cart within a week after getting our Switch. He said he was swapping it out with Mario Kart and must have dropped it.
Digital.
Do you hear me?
Digital.
I'm trying to save you the pain that I went through.
Adam_Roman
Member
I do physical for games I might want to let someone borrow, or possibly trade in in the future. Right now I just have Zelda physically so my girlfriend can borrow it, and I'm gonna be getting Mario + Rabbids, Rayman Legends, and Super Mario Odyssey physical later this year. The retail games I own digitally are Puyo Puyo Tetris and MK8D, because I like having them anywhere I go.
MaulerX
Member
I'm usually almost all digital for home consoles/PC but for some reason I'm sticking to physical for the Switch.
Yikes! I hear you man. Part of the reason I'm mostly digital on consoles. My nephews and nieces come over all the time to play and having discs scratched, all over the place, wrong cases etc... was a nightmare. They aren't touching my Switch though!
Yikes! I hear you man. Part of the reason I'm mostly digital on consoles. My nephews and nieces come over all the time to play and having discs scratched, all over the place, wrong cases etc... was a nightmare. They aren't touching my Switch though!
Lockjaw333
Member
OP here.
I have a 5 year old and a 19 month old. You have made my decision for me, lol.
So is a 128gb micro SD card enough?
Marty Chinn
Member
Eh? With how much more money you save with physical, I could rebuy on the off chance a game does get lost and still come out well ahead.
UserDoesNotExist
Member
Definitely don't be like me buying Mario Kart physical. That game was meant for 10 minutes gaming sessions.
Sorta Maximus
Member
I love having all my games on the screen at once like a digital shelf. Real shelves cost money, just saying. The advantages of digital convenience are many. And I'm OCD about no dents on my cases so that care is gone now. I own two physical DS games and that it. All the rest are now digital and it's liberating. And it forces me to keep my collection, which for me is a good thing as I'd sell and regret it later. I am more picky about my purchases as a result however.
Magicgamer101
Member
I buy Switch games on impulse so mainly digital. Only physical game I have is Mario Kart which I'm going to sell soon.