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New Nintendo Switch Owner: Physical or Digital?

Twookie

Member
I'm usually a download only guy, but I think with the switch I might go physical because of how small the included storage on the switch is
 

RCU005

Member
With the Switch specifically, I would recommend physical. Nintendo is not very good at online, and doesn't have a very good platform for digital games like Xbox and PS4 game has.

If there is an error, or something happens, will they be able to help you?

Also, Nintendo games never have great deals, so it wouldn't matter much. I buy many digital games on PS4, because there have been sales with 70% or 80% off. I don't see Nintendo doing that at all, and it's more likely that GameStop, Amazon, etc will have better deals when buying a physical game.
 
With the Switch specifically, I would recommend physical. Nintendo is not very good at online, and doesn't have a very good platform for digital games like Xbox and PS4 game has.

If there is an error, or something happens, will they be able to help you?

.
Of course they will. This is pure scaremongering.
 

Coxy100

Banned
Physical all the way. It's not hard to swap a cart.

No idea why anyone would choose digital over physical....it's madness, madness.
 
Depends on the game. If it something I want to have available all the time or can see myself playing a lot down the road, I’ll get digital. But if it’s something I will only play once or for a short period of time, physical. I already traded in my copies of Zelda and Mario Kart, for instance.
 
I'm going physical for the bigger, flagship single-player games (e.g. Mario and Zelda) and digital for multi-player and indie games (Mariokart, Splatoon, Thumper, etc.).

Also, the games where I can play for a few minutes at a time are definitely more appealing as digital. So I think I'm going digital for Mario x Rabbids, and I'll probably go digital for Animal Crossing when that comes out. So I don't really know what I'm doing.
 

Waggles

Member
Going physical on the switch has the benefit of actually saving hard drive space. Updates will need to be downloaded, but the games play from the carts themselves, unlike ps3/4 and xbox where they DL everything to console and the disk acts more as a verification than anything.

Go physical when possible on the big stuff.
 
I recently traded in my DS Pokemon games to GameStop for more than what they cost retail.

Don't know how anyone could choose to go digital for a Nintendo console.
 
I prefer digital, sounds like it's viable enough. I don't care too much about selling games eventually.

If I go digital what size sd card should I get?
 
This is going to sound crazy, but I still haven't opened ARMs or Splatoon because I kind of want to sell them to get digital versions. I immediately regretted having the physical version of MK8:D when I got it, but I got it in on that Visa checkout deal with GCU at Best Buy months before launch..ended up pre-ordering physical copies of MK8:D, ARMS, and Splatoon 2 for $36 each...and still haven't opened the latter two..I'm constantly weighing the cost difference in my head. $24 (difference between digital and physical here) isn't a small amount of money, and I doubt I could get much more than $45-50 in my pocket if I sold them on Ebay..

Anyway, basically..I wish I went digital for all multiplayer games. If the cost difference isn't significant to you, go digital.
 
Physical if I'm likely to sell it once I'm done, digital for everything else (especially games that I will jump into quickly for a few minutes). The only physical cart I have is Zelda. For digital, I've got Mario Kart 8, Disgaea 5, Shovel Knight, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Those last two are digital-only though. I've got a giant memory card so I don't have to worry about space.

Yes, I pay more for digital if I get it at release, but it beats carrying multiple carts.
 
I do both.

I bought Splatoon 2 digital since it's a nice one to always have in the system, but I like buying most Nintendo games physical since they hold their value so well and I can sell them if I don't see myself playing them again.
 
Physical until the price of MicroSD cards comes down and storage sizes go up. I have a 128GB card, but I wouldn't get full retail games digitally unless I had something like a 250GB or higher card...and good luck finding a 250GB card for cheap.
 

eXMomoj

Member
All digital, just like my 3DS. It's a portable device and the last thing I want is to not be able to play a certain game because I didn't bring it with me.
 

brad-t

Member
Physical until the price of MicroSD cards comes down and storage sizes go up. I have a 128GB card, but I wouldn't get full retail games digitally unless I had something like a 250GB or higher card...and good luck finding a 250GB card for cheap.

Switch games are not that huge in file size. 128gb should take you decently far unless you buy a lot of games.

That said, I prefer physical just because I like having physical ownership of what I bought when possible. And the carts are so cute.
 

The Goat

Member
Digital. Swapping the games out takes too much time, plus the carts are crazy small and easy to lose. Imagine dropping one on a busy subway or any place with a small crevice. Lost forever.
 

MutFox

Banned
Digital for games I want at all times.
Like multiplayer games to jump into.
Plus not having to get up and change games is nice.
 
I hate physical discs, but I like carts. Would go digital for everything if there were ways to trade off and get deals like GCU discounts
 
I've always been a physical disc/cart person, but the switch has been changing that, mainly because I play so much in handheld. I have the carts for Spla2oon, MK8 and Zelda and it's just a hassle to switch them out.
 
I went all digital for fear of losing the cartridges... micro SD cards are pretty cheap now'a days!! The only thing I would highly recommend is if you have a 5G wireless router, make sure you connect to that signal!! 5G does wonders... If I'm not connected to 5G, the connection is pretty much non existent even if sitting right next to the router (others had the same issues)
 
I hate switching cartridges. There is a reason why I love mp3 / streams and don’t buy any cds anymore.

I like it fast and easy.
Digital only for me (I do buy physical for psvita but that is collecting). I love it to have tens of games without any hassle.
 

Logash

Member
I've been going back and forth on this for the better part of a year. I love the convenience of digital but there is also something special to me about owning the physical cart. As someone who has done both I can say that it makes sense to go digital because you have your entire library with you at all times and don't need to fuss about changing carts. A lot of people say it's not a big deal but once you have 20-30 games on your Switch you're gonna have to pick and choose.

On the other side of things, carts make it so that you don't have to download the games onto the system, which leaves space for digital only games or virtual console games on the internal memory/SD card. Then there is the trade in enlargement where if you buy a game you are not really feeling or you just want money for more games you can always trade in physical. Also, if you're a collector boxes are dope although for some somewhat useless since it's easier to keep those little carts together close to the system than storing them in their respective cases.

Anyway, the generic answer is it depends on your preference. Which ever respective argument you identify more with should be your choice. Unfortunately, if you are like me you think both are quite compelling it becomes much harder. Right now I am on a physical phase and I hope to stick to it because it's getting annoying switching back and forth and I am very indecisive.
 
I'd suggest digital. There is a reasonably priced cost to entry for one of the storage cards, but for me it's worth not having to worry about carrying carts around.

Also anyone that takes issue with their digital distribution model is delusional. That part of their operation has been fine for years. What has not been fine is most of their gameplay/social related services.
 
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