Why I think Nintendo’s Virtual Cards could be Switch 2’s secret to success
Nintendo has a history of tackling problems in ways other game developers and console manufacturers wouldn’t consider, and the reveal of Virtual Cards at this week’s Nintendo Direct are another sign its thinking differently to other brands, one that could see Switch and Switch 2 becoming a 2025 success story.
This is the company that always maintained it was a toy band over a tech or games manufacturer, and in doing so found inventive solutions to problems, often you didn’t know you needed. Nintendo turned two screens into a handheld revolution with the Nintendo DS, it made fitness a gaming trend with the Wii, and now it’s come up with a new, typically Nintendo, delightfully quirky innovation – Virtual Cards. Honestly, well… I think it’s the perfect solution to a problem I didn’t realise I had, until now.
On first look, Virtual Cards appear to be just another way to manage digital purchases, and possibly another nail in the coffin of physical purchases (I’ll get into this) – something similar to Xbox Game Sharing or perhaps even Console Sharing and Offline Play. But Nintendo’s Virtual Cards go a step further, with a typically Nintendo spin; you’re able to share, transfer and ‘loan’ digital games to family and friends for up to two weeks at a time. This streamlines the process of digital sharing and potentially makes it feel just like sharing physical games.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Nintendo Virtual Cards solve an ownership problem
If, like me, you have family who all have Switch consoles and love sharing games, Virtual Cards will make this much easier. The days of frustratingly de-registering games from one console, and making another the ‘primary’ and needing to keep track of all this faff are over.
With Virtual Cards, I’ll be able to easily switch between consoles, between Switch and Switch 2, loading and unloading games as if they were physical carts – just like the old days. (But given Switch carts are so tiny, the fear of losing a game will now be over – seriously, I lost Ring Fit two years ago and it’s incredibly annoying.)
Then we have the lending feature, which brings in parity to the physical world. The big advantage of owning a physical copy of a game is you can share it with friends and family, with a sense of true ownership of a game. We’ve all lent games to friends, which in turn generates a sense of a shared experience, it’s why nostalgia is such a big thing for gamers, because often it’s not the game we remember fondly but how we played it and who with; Virtual Cards will enable those of use who like the ease of buying digial games to rekindle this sense of a shared moment.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
This has been missing from the digital games buying process and ‘ownership’ but Virtual Cards will, I believe, bring it back – Nintendo’s setup means I can now lend friends and family digitally purchased games. The only downside seems to be me lending the game means I can’t play it, but then that’s how physical game carts work. The more I look at Virtual Cards, the more I see a typically elegant and very Nintendo solution to how people want to use digital games.
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Ultimately Virtual Cards is a new system designed for Switch 2 and, I’d wager, an acknowledgment from Nintendo that people ‘hand down’ old consoles to family. If I get a Switch 2 at launch my old Switch will go to a family member, but now all my digital games can also be shared. Nintendo has a huge back catalogue of digital games – the support of indies and cheaper games and bundles as been a big reason Switch is popular – and now Virtual Cards unlock those games for friends and family.
With rumours of a Switch 2 games upgrade system, similar to old games enhanced on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 with upped frame rates, resolutions and new textures, being able to access and play old digital games across consoles will be a big draw for Switch 2.
Is there a physical game problem?
Ultimately Nintendo is giving us greater control over our digital games collection in the most inventive way I’ve seen in quite some time, and for a company renowned for control over IP and ownership, it’s a big move.
The hidden issue? The thing some may find worrisome? That’s the impact this could have on physical game sales and the idea of ‘ownership’. It’s been an issue ten years, and I remember the debate when PS3 games began releasing digitally, as it threatens game preservation and ultimately brings into question your ownership of a game. If a publisher revokes access, loses a license or a platform shuts down you lose that digital game. It’s a reason the best retro games consoles have become so popular, and in fact why Switch and Nintendo Online is successful.
Virtual Cards solve one issue associated with digital games, as you can ‘lend’ them to friends, but it could put pressure on publishers to release fewer physical editions. Although, to date, Nintendo has been a good platform to physical game releases and special editions, indeed, during the same Nintendo Direct that revealed Virtual Cards we also saw the announcement of retro shooter collection Gradius Origins, which features a new entry with Salamander III, and will release in physical Classic and Collectors editions.
If Nintendo backs physical editions and collectors editions while also promoting sharing digital games, Virtual Cards and Switch 2 will be well-placed to be 2025’s biggest console.
