While Sony plans to phase out discs, Nintendo is sticking with cartridges and Game Key cards. According to Bill van Zyll, there are no plans to end this practice.
According to Bill van Zyll, VP and General Manager for Nintendo in Latin America, Nintendo has no intention of phasing out physical media.
Earlier this year, Sony announced that it would stop producing PlayStation discs starting in early 2028, a move that drew fierce criticism from fans—which continues to this day.
Given rising digital sales, this development doesn’t come as a complete surprise. Nevertheless, it’s certainly a clear sign when an industry giant like Sony takes this path.
No Change of Course Like Sony: Nintendo Sticks with Physical Media
In a new interview, van Zyll now makes it clear that Nintendo has no intention of following this example—at least not in the foreseeable future.
“Historically, we’ve never favored one specific format over another,” he says. “We are entirely guided by our customers’ preferences and take them very seriously in our decision-making. Furthermore, with the Switch 2, we have a platform on the market that has only been available for a little over a year. It supports both digital and physical content. There are absolutely no plans to abandon physical media. We know how much fans value this format—that’s why we’re sticking to our neutral stance.”
HardwareNintendoNintendo Switch 2
But even at Nintendo, “physical” doesn’t always mean “physical.” There are classic game cards that contain the entire game. With the launch of the Switch 2, game key cards were introduced, which contain only the software key but require the game to be downloaded. The advantage over a download code in a box is that they can be resold and then used by others—though there are doubts about their long-term viability. Once the servers are shut down, even a Game Key card won’t be much use anymore.
