Tbf, no first party games use keycards.

make space on the game cards for updates

Using SD cards as media would work.

While an actual physical card is preferable, the option for a keycard is at least better than the shit that Playstation is trying to pull at least. You could at least trade or sell the keycard.

I agree that's great. There's ONE game though..........

Pokopia. It's a spin-off, sure, but it's as quintessential as a nintendo game can be. It should be a physical release without the game keycard bull

If a game requires a huge patch to run then the physical version should be delayed until the game is considered complete without the need of major patches.

I would love an online store that allowed users to order physical versions of any game and that game will be made with all the updates up to the day it was ordered.

Thank goodness for https://www.doesitplay.org/

I hate key cards and really don't like digital games if I can avoid them. Which is why I also know that all first party games still fully come on the carts. I'm not seeing anyone mentioning that. You do not need internet at all to play Kart World or DK Bananza. Same will be true for Ocarina.

Third party games, which I wouldn't ever buy on Switch anyway, have the choice of a key card, yes.

A game key card is not as good as a full game on the cart, but it is better than a digital purchase. I can lend, gift, or resell a game license tied to a key card. Once I have a game installed, I can play it entirely offline and never check licencing servers.

The gamekey-card concept is interesting on its own and would be a problem if publishers would only use those. The idea on them is to keep the price down for indie developers but still be able to sell, trade and borrow them. It is your decision if you buy a key card or not. I hope that indie devs use them. I hope AAA games do NOT use them. A good example is Cyberpunk. I got the card because I want it offline and also keep the internal storage free (60GB). But something like silksong, shantae and ShuffleKnight would be nice as a keycard, so I could put them on a shelf. “Why keycard and not entirely physical for indies!!?” Cost, it all comes down to cost for indie devs who could not afford to put a 0,1-5GB game on a 64GB card. This are indie devs and not tripple A studios.

While you're absolutely right and I largely agree.

I think there is a couple of important points to caveat here.

1. You're right these stores get closed down, but you can still download your games from the old eshop on any of Nintendos closed stores via your purchase history.
2. You're not getting all the negatives of Sonys decision, personally I'm indifferent about game key cards, it's not a biggie to me if I need to download it before playing it. (obviously i'd prefer the option of them on the cart). I just need to be able to buy it from another shop, share with friends, swap with buddies, sell them on. I need an open market.

I can see them doing a Switch 2 lite eventually that only does digital games.

How much do you want to bet Winds and Waves are gonna be on a key card? Pokopia was one of the biggest selling Switch 2 games, though I feel like that was more a Koei Tecmo decision than TPCI.

Game keycards aren't entirely the same as the digital model, as you can actually lend them or sell them at least (for a limited amount of years of course).

They're not good, but they're definitely a step better than all others do, including Steam (excluding GoG)