Physical Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games accused of ‘false advertising’
Boxed copies of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games only include the Switch 1 versions, as fans dismiss them as ‘totally worthless’.
Boxed copies of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games only include the Switch 1 versions, as fans dismiss them as ‘totally worthless’.
Fans already suspected certain Nintendo Switch games would see enhanced upgrades on Nintendo Switch 2 and last week’s big showcase confirmed that will indeed be the case.
Dubbed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, anyone who owns the original Switch 1 versions will be able to upgrade to them for a fee while new customers will have to purchase them at full price.
You would assume physical copies of these Switch 2 Edition games would come with Switch 2 cartridges but, as it turns out, that’s not the case at all.
If you purchase a physical copy of a Switch 2 Edition game, you’re getting the original Switch 1 version instead, alongside a download code for the upgrade. Ergo, there are no physical versions of these Switch 2 Edition games.
This was initially discovered when box art for Switch 2 games began making their way online. On the cover for the Switch 2 version of The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, the fine print at the bottom reads: ‘Includes the Nintendo Switch game and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack.’
After some confusion over whether this meant the upgrade pack was a download code or not, Bluesky user Tyler Hilton managed to get in contact with a member of Nintendo’s customer support for clarification. According to them, yes, the upgrade packs are download codes.
It’s possible the customer service representative could be wrong, but this seems fairly clear cut and there’s been no other official response from Nintendo. Still, we’ve contacted the company for comment and will update the article should we get a response.
Will you still be buying Switch 2 Edition games physically? (Nintendo)Aside from the fact that this makes Switch 2 Edition games impossible to resell (since download codes can only be used once), this also makes them difficult, if not outright impossible, to preserve.
Unsurprisingly, this has become a point of contention for those who push for preservation efforts within gaming. The Bluesky account for Does it play?, for example, outright accuses Nintendo of ‘false advertising’ during the Switch 2 showcase and says there’s ‘No reason to buy [physical Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games], then.’
Ryan Brown of book publisher Lost In Cult calls Switch 2 Edition games ‘totally worthless’ since ‘they’re only ever available as one-off digital download codes which will disappear one day.’
How much are Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games?There’s also the matter of the pricing. Nintendo Switch 2 games are more expensive than Switch 1 games. Nintendo has yet to provide official UK prices for all its first party games, but physical copies of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza will cost £74.99 and £66.99, respectively.
There’s no indication of how much Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games will cost but it’ll almost certainly be cheaper for new fans to track down physical Switch 1 copies and pay for the upgrade pack separately than buy the Switch 2 version.
Nintendo’s pricing for games is undoubtedly the biggest talking point surrounding the Switch 2 at the moment, even if digital editions are cheaper than physical copies. During the Nintendo Treehouse broadcasts, there were nonstop comments from viewers demanding the company ‘drop the price.’
Unfortunately, it seems like the opposite could end up happening for the console itself, at least in the US. Thanks to the new worldwide tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, Nintendo has delayed opening Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S., which could indicate the company is already considering raising the console’s price.
What a rough start to the next generation of Nintendo (Nintendo)Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
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