Switch 2 Game-Key Cards Will Not Tie To Any Nintendo Account

Nintendo has introduced Game-key cards to tie in with the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, in which these cards won’t hold game data but can trigger game data to download, making the games playable.

The key card acts as an authentic device on its own, however this raises concerns from Switch 2 buyers about purchased games resale values. Thankfully, Game-key cards do not tie to a users account. Meaning that regardless of any Switch 2 unit used, the user can still have access and play the game its tied to.

Tetsuya Sasaki of Nintendo has stated to GameSpot that Game-key cards will start up on the system but will not tie to the account. Nintendo’s customer support page also mentions the key card is required to remain inserted in the Switch 2 after a game is downloaded and installed. A good internet connection is only necessary for booting a Game-key card for the first time. The game can be played offline on Switch 2 after.

Game-key cards are marked with a white banner at the bottom of Switch 2 cases for players to easily tell the difference between Switch 2 cards that contain the full game.

Nintendo Switch 2 pricing remains stagnant with the first of Switch 2 games making it onto the platform such as Mario Kart World being tagged with a heavy price of $80. The company has offered other first party games for lower at $60 in the past, they still look into each game and pricing them on a case-by-case process daily.

Other games for the Switch 2 such as Kirby and The Forgotten Land, Switch 2’s version of The Legend Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom and more will also be priced from $80, with poor taste in physical card design still intact.

Based on the current state of the economic market, US President Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs have effected sales not just in the US, but globally as well. And Nintendo is just as effected by these changes, with prices increasing further and sales being delayed.

The tariffs effect the market heavily that Switch 2 preorders have been delayed from its original date of release on April 9.

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