Summary
Stephen Kick, the CEO of Nightdive Studios, recently shared his opinion on theNintendo Switch 2’s controversial game-key card system (not to be confused with the console’s virtual game card system). He is one of several prominent voices in the games industry who have gone public with their concerns about theNintendo Switch 2’s attitude towards physical media and what it means for the future of game preservation.
During the first Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo explained a new kind of proprietary game cartridge called a game-key card. These physical cards will appear on store shelves for some games but, unlike the cartridges used for the original Switch, game-key cards do not contain the data needed to play their game. Instead, they merely act as a signifier that a game has been purchased, and inserting one into the Switch 2 will allow that game to be downloaded onto the console. There are several disadvantages to this system, which have led many to think of it as amajor flaw in the Switch 2’s release strategy.
In arecent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick called Nintendo’s rollout of game-key cards “a little disheartening.” Referring to the fact that key card games will no longer be available when the Switch 2 eShop shuts down, he said, “You would hope that a company that big, that has such a storied history, would take preservation a little more seriously.”
Nightdive Studios' History with Nintendo
This is not the first time that Kick has gone on the record discussing Nintendo. Previously, theNightdive lead revealed a failed pitchto remaster the N64 first-person shooterGoldenEye 007. Despite the studio’s impressive track record of working with titles from the same era, the bid to revamp theJames Bondclassic was shot down.
It makes sense that Kick is especially concerned with game preservation, given his studio’s development philosophy. The majority of Nightdive’s games are remasters, remakes, or re-releases of older titles which had previously spent decades off of store shelves. This specialty is even present in the publisher’s logo which, according to its official website, was meant to evoke the feeling of “discovering priceless treasures lost beneath the depths of time.” Even though the CEO has qualms about the Switch 2, many ofNightdive’s adopted franchises have made their way onto the original Switch, includingQuake, Turok, and the perennially terrifyingI Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream.
Nintendo intends to be transparent with its game-key cards, including a sizable disclaimer on the packaging of game cases showing which titles do not include actual data. Even still, the company’s handling of physical media has been another common criticism of the Switch 2 pre-release. Manyfans who enjoy collecting game paraphernaliaagree with Stephen Kick that “the Nintendo example is a step back.”
