First look at Nintendo Switch 2 game box art
The Switch 2 game boxes will retain the red motif
Nintendo has released the first look at physical Switch 2 games.
The boxes will once again retain the red motif established by the Nintendo Switch, however, the Switch 2 game will feature a large red bar across the top of the box art, displaying the Nintendo Switch 2 logo.
Nintendo has also shown off what Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games will look like.
Switch 2 Edition games are separate from standard Switch 2 backwards compatibility and need to either be purchased separately or upgraded to for owners of Switch 1 versions. The physical versions of Switch 2 edition games will include the Switch 1 game and the upgrade.
Nintendo has also confirmed that some physical boxes will contain ‘Game-Key Cards’.
These are essentially Nintendo’s new branding for cartridges that still require some or all of the game to be downloaded from the Nintendo eShop before the game can be played.
“Game-key cards are different from regular game cards, because they don’t contain the full game data,” Nintendo says. “Instead, the game-key card is your ‘key’ to downloading the full game to your system via the internet.
“After it’s downloaded, you can play the game by inserting the game-key card into your system and starting it up like a standard physical game card.”
The Game-Key Card concept isn’t an entirely new one – a small number of Switch cartridges required an eShop download, while numerous disc-based physical games on other systems require downloads from digital stores to complete the installation.
However, the new branding should make it easier for players to determine which Switch 2 games will be ‘preserved’ in the event of the eShop ever closing down in the distant future, and which may no longer be playable when this ever happens.
