INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
US preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2 console went live at Best Buy, Target, and Walmart at midnight Eastern time last night (though the
rush of orders caused problems and delays across all three retailers' websites)
The console listings came with a wave of other retail listings for games and accessories, and those listings either fill small gaps in our
knowledge about Switch 2 game packaging and pricing or confirm facts that were previously implied.First, $80 Switch 2 games like Mario Kart
This is worth repeating over and over again because of how pernicious the rumors about $90 physical releases have been; as recently as this
morning, typing "Switch 2 $90" into Google would show you videos, Reddit threads, news posts, and even Google's own AI summaries all
confidently and incorrectly proclaiming that physical Switch 2 releases will cost $90 when they actually won't.
Google's AI-generated
search summary about $90 Switch 2 games as of this morning.
Credit:
Andrew Cunningham
While physical game releases in the European Union sometimes cost more than their digital counterparts, there was actually no
indication that US releases of physical games would cost $90
The Mario Kart World website listed an $80 MSRP from the start, as did early retail listings that were published before preorders actually
began, and this price didn't change when Nintendo increased accessory pricing in response to import tariffs imposed by the Trump
administration.But now that actual order confirmation emails are going out, we can (even more) confidently say that Switch 2 physical
releases cost the same amount as digital releases, just like original Switch games and most physical releases for other consoles
For example, the physical release for the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza is $70, also the same as the digital version.Third-party releases run
It tells you you'll need to download the game and approximately how large that download will be.
Credit:
Nintendo/Sega
When preorders opened in Japan yesterday, all physical releases of third-party games had
Nintendo's Game-Key card disclaimer printed on them
And it looks like a whole lot of physical third-party Switch 2 game releases in the US will also be Game-Key cards, based on the box art
accompanying the listings.These have been controversial among physical media holdouts because they're not physical game releases in the
When you insert them into a Switch 2, they allow you to download the game content from Nintendo's online store, but unlike a pure digital
release, you'll still need to have the Game-Key card inserted every time you want to play the game.
