Nintendo’s position on physical media
Nintendo has no current plans to move away from physical games, according to Bill van Zyll, vice president and general manager of Nintendo Latin America. Speaking in an interview with YouTuber Coelho no Japão, van Zyll stated that the company’s approach to physical and digital releases remains guided by consumer preference and fan interest in physical media.
“Historically, we’ve been very agnostic, right?” van Zyll said during the interview. “We go off what the consumer prefers, and take that into account very heavily.” He added that the Nintendo Switch 2, which launched in June 2025, maintains both digital and physical capability, noting that “there’s no plans to ditch physical.”
Switch 2 formats and industry context
Games for the Nintendo Switch 2 are available digitally through the Nintendo eShop or physically on cartridge. While some cartridges contain the full game, others function as Game-Key Cards that provide a license for the digital version. These Game-Key Cards have previously drawn pushback from consumers upon discovering that the physical purchase serves only as a key.
Van Zyll’s comments follow a July announcement from Sony stating that it will end production of physical discs for all new PlayStation games beginning in January 2028, a decision Sony attributed to a shift in customer behavior toward digital purchases.