Pre-Order: Splatoon Raiders (Nintendo Switch 2)

idontcareaboutretail

Jul 15, 2026 7:52 PM

51 Comments

Joined Feb 2011

idontcareaboutretailJul 15, 2026 7:52 PM

51 Comments

Nice. The digitals been this price for a bit but happy the physical dropped before launch too. Thanks for the heads up!

SmilingMarmot7774

Jul 15, 2026 9:46 PM

8 Comments

Joined Mar 2023

SmilingMarmot7774Jul 15, 2026 9:46 PM

8 Comments

walmart preorders sold out today so might want to jump on this if you are interested in the $10 off for physical

entersandmanxx

Jul 15, 2026 10:46 PM

191 Comments

Joined Aug 2011

entersandmanxxJul 15, 2026 10:46 PM

191 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank entersandmanxx

Quote from latelatte

:

i know this is a sensitive issue, but what's the point of getting the physicals of switch 2 games besides the novelty of case art? when nintendo decides to discontinue support for the switch 2 in the future, you wouldn't be able to take these game cards out of storage, pop them into your system, and just play them. games still require download of core content, right?

When a game goes gold and gets pressed onto a cartridge, the complete, unpatched launch version of the game (Version 1.0) is stored on that physical chip. If you took a brand-new console, never connected it to the internet, and popped the cartridge in, the game would boot up and be fully playable from start to finish.

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ShadowMage69

Jul 15, 2026 11:31 PM

56 Comments

Joined Sep 2014

ShadowMage69Jul 15, 2026 11:31 PM

56 Comments

Quote from latelatte

:

i know this is a sensitive issue, but what's the point of getting the physicals of switch 2 games besides the novelty of case art? when nintendo decides to discontinue support for the switch 2 in the future, you wouldn't be able to take these game cards out of storage, pop them into your system, and just play them. games still require download of core content, right?

Ownership

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electroniclog

Jul 15, 2026 11:58 PM

196 Comments

Joined Aug 2017

electroniclogJul 15, 2026 11:58 PM

196 Comments

Quote from latelatte

:

i know this is a sensitive issue, but what's the point of getting the physicals of switch 2 games besides the novelty of case art? when nintendo decides to discontinue support for the switch 2 in the future, you wouldn't be able to take these game cards out of storage, pop them into your system, and just play them. games still require download of core content, right?

Are you under the impression that this is an online only game?

ezhang6767

Jul 16, 2026 12:11 AM

37 Comments

Joined Oct 2019

ezhang6767Jul 16, 2026 12:11 AM

37 Comments

Amazon Japan sell the digital one with 10% off. Around $35 (5800JPY).

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3supes

Jul 16, 2026 12:11 AM

197 Comments

Joined Apr 2012

3supesJul 16, 2026 12:11 AM

197 Comments

Quote from latelatte

:

i know this is a sensitive issue, but what's the point of getting the physicals of switch 2 games besides the novelty of case art?

when nintendo decides to discontinue support for the switch 2 in the future, you wouldn't be able to take these game cards out of storage, pop them into your system, and just play them. games still require download of core content, right?

Reselling. I bought Donkey Kong Bananza for $60, and resold it several months later after I was done with it for $45. Mario Kart World I haven't played for months, but since it's a digital copy that came with the system, it'll just sit there unused indefinitely.

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HonestMagic993

Jul 16, 2026 12:15 AM

13 Comments

Joined Nov 2024

HonestMagic993Jul 16, 2026 12:15 AM

13 Comments

Quote from 3supes

:

Reselling. I bought Donkey Kong Bananza for $60, and resold it several months later after I was done with it for $45. Mario Kart World I haven't played for months, but since it's a digital copy that came with the system, it'll just sit there unused indefinitely.

I just got a switch 2 used and I'm looking for Mario kart world willing to offer $40

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cho9736

Jul 16, 2026 12:34 AM

1.5K Comments

Joined Nov 2017

cho9736Jul 16, 2026 12:34 AM

1.5K Comments

Quote from latelatte

:

i know this is a sensitive issue, but what's the point of getting the physicals of switch 2 games besides the novelty of case art? when nintendo decides to discontinue support for the switch 2 in the future, you wouldn't be able to take these game cards out of storage, pop them into your system, and just play them. games still require download of core content, right?

What you described is game key card which requires download... Not all physical games is in game key games format , most games published by Nintendo are in game card format which doesn't need download to launch the game.

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latelatte

Jul 16, 2026 12:44 AM

85 Comments

Joined Sep 2013

latelatteJul 16, 2026 12:44 AM

85 Comments

Quote from electroniclog

:

Are you under the impression that this is an online only game?

no, i didnt realize some of these contain the full game. i was under the impression that all of these were "game-key cards" where you'd have to download the game then use the game-key card to validate ownership. but according to nintendo life splatoon raiders is a full game in the cartridge

What Are Game-Key Cards?
Nintendo Switch game-key cards are different from traditional game cards. They do not contain the full game data. Instead, they act as a key that allows you to download the game from the internet.

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latelatte

Jul 16, 2026 12:47 AM

85 Comments

Joined Sep 2013

latelatteJul 16, 2026 12:47 AM

85 Comments

Quote from 3supes

:

Reselling. I bought Donkey Kong Bananza for $60, and resold it several months later after I was done with it for $45. Mario Kart World I haven't played for months, but since it's a digital copy that came with the system, it'll just sit there unused indefinitely.

thanks. i'm not following gaming too closely. it was my understanding that all physical switch 2 games came in a game-key card where the full game isn't actually loaded on a cartridge.

latelatte

Jul 16, 2026 12:48 AM

85 Comments

Joined Sep 2013

latelatteJul 16, 2026 12:48 AM

85 Comments

Quote from cho9736

:

What you described is game key card which requires download... Not all physical games is in game key games format , most games published by Nintendo are in game card format which doesn't need download to launch the game.

thanks for the clarification. this was exactly what i was confused by

SensibleSofa3552

Jul 16, 2026 2:09 AM

76 Comments

Joined Apr 2023

SensibleSofa3552Jul 16, 2026 2:09 AM

76 Comments

Quote from HonestMagic993

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I just got a switch 2 used and I'm looking for Mario kart world willing to offer $40

They can't sell it to you since it's a digital copy of the game that they already claimed, hence the "I haven't played for months".

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3supes

Jul 16, 2026 3:24 AM

197 Comments

Joined Apr 2012

3supesJul 16, 2026 3:24 AM

197 Comments

Quote from latelatte

:

thanks. i'm not following gaming too closely. it was my understanding that all physical switch 2 games came in a game-key card where the full game isn't actually loaded on a cartridge.

First-party Nintendo games have all come full-game on cart. Many third-party games (games made by companies other than Nintendo) have been published with a game-key card where the game isn't loaded onto the cartridge, instead you download the game and the license to play it is attached to the game-key card.

But both full game on cart and game-key cards are fully re-sellable to other people (or stores like GameStop). Folks don't like the game key card because (a) you have to take up a lot of storage space on the console, which isn't the case for traditional carts, and (b) if Nintendo ever takes down their servers, it might be impossible to download the game.

Both carts with the full game on it and game key cards have no limitations on being re-sold. In that way, a game-key card is still superior to digital games.

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Pre-Order: Splatoon Raiders (Nintendo Switch 2)

$50

$60

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