FF7 Final Fantasy 7 Remake Director Comes To Defense Of Switch Key Cards

[Peter Paltridge]

From recent signs, I take it the great Nintendo Switch 2 Game Key Card experiment isn’t going very well. Third parties are reporting low sales, EXCEPT for the few offering solid game-on-cart physicals. Nintendo themselves released a survey last month asking for the public’s input on Key Cards and whether they truly had any appeal. Then you have today’s moment, where a prominent third-party developer feels the need to defend their own Key Card decision. He wouldn’t have to do this if the public response was a positive one. When Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is released on Switch 2 early next year, it will be a Key Card. Naoki Hamaguchi, director of the trilogy, spoke to a German website where he apologized for the decision. “I can see the things that they are maybe annoyed with, maybe why they don’t like it, and I get that, I really do,” he said to JP Games. “I really get where people are coming from in terms of their negativity towards it, and there are good reasons and debates to have there.” “But from a developer’s perspective, it does let us do things that maybe we wouldn’t otherwise,” he went on to […]
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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Director Comes To Defense Of Switch Key Cards

When Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is released on Switch 2 early next year, it will be a Key Card. Naoki Hamaguchi, director of the...

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[Penny]

I understand what Hamaguchi is saying about the technical limits. I work in IT, and storage bottlenecks are a constant issue. If the Switch 2 card is slower than the SSD, then some games will simply not run the way people expect. Players want fast loading and smooth performance, and developers cannot risk ruining the experience just for the sake of a cartridge. Still, I think Nintendo should have planned this better. Selling a next-generation console with cards that cap at 64 GB feels outdated when games are regularly reaching 100 GB. If they wanted to keep physical alive, they should have invested in larger, faster media.

 

[Prompto]

I feel bad for the director. He clearly does not like having to explain himself. From his words, I think he is trying to be polite and not blame Nintendo, but we can read between the lines. He is basically saying that it is Nintendo’s hardware problem. If Cyberpunk can fit on a card, then why not this game? Maybe the publisher just does not want to pay extra for a bigger card.

 

[Bogus Mug]

I actually like digital more than physical now, so the Key Card situation does not affect me. What matters to me is being able to play the game in good quality. If part of it still has to be downloaded, then it is not really physical anyway. People who want a true physical copy are being let down, but the reality is that modern games are too large for old media formats.

 

[mae.espra]

It is very disappointing. I grew up buying cartridges and discs, and I still value collecting physical games. To hear that Final Fantasy 7 Remake cannot be delivered fully on a card is frustrating. Nintendo is responsible because they set the limits. Gamers are paying for expensive consoles, so they should not be forced into partial downloads. I believe Square Enix could have tried harder, but the main fault is Nintendo’s storage policy.

 

[eugene22]

I think the outrage is exaggerated. If the card format is slower, then of course developers prefer SSD. It is not about greed but about performance. Cyberpunk working on a card is impressive, but not every game has the same structure. People should accept that the industry is changing, and hybrid solutions like Key Cards are a step between the old and the new.

 

[The Zyborg]

As someone who collects limited editions, I only buy physical. This makes me sad because the value of a Key Card is lower. Half the game is on the internet, not the cartridge. That means in 10 years, if the servers are gone, I cannot play the full version. That destroys preservation. If the industry really cared about history, they would not allow this half-digital model.

 

[VillainCHillin]

I sympathize with developers. Players do not see how much work it takes to optimize a massive game. I think Hamaguchi was honest by admitting he understood the complaints. He is not dismissing people. He is telling us they had no better option. If that is the truth, then blaming him is unfair.

 

[Darkened124]

My biggest problem is that we already know some studios are doing full physical, and they are selling well. If Cyberpunk can be done, then there is no excuse for Square Enix. They just do not want to pay more for bigger cards. It is a business decision, not a technical one. That makes me trust them less.

 

[Watson]

I think the Switch 2 is in a transition phase. Game sizes are only going to get bigger, and storage solutions need to evolve. This will not be the last time we see controversy about physical media. For me, the important thing is that the games run well. If that means Key Cards plus a download, I can accept it. What I hope is that Nintendo listens to the survey responses and improves the format before it gets worse.