This was obvious, and I'm so sad because of this situation. I’ve been seeing people, even on this subreddit, spreading misinformation. At the very least, we should have waited until Nintendo officially confirmed this before stating it as a fact.
Let me explain every reason we have to believe this is correct with a bulleted list.
Nintendo Switch games are very small. Switch 1 BOTW is 13GB. Nintendo is making cartridges up to 64GB now, that can even fit all of Cyberpunk 2077. (source direct from cdprojekt). So Nintendo can absolutely fit a version with better textures on a 64GB cartridge. Increasing BOTW's framerate and resolution likely won't make the games file size five times bigger and too large for a 64GB cartridge. That would be absurd.
On the Switch 2 Enhanced boxes there are no mentions of the words "download," "internet," or "code," which Nintendo has used on every other product in the past and even on Switch 2 to indicate that a game isn't on the completely on the cartridge. Example A (Switch 2 Game-Key Case), Example B, Example C. All 3, including the Switch 2 game explain it unambiguously. Do you see any obvious words like that on this box? Compare the language to the previous examples. We have no evidence to beleive this has changed when they're still using clear language on Switch 2 cases to indicate downloads when they do, see Example A.
These games come in red cases that say Switch 2 all over them. Imagine you're a random person and you see this on the shelf. What is it that you're going to think at fist glance? "Oh, that's a Switch 2 game." That's intentional. There is no evidence to show they are lying. It might even be illegal to misrepresent a product like that in some places.
The likely reason the box says "Includes the Nintendo Switch game and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack" is because these games are already available on Nintendo Switch 1 and they are Nintendo Switch games. (Did we just forget that these are re-releases?) The second part is telling you that the upgrades are included. Nowhere does it use any word that would clearly indicate it being not on the cartridge.
They mention of the upgrade pack being, "also sold separately," keyword also, likely just to alert customers to the fact that they don't need to repurchase the game in it's entirety for Switch 2. They can simply upgrade their Switch 1 game by buying upgrade pack code (gift card) in store or on the eShop.
The main reason people seem to be confused regarding this is due to people combing the concept of Game-Key Cards (which don't affect most games) and the words in the Switch 2 edition boxes.
The alleged "confirmation" that these Switch 2 games require a download comes comes from a screenshot of a random email, that doesn't include the question that was even asked. And based on the content of the email, it only confirms the existence of codes, but not codes in the box of the physical versions. Which we know exists separately as gift cards.
I'm not saying you are wrong, but to play devil's advocate here:
Just because the cartridges COULD hold all the data, doesn't mean it will. It would make more business sense to manufacture one product, the Switch 1 cart, and then supplement the Switch 1 release with a DLC code. Far cheaper.
All examples you gave require a download before the game can be played. This would not be true for these Switch 2 editions as we know, at least, the full Switch 1 game is on the cart and as such a full game is playable.
It is a game, that works on Switch 2 and is in a Switch 2 case. Nothing more here.
The second part is saying that the upgrade pack is at least in the box. It does not confirm it is on the cart.
You are right here. This is exactly why it says "upgrade pack sold seperately".
No I dont think they are. They are confused because, at this moment in time, we do not have all the information.
Again, I really hope all the data is on the cart, but I'm not sure we can know that right now. I would not take 1 customer service rep's word as gospel.
You:"4. It is a game, that works on Switch 2 and is in a Switch 2 case. Nothing more here."
Also you:"1. Just because the cartridges COULD hold all the data, doesn't mean it will."
So your points are reverse evidence like 'well it doesn't say its the Switch 2 version in there.' Like actually REALLY think about that for half a second. It already says Switch 2 version in two places on the box and very likely the damn cartridge. That's a legitimate reason to think it's a Switch 2 version.
But if were using reverse evidence then, you know what it actually doesn't say ANYWHERE? That it's not on the stupid cart or that it requires a download or a code.
If you make an argument like this you are essentially saying that Nintendo should have to label it like this. Would this finally be idiot-proof enough?
Since when has the absence of evidence of evidence been treated as evidence? If I don't tell someone that I'm straight, that doesn't mean I'm gay.
"This Switch 2 edition includes the Switch version of the game plus the Switch 2 upgrade pack"
This is ambiguous and you are lying to yourself to think it isn't.
We have no idea, with the facts we have, whether "Switch 2 edition" in this sentence refers to the cartridge or the the box.
The cartridge - this is what I hope for and it is all on a red cart, no downloads required.
The box - contains the Switch cartridge and a download code for the Switch 2 content. Still playable without using the code but is enhanced if you do
Either can be true reading the sentence on the box.
Edit: The official website has a whole page to "explain" these editions and nowhere does it say whether all the stuff is on the cart or not. Just saying the Edition is a bundle. A whole website and it raises more questions than it answers:
My point is that the arguments for it not being on the cartridge are incredibly weak. I'm very sorry for ranting at you, but their reasoning is so bad it's actually hurting my brain. I pray to GOD Nintendo clears all this up soon.
The most compelling thing they have is that they find the box blurb confusing.
While I have made the argument time and time again that the phrasing on the English box is so incredibly awkward because, these are old switch 1 releases (just enhanced) and Nintendo is trying to transparently show us that we do not need these new editions if we own the old copy. These Japanese covers are good evidence for my claim, because they more obviously have that goal in mind. The Japanese box only mentions a Nintendo Switch game to tell you to go out and buy an upgrade pack if you already have one.
If you really read what the support agent wrote in their second message, you can clearly see that the agent knows or at least has access to more info about Switch 2 than anyone in this thread. But they immediately dismiss it because it's counter to their narrative.
The Twitter post that was treated as far more credible than my own Support Request and was used to claim confirmation of the contrary. it didn't even bother including the question that he asked in the screenshot, the source was and I quote "a follower sent it in." The response they allegedly got was, and this was the only piece of information that post held was the sentence "yes, upgrade packs are available as digital codes," which is wild because it doesn't mean what these people seem to think it does. We already had confirmation that you could by them separately as gift cards. If they wanted to prove anything the question would need to be included in the screenshot. Or words along the line of "The Switch 2 enhanced edition includes a download."
The majority of their arguments rely on statements that are false or misleading.
It's not misleading to say that a Switch 2 box, containing a Switch 2 Enhanced Edition game intuitively feels like it should have the version on it. and might even be illegal in some countries if they didn't clearly label it or mention it had a download.
Let's just hope it all gets cleared up in the next few weeks.
But it have been so hard for Nintendo to say that all the content for the Switch 2 editions is on the cart? Qould have taken 5 seconds in the Direct and 1 sentence on the Web page.
Maybe they think it is obvious it would be all on the cart but unfortunately we live in a era where a lot of publishers try and give us download content where they can.
The mods of r/Switch pinned a post a few days ago that was misleading and felt deliberately obtuse. Claimed that there will be no difference in physical vs digital price at all because 'Murica didn't have such a thing listed despite hundreds of EU screenshots.
I am so hyped for the Switch 2 but the shitstorm going on in communities is really ruining the lead-up for me.
Yeah, it would be really cool if people could stop repeating hearsay. I'm fairly certain US digital prices are just unconfirmed. The are not confirmed to be the same.
This is precisely my point. Everybody took it as a fact that Switch 2 edition games are just Switch 1 cartridges only because Nintendo support said so when the reality is they don't know anything.
Here's what people were posting as "proof" it wasn't on the the cartridge. It doesn't even include the question they asked the person at Nintendo Customer Support. It's 500% worse than what I've posted here.
wow. this situation is so confusing. so Switch 2 Edition physical games come as an original Switch cartridge with the upgrade pack in the cartridge as well for when you play it on a Switch 2 ?
How is a Switch 1 going to be able to read a Switch 2 game cartridge? That's just what's weird about it. They already stated the Switch 1 can read the "Switch 2 edition" physical games. (just not the enhancements) This clearly shows that the enhancment is either a seperate download (my guess) or on the cartridge but only readable by a Switch 2.
I assume it'll be like the Gameboy games that could be played on an OG Gameboy but had full color and sometimes extra features if played on a Gameboy Color. It'll fit in both consoles but it'll check which console it's running on and unlock the enhancements if it can.
I hope this information is correct but do be careful placing all trust in a support person, it’s not their fault but they may not be as clued up fully on things.
You do realize that's where this rumor that they're not this way came from. And the person that posted the screenshot didn't even include all the info/question they asked.
I remember reading the post, thought it was from an article of a journalist asking a Nintendo rep?
I wasn’t trying to be dismissive of your post at all, I was just saying that support reps on chats don’t always know every detail of how things will be.
Have personal experience with Nintendo support telling various people about Strikers features which turned out to not be correct.
I would take this agent’s information with a grain of salt. I think we need an official statement from Nintendo, as saying “yes, it’s included” is still ambiguous to whether is on the cart, or a code in the case, or if it’s on cart but still requires a download without a code. We just don’t know if it’s 100% complete on the cart yet and there’s no clear answer
The other reason I think both the Switch 1 and Upgrade pack will be on the same cart is that it wouldn't be difficult for Nintendo to implement.
Firstly, the Switch carts are read only so any DLC and updates need to be stored on the console storage. So they already have a system of merging two different partitions when loading the game.
Secondly game cards already have support for partitioning. I assume that's how multiple games on one cart like Pikmin 1+2 worked.
So just partition the game card into 2. One partition holds the Switch 1 game. The second holds whatever is in the Upgrade pack. The switch 2 will combine the two using the same system they used previously, and the switch 1 will simply ignore the second partition.
It would have said you dont need to download anything if it were on the cartridge, like they have done with every cartridge that contained an expansion in the past. Why would Nintendo suddenly switch up their wording?
Clarifying that explicit DLC is on a cartridge is not the same as confirming a Switch 2 version is actually a Switch 2 version. Apples to oranges.
Pokemon did this because it isn't obvious that DLC would be on the cartridge as DLC is typically ONLY available as a download; However, it should be obvious that a Switch 2 version should have the Switch 2 version on the cartridge (unless stated otherwise).
So why would a Switch 2 box, with a Switch 2 Enhanced Edition label, need to tell you explicitly that it doesn't have the game on the cartridge? Unless that was the case, but it doesn't say download anywhere. It was supposed to be obvious that it is on there, because it's the Switch 2 Enhanced Edition.
…Because they have told you with all their expansion pack games in the past that it was. How is this any different than the ones on the S1? The upgrades are available as a download separately. Makes sense to clarify that it is on the cartridge if it were, like they have done for every single game in the past.
Also where are you getting the info that these games will have Switch 2 Labels? That makes zero sense. You ever see a PS5 branded game playable on a PS4? You have the dumbest arguments.
Pack or pass doesnt make a difference. Some DLCs are referred to as packs on other games, ones that are only available as downloads. Youre pointing out tiny semantic differences because you have no argument.
How are these enhancement packs different? Have they been available in any form other than downloadable in the past? Have they been announced to exist in any other form except downloadable?
An “expansion pass” is always DLC…EXCEPT when its not. Even you have to see how dumb that sounds, lol.
Whether its an enhancement or an expansion, its the same delivery mechanism.
On the Switch 2 Enhanced boxes there are no mentions of the words "download," "internet," or "code," which Nintendo has used on every other product in the past and even on Switch 2 to indicate that a game isn't on the completely on the cartridge. Example A (Switch 2 Game-Key Case), Example B, Example C. All 3, including the Switch 2 game explain it unambiguously. Do you see any obvious words like that on this box? Compare the language to the previous examples.
I can think of at least one example where the language on the box didn't say the download aspect, until you read the back -- the Mario Kart + Booster Pass on cartridge that was released in SE Asia started with just Waves 1-5 on the cart, with Wave 6 being a download. That definitely wasn't clear from the front cover.
I'm not saying you are wrong but merely suggesting you shouldn't speak in such absolutes until this can be more definitively sourced (and poor Nintendo support people don't count -- anyone in the support industry would be able to tell you not to rely on that sort of answer).
As a counter argument, it's pretty obvious that the Boosteer Pass is DLC and DLC is almost always a download code. We are talking about DLC that turns your game into a next gen version. Wouldn't Nintendo just put that in a box that differentiated itself more. Additionally, you should look at the translated covers for that Japanese Enhanced Editions. They're much more clear. The blurb on the front is just to make buyers aware that you can upgrade their old switch 1 copies.
That doesn't really make sense to say the DLC is "almost always a download code" when I'm pointing out a version that specifically is not. They have 2 versions of it, one with Wave 1-5 fully on the cart, one with Waves 1-6 fully on the cart, so in neither case is it mostly downloaded, and in one case there is no downloading whatsoever. But that isn't mentioned on the front cover, even though you'd think that would be a selling point for the one that has no downloading, and would be needing to be pointed out for the one that requires downloading. I specified the SE Asia edition, because it's in English. So, they put out an English cover that doesn't specify when downloading is needed -- one of which requires some downloading and one that does not.
You may be right about how they are going to release it -- to me it makes the most sense to have it on the cartridge, and I agree that the rumors that it's not on the cartridge are unreliably sourced (more support people). But to claim that the text on the front confirms it because Nintendo "has used on every other product in the past" words like "download" is simply false. I just gave you and example where they didn't.
Edit: And even the one with downloading has it as a patch when Wave 6 comes, not a download code.
Already posted the TOTK version, but have you looked at any of the Japanese versions of these. They just straight up tell you to buy the upgrade if you have the old version and that's all. They don't say any of the stuff that has confused a whole bunch of you.
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u/eleazar0425 1d ago
This was obvious, and I'm so sad because of this situation. I’ve been seeing people, even on this subreddit, spreading misinformation. At the very least, we should have waited until Nintendo officially confirmed this before stating it as a fact.