If you buy Super Mario Wonder or Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the Nintendo eShop you are not only expanding your digital game library, you are also acquiring a virtual game card. For practical purposes, when playing, you will not notice any difference in experience or content but, as a format, they suppose a new way of managing copies of your video games. With most advantages of the cartridge format, although with less inconveniences.
Available with the updates of April and May 2025 of the Nintendo Switch and launch consoles in Nintendo Switch 2, virtual game cards are intended for Add additional functions To those who have two consoles at home and, in the process, enable to be able to provide games. Eye, with emphasis on the concept “lend”: unlike Steam's family groups or the possibility of transferring our digital copy to another person or account, the game will automatically return to us after two weeks. Between you and me, hopefully you could do that with physical cartridges. Are everything advantages?
Now your digital copies are Virtual game cards
Starting from the basics, you will not have to buy the games for which you already paid to have your virtual game cards: everything you already had in digital format is now becomes something similar to a “cartridge” that is linked to who bought it, so that if in your switch there are several accounts each user profile will have its own game cards. In fact, there are probably accounts that do not have any virtual game card because these users did not buy anything in the ESHOP. The first clarified doubt is that these can also play on the same switch.
Like physical cartridges, any profile associated with the console in which there is a virtual game card can play and enjoy its content. At least, as long as there are no parental restrictions in between, of course. As we have already mentioned, the way in which they work is almost the same of physical cartridges. Those games you buy in a store or give you a friend.
So, by default, a game in virtual game card format in addition to being installed in the storage is “loaded” on the console. The interesting thing, the great novelty is that now that same game can also be “extracted” from a Nintendo Switch and “load” console in another.
Although it is possible to provide digital games, Nintendo is ahead of PlayStation and Xbox enabling, through virtual game cards, lending any title to another person with another Switch or Switch 2 console as long as their Nintendo account is part of the same family group as who originally bought the game. And be careful, another added advantage is that you can lend games via the Internet.
However, there is a previous and reasonable requirement: in addition to sharing a family group, the two consoles that will share virtual game cards must connect only once through local communication. Something reasonable considering that family groups are designed for a nearby area. Even if that means cutting off the mode in which the games were “shared” before.
The advantages and disadvantages of the new Nintendo digital format
Are everything advantages? As it happens when lending a video game cartridge, while that second person has our copy, we cannot use it until it returns it or, automatically, until after 14 days since the loan was made. That said, and also as it happens with the cartridges, who receives the game does not need your console to have an Internet connection once you have downloaded the game.
Broadly speaking, virtual game cards enable many of the functions that until now could only get physical copies and allow two people to enjoy and exchange games (at least for two weeks) in an unlimited way. In fact, proasted 14 days you can return the same game To the same person, and all the progress are back. However, and of course, if two players want to play Mario Kart or Street Fighter 6 each has to have their own virtual game card. With exceptions, and in good sense.
With the same update with which Nintendo virtual game cards were implemented Gameshare's function with which several players could enjoy the same copy of a video game on different consoles. However:
- The title itself must be compatible with this function, and the number of compatible video games is not very wide.
- Sharing games remotely and online is an exclusive function of Nintendo Switch 2. In the first switch all players and consoles must be close.
¿What is lost with virtual game cards Regarding the previous process? The truth is that there is a price to pay for the new functions: before you could log in to another console with your account and download any digital game without restrictions. Now you have to “extract” the virtual game card and then “load” that digital cartridge on the second console. In addition, of course, of the option to do this process among strangers or people who do not belong to the same family group.
Virtual game cards are an interesting evolution. Within the concept of digital copies of video games that provides several advantages thought for Nintendo Switch 2 and those who have two consoles at home or share games with nearby people. Above all, when so far many these functions were only possible through traditional physical cartridges.
An interesting option although far from matching the options that Valve gives in Steam. But, of course, sharing or exchanging digital games on PC has always been a separate world. Options that, quite possibly, do not shine the great N nor do they interest too much. And neither does it need it, what's up.
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