Nintendo’s ‘Virtual Game Cards’ Show How You Might Port Your Switch Library to Switch 2

Nintendo can’t get enough of cartridges. Even its digital downloads are turning into “Virtual Game Cards” on the Nintendo Switch. After an April update, each game you own digitally will become its own instance of a title, which means you’ll be able to send your cards to a nearby Switch, a friend’s Switch, or—we expect—the Nintendo Switch 2.

At its Thursday Nintendo Direct, the Japanese game company told users these Virtual Game Cards will effectively replace your digital games that live on your Nintendo account. After you purchase a digital version of the game through the Nintendo eShop, it will load onto your system as a digital card. The game will still show up as a playable title on the Switch home screen just as before, and any account registered to the device can still play that game like normal.

The big difference is how it will appear in your game library. Users will be able to find their games in a “Virtual Game Cards” library. From there, you can load each title onto your system, or else send them to another Switch console you own. You need to have your system close enough to communicate with the Switch’s NFC (near-field communication) the first time you try it, but you can send games over the internet to both “load” or “eject” a virtual card. Loading a game to one Switch will make it inaccessible from the other system, and you can only do this with two consoles at a time.

Nintendo has previously confirmed the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible, but left out how players will be able to transfer their digital games. Though the company didn’t specify how the new virtual game cards will interact with the sequel Switch, it doesn’t take much imagination to see how players can transfer when the time comes. FCC filings confirm the Switch 2 will have NFC capabilities.

The company said these virtual cards are as “flexible and convenient as game cards.” But that’s not exactly true, given  how Virtual Game Cards work with sharing between friends and family. It’s a bit like ebook lending, but where the owner of the game is the library. After an upcoming April update, up to eight Nintendo Account users in a Family Group can freely lend out Virtual Game Cards to each other. This will only work over local wireless, and those games will be inaccessible to the original owner. After 14 days, the card becomes inaccessible to the lendee as it returns to the original Switch.

Nintendo is doing a similar thing to Valve with Steam. Last year, that platform opened up Steam Families to let users play friends’ games through their account. Still, it’s only a band aid to cover up the lack of true ownership on either platform. These virtual game cards should make lending games to your sibling easier, but it won’t make things much better for people who own more than one console for personal use. In that case physical media you own still surpasses digital media you license.

But any improvement is nice at this point, and the news also means we now have a better idea how the Switch 2 will communicate with Nintendo’s original handheld. And we should have even more details on how this will all work with the new Switch soon. Nintendo is set to drop details during an April 2 Nintendo Direct, along with preorder and launch dates for what’s set to be one of the company’s largest console release yet.

If you’re looking for all the juicy Switch 2 details, there’s now an app for that. Nintendo grandaddy Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on the same connect announcing digital game cards to show off the Nintendo Today! App. The app acts as a calendar that includes all daily news from the company. It should be available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store sometime Thursday, though you’ll need to have a Nintendo account to access all the upcoming releases.

Of course, you can just tune in with Gizmodo as we’ll have all the news as it arrives, but you do you, pal.