Nintendo imposes new limits on sharing for digital Switch games
1 min read
Summary
Nintendo has issued a system update for its original Switch games console, ahead of the launch of Switch 2, including a new feature to enable the sharing of digital downloads.
This new feature, dubbed the Virtual Game Card system, allows users to move a digital game licence from one console to another, and plays on both offline.
The new update replaces the previous setup where a “primary” console allowed unlimited offline access to digital game licences for any user, with a single user on any console now requiring an online check to confirm ownership of any game when it is first launched.
The new Switch still allows this unlimited offline access, but to unlock it requires the new Virtual Game Card system, which necessitates the physical swapping of a memory card between consoles.
