Nintendo plays on PlayStation fans' fears: physical games will become a weapon - former Head of Marketing

Nintendo's former Head of Marketing believes the company can use criticism of Sony's move away from discs to build confidence in physical editions.

Nintendo can use criticism of Sony's plans to stop releasing discs with new games in 2028 to build customer confidence in physical editions, according to former Head of Marketing Keith Ellis.

He drew attention to a recent statement by Bill van Zyl, who is responsible for Nintendo's business in Latin America. Van Zyl emphasized that the company is not going to abandon physical games because fans value them. According to Ellis, this was a pre-arranged statement, not a spontaneous comment.

Amidst criticism of Sony, Nintendo looks like a company that better understands the desires of a part of the audience. The Switch 2 is sold without a cartridge-less version, and even the controversial Game-Key Cards can be resold. At the same time, many games for the console are still released on regular cartridges.

PlayStation and Xbox offer disc-less consoles, while Nintendo currently adheres to a different approach. However, this is only Ellis's interpretation: Nintendo has not confirmed that it has changed its strategy due to Sony's decisions. The future of physical editions is becoming a matter not only of technology but also of player trust.