- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth co-director Naoki Hamaguchi thinks Switch 2’s Game Key Cards are “a really great idea for us developers”
- The executive believes that cartridge loading issues stem from the Switch 2 hardware
- He says that Nintendo will put more effort into popularizing the new format instead of trying to improve the loading speed of the cartridges
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth co-director Naoki Hamaguchi has called the Switch 2’s controversial game key cards “a really great new idea” that could be useful for developers and believes Nintendo will try to make them more popular.
Speaking to Wccftech (via Stealth ), Hamaguchi explained that cartridges themselves create loading issues attributed to the Switch 2’s hardware, suggesting they are a better alternative for developers.
“Personally, I feel that the problem with the loading speed of the game cartridge is more about the hardware specifications of the Nintendo Switch 2,” said Hamaguchi. “I’m not with Nintendo so I can’t really speak to that side. That said, I feel like the Game Key Card format that Nintendo created for the Nintendo Switch 2 is a really great new idea that they had offered to us.”
Game Key Cards are a new form of physical Switch 2 games that contain a download key but do not contain the full game data like other physical editions.
The cards are only available for a select selection of games, but the rift comes from fans who worry the company might be moving towards a full digital output, while others suggest that since game key cards don’t contain the full game data, players don’t have full ownership of their games after purchase.
Despite the controversy surrounding them, Hamaguchi believes that Nintendo will make a push to popularize game key cards instead of working on improving cartridge loading issues.
“I personally don’t see Nintendo working towards trying to improve the loading speed of the cartridges,” he said. “I rather feel that Nintendo will put more effort into popularizing the Game Key Card format, which again is a really great idea for us developers.
“We also hope that the players understand what it costs them. Of course, this is also something that we can help with from the developer’s side. I think that the cooperation between Nintendo and publishers trying to promote the Game Key Card will be the best way forward for all players in the future.”
Hamaguchi has been making the rounds recently, and in a separate interview with ScreenRant, the director discussed the criticism of Final fantasy 7 remake series has faced and disagreed with the idea that “certain episodes” of Rebirth were too long.
“Regarding time management in certain sections, especially in FF7 RebirthI honestly don’t believe they were longer than necessary,” Hamaguchi said. “I feel today that players just have too much to do and too much to play; so they often feel an urge for something to end quickly.”
While he doesn’t agree with the sentiment, he added that he was aware of criticism, saying, “As we work on the conclusion to the trilogy, we’re finding a balance in how story arcs are told and spread out to make sure the game feels a bit more concise.”
The third and final installment of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series does not yet have a release date, but we do know that development officially began in 2024.
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