Nintendo Exec Says Switch 2 Has No Plans to Abandon Physical Games, Unlike Sony

By Jake Campbell•12 October 2026

✓ Fact-Checked & Verified

Unlike Sony, Nintendo has no plans to abandon physical games. The company’s Switch 2 offers both digital and physical formats, according to Bill van Zyll, Nintendo’s Vice President and General Manager for Latin America.

The comments came during a recent interview with YouTuber Coelho, conducted at the Brazil Game Show, as reported by Kotaku. The Nintendo-focused channel raised several topics related to the company’s activities in the region, including localized Nintendo Directs, before turning to physical media.

Historically, we haven’t had a preference for a specific format. We take consumer preferences very much into consideration. … Therefore, we have no plans to abandon physical media. We know how much fans enjoy it.

Bill van Zyll, Nintendo VP and GM for Latin America

The remarks arrive against a backdrop of backlash toward Sony’s decision to drop physical games. Fans spent the summer protesting with slogans such as “no disc, no buy,” while compiling examples of times Sony previously claimed players owned their digital games.

Other hardware makers have been more cautious. Microsoft has maintained a neutral stance on whether it will continue supporting physical media with its next-generation Project Helix Xbox consoles.

Nintendo’s reliance on physical sales runs deeper than competitors’. The company reported that 61.5 percent of its unit sales came from digital games in its most recent financial report, while Sony’s ratio of digital full-game downloads to physical stands at 82 percent.

This heavier dependence on physical media makes a shift toward exclusively digital formats far less likely for Nintendo, rendering the company’s reassurance an expected response. As Sony continues discussions with various companies over its decision, Nintendo fans have been told there are no plans to follow that path—at least for now.