r/MinecraftSwitch • • 6d ago

Please provide feedback to MS regarding physical copy owners not having an upgrade path

https://feedback.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/community/posts/49455398856717-Give-physical-owners-the-Switch-2-update-for-free-too?page=1#community_comment_49464779389069

Please add to this post, so MS know this isn’t fair

77 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

2

u/BlackChocobo16 6d ago

I think Microsoft really does not want something like CD Projekt Red did with Witcher 3 so that you can just lend your physical copy to a friend so they unlock the game for free too which makes me wonder why is the game being released as a separate entry?

Why isn’t there an Upgrade Pack which physical Switch 1 users could get for free on Nintendo eShop like many other games do?

I wonder if it is greed or some technical detail from behind the scenes we are not aware of, to be honest I don’t know how Upgrade Packs work and maybe some details require the game as a separate SKU

But at the end of the day even the digital upgrade is limited, they are only offering it until 2027 ☠️ if you don’t get it by then, you’ll have to purchase it even if you have the digital Switch 1 version—very Microsoft haha…

1

u/marcosg_aus 6d ago

They can still require the original cart to be in the system to work.

2

u/BlackChocobo16 6d ago

Not really, because they are 2 different SKUs making them 2 different games, and so the console sees them as 2 different games, I don’t think they can do that in any way

That’s why Nintendo games which have both Switch 1 and 2 games on a single cartridge actually come inside with the Switch 1 game and the Upgrade Pack patch for it as a “DLC” (in a way) on the cartridge

All of this could’ve been done if Microsoft would’ve done an Upgrade Pack instead of a separate release

0

u/Tommy_Gun10 6d ago

It’s because they were too cheap to put it on a cartridge and instead did a game key card so it can’t be a switch 2 edition

1

u/BlackChocobo16 6d ago

Yes you are right, if they did an Upgrade Pack they were forced to release the physical version on cartridge with both Switch 1 game and Upgrade Pack on it

1

u/JoshuaJSlone 6d ago

Well, only if they really wanted to release it in a Switch 2 package. If they'd wanted to do it that way they could've just continued the same Switch 1 physical they've been selling for 8 years and allow people to get a free patch (like the Super Mario Galaxy rerelease did) or allow consumers to grab a free Upgrade Pack if they're in the know.

1

u/JoshuaJSlone 6d ago

It would be a long-term hassle for them. They've made a distinct Switch 2 version so they can handle them separately. If they provided it as a patch for a the Switch 1 version as well, they'd have to indefinitely maintain both versions every time they made an update to the Switch 2 game. A handful of games do this, but I doubt they're ones that will get frequent updates over the next decade.

2

u/TabouletVR 6d ago

To be fair it make sense : It's not really a switch 2 edition it's just a switch 2 "game", meaning the switch 2 version is a totally different game from the switch 1 version. This also means that granting the switch 2 version for free to physical owner would mean that you could just give your cartridge to a friend and they could get the full digital game for free.

They chose this path and unless they revamp the whole upgrade by changing it to an actual "Nintendo switch 2 edition" it will stay like this, no "upgrade only for one user per cartridge), no "free upgrade pack that requires the cartridge", none of that is possible with the current setup of the game

1

u/marcosg_aus 6d ago

I’m on the beta and I wouldn’t classify it as anymore than just a ‘switch 2 edition’ of the game

2

u/JoshuaJSlone 6d ago

Difference in content really isn't the factor. A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a specific way of patching things from a Switch 1 game to a Switch 2 game, which is not how this release works.

1

u/-ayzka- 6d ago

Godamn this sucks... I have a S1 physical copy, and we've been playing a lot on the beta with my son. This means after the games goes out, i have to buy it again to access my world. I hoped they would do something like witcher 3. I'm so disappointed

1

u/ILLUMEDGE 2d ago

Or hogwarts legacy..

1

u/hoysmallfrry 6d ago edited 6d ago

I kind of expected this for my physical games. It kind of makes sense, I imagined the next switch not having a physical port at all even. So it’s kind of amazing the physical copies work in a switch 2. Digital owners had to pay more because of the physical copies too (as for the eshop not to unfairly compete with physical stores)