Comment by bilkow
4 hours ago
- You can't download the game without internet, including re-downloading because you had to free up space
- You can't download the game after they have retired their servers (or if their servers are down / having issues)
- The game ends up taking a lot more storage space as updates are usually tiny when compared to the base game. For reference, the Switch 1 version of Zelda Tears Of the Kingdom takes 16 GB while the latest update takes only 500 MB.
I think most of that is true for games shipped on cart, too. Games often ship broken or missing features which are patched in at launch. Official physical media has not been a reliable method for future accessibility for at least a decade now. It's way past time to start using other methods of preservation.