(Update) Lego City Undercover’s retail Switch port may require an install

Just let me build the game files brick by brick

[Update Two: WB has finally put this issue to bed by giving a final statement to Eurogamer. I don’t know why they couldn’t have done this to begin with, but at least we now know the final answer. “The information is listed incorrectly on the packaging of Lego City Undercover for Nintendo Switch. Players who purchase a physical copy of LEGO City Undercover on Nintendo Switch at retail are getting the complete game, and do not need to download additional content to enjoy the full experience.”]

[Update: In a post on Eurogamer this morning, Warner Bros. issued a statement claiming, “Players who purchase Lego City Undercover on Nintendo Switch at retail do not need to download the game to play.” This doesn’t really clear up what the box states, but maybe some of the game is playable without a further download? We’ll keep you posted on any more updates, should WB provide answers.]

One of the benefits of the Switch is that going retail means you won’t need to download or install anything. Since Nintendo went back to cartridges (albeit proprietary ones), load times are fast enough to not make installations necessary. The only problem would be when a game starts ballooning in file size, since Switch cartridges have a max capacity of 32 gb.

Color me surprised, but apparently Lego City Undercover is going to be the first retail Switch title to require an install. While this hasn’t been confirmed and could just be a misunderstanding, some leaked photos from the retail box show a warning that reads, “Up to 13 GB storage required for game download.” Um, what?

This could be for a bunch of various reasons. My initial guess would be a day one patch,  but the front of the game box does mention that an internet connection is required. More likely is that WB Games cheapened out on cartridge size and is forcing users to download necessary files.

Either way, this is going to be a huge problem moving forward. Since Nintendo decided on going with proprietary cards, developers end up needing to shell out more to produce retail releases. This is the reason a lot of Switch ports have cost more money (despite being a newer console). WB seems to be giving the finger to Nintendo in retaliation, but the end user is the one who is going to suffer.

Thankfully one can expand the memory of the system, but forcing users to buy more storage seems tawdry.

LEGO City Undercover retail packaging says internet connection required, 13GB required for “game download” [Go Nintendo]