Summary
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People can use a flashlight to check if a Switch game box has a cartridge inside to avoid buying tampered goods.
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Switch games remain popular in physical form due to the portability of the system.
A smart shopper has shared a simple trick with Nintendo Switch fan community to help people distinguish legit Switch games from fake ones. The trick works to help people when shopping in a store, preventing them from accidentally buying Nintendo Switch game boxes that have been tampered with by thieves.
Although sales of physical copies of games are on the decline across the board, the Nintendo Switch remains a relative bastion of physical game sales compared to other consoles. This is due in part to the fact that Nintendo chose to store physical Switch games on cartridges rather than discs, as well as the console's portable nature, which encourages players to bring their games with them in physical form. Even that one Ace lawyer Investigations Collection is getting an exclusive Switch physical release, with publisher Capcom acknowledging the strength of the Switch physical game market.

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Unfortunately, physical goods can be vulnerable to theft and tampering, prompting Reddit user Far-System1555 to share a simple trick to help the Switch community protect itself. The trick involves shining a bright light, such as a flashlight, through parts of the Switch game case to detect the presence of a game cartridge inside. Since the Switch's physical trigger boxes are made of clear white plastic, any part not covered by the label will let light through, illuminating the black Switch cartridge in the holder and verifying that the package has a cartridge inside. Thus, the technology reduces the chance that someone could get a case for one of the best Switch games in 2024, only to open it and see a missing game cartridge.
Simple trick helps verify real Nintendo Switch cartridges without opening the package
Commenters on Far-System1555's thread praised the trick, citing it as a potential defense against being targeted by Switch game thieves. They also wondered if the trick might work when the Switch 2 is released, since Nintendo announced that the Switch 2 will support game cartridges. They linked to other Reddit posts and news reports focused on cases where the perpetrators opened Nintendo Switch games, removed the cartridges and resealed the cases for the victims to purchase. Others shared tips to improve the trick's effectiveness, such as trying to spot the metal contacts that indicate the cartridge inside the casing is indeed a game cart, rather than a piece of “lure” plastic that some thieves leave inside a tampered case to trick buyers. Some commenters advised caution, saying the trick won't work on a Switch game case that isn't transparent. They added that the trick simply verifies if the cartridge is present, and not if the cart matches the game being purchased.
Despite the rise of digital distribution, cartridges aren't going away anytime soon. In fact, Nintendo is releasing more than ever, thanks to recent advances that allow it to put Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on a single game cartridge. With that in mind, it's good that Switch fans have come up with ways to protect themselves from theft. Again, it's also worth lamenting that such tricks are necessary in the first place.

Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017, which can be played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld model, followed in 2019, with an OLED update coming in 2021.