Feature: “Game-Key Cards Don’t Sit Right With Us”

As far as the ‘Everyday Individual’ on the main street is concerned, the tangible games market is almost extinct at this moment. Store displays are more vacant than ever, the typically dependable supermarket chains frequently no longer carry them, and we are swiftly moving towards a future in which the majority of Switch 2 cartridges won’t contain any substantial information.

However, for the dedicated enthusiasts — those whose devotion to the physical medium remains steadfast — there are thankfully still a handful of options to explore. Limited Run Games, Super Rare Games, iam8bit… All have encountered setbacks at some point, yet they continue to be some of the last fortifications of physical games media.

But what if there were something even superior? Well, Lost in Cult, the British company recognized for its work on high-quality, custom-made Design Works books and Lock On magazines, is aiming to provide a selection of premium, limited edition physical games while also ensuring that standard versions are easily accessible through retail. The initial release includes Thank Goodness You’re Here! and The Excavation Of Hob’s Barrow on Switch, and Immortality on PS5.

Transparency is key, and to gain further insights, we connected with Ryan Brown, marketing director at Lost in Cult and the leader of its new physical games brand.

Nintendo Life: To start, what motivated you to launch this venture?

Ryan Brown: For me and everyone at Lost in Cult, preservation is a crucial topic that resonates with us. We are all collectors, we perceive video games as a serious art form, and we identified a method to not only implement the premium, high-end design and artistic elements that we are known for but also to address some of the challenges we noticed in the industry and hopefully establish a more elevated standard for physical games.

For instance, we’re not confining games behind our elegant limited editions. These are available for fans who wish to collect them, and we’ve poured a lot of passion into them, but standard retail editions also exist to provide accessibility options, and we are collaborating with DoesItPlay? to ensure our games are fully tested on-cart/disc before production.

You noted that someone likened your EDITIONS offerings to The Criterion Collection – were there any comparable brands that inspired you?

Indeed, we’ve noticed that comparison frequently, which is a tremendous privilege; being considered the video game counterpart to what Criterion is doing for cinema is absolutely fantastic. Naturally, we looked to our own design principles as applied to our Design Works books as the primary influence.

Our Design Director Rachel Dalton, along with Art Director Stephen Maurice Graham, have truly spearheaded how our EDITIONS appear, with their remarkable artwork and design. Brands like Criterion, A24’s films, Penguin Random House, and Folio Society’s publications were all benchmarks we aspired to reach, but of course, our design and art teams are unique creative entities and we aimed to stand out in our own regard.

Can you elaborate on the journey from the initial concept phase to your recent announcement?

Yes! I don’t believe people truly grasp the level of effort that goes into an undertaking like this, particularly in the manner we’ve approached it to deliver the best possible outcome for collectors and gamers alike.

We’ve been developing this for over a year — in some form or another, since I joined at the end of 2023, but the real momentum began in early 2024. Conceptualizing what we wanted this to represent was the priority — determining the principles we wanted to uphold. For instance, we knew from the outset that we wanted a focus on preservation, and we sought to ensure that any game we collaborated on would be readily available, so partnerships with DoesItPlay? and our distribution ally PM Studio formed early on.

We actually began discussions with various developer and publisher partners simultaneously as we established our design identity — our initial titles, which you mainly see here as our launch offerings, were secured a year ago and significantly relied on our past experience and quality publications, which is a major privilege for us. As you could imagine, we’ve been in touch with many partners, resulting in an array of exciting titles already in the pipeline, and we deliberately postponed our launch until we were truly prepared — we have our launch game builds in hand, they’ve been finalized, tested by DoesItPlay? already, the art is all set, and we’ve even test-printed EDITIONS already.

Thus, the process is fundamentally different to how Lost In Cult has operated before, as we didn’t want people to endure long waits for these games to proceed to print and shipment.

How did you determine what extras to incorporate in the EDITIONS products, and why is it essential for these to stay consistent?

We almost approached it in reverse, so the consistency principle came first, and we built from there. It was crucial for me, as a collector myself, that these remain a cohesive collection that looks aesthetically pleasing next to each other on a shelf without anything seeming out of place. I can’t abide boxes of various sizes, differing designs, and contents.

While the collector mentality reasoning was foremost, there’s also a production advantage, given that the tooling and design templates need to be executed only one time, which significantly accelerates our print timelines. We don’t want individuals to wait a year for these EDITIONS; they will be dispatched concurrently with standard retail copies, and we can proactively work on future titles, making this method considerably quicker for us. Moreover, the absence of heavy, oversized items means reduced shipping weights and expenses. This approach really proved to be a win-win-win all around.

I don’t believe individuals could truly comprehend the lengths we go to ensure the quality we deliver.

As for the extras included, we essentially worked backward from our principles. We ensured the game is preserved on disc/cart, sure, but we also aimed to retain the narrative, impact, culture of the game, which our booklets achieve through analytical essays, developer interviews, and in-progress artwork. We wanted to create genuinely high-quality mementos, not disposable items.

One story I delight in sharing is how we travel to our printing partners just to evaluate the paper to guarantee it meets the right premium quality standard. I don’t believe individuals could truly fathom the lengths we go to ensure the quality we produce. We incur high costs across our printing materials, artwork, etc. for EDITIONS solely to secure that very premium experience.

Physical media excels in preservation, but it can also become unplayable under certain circumstances. What more should publishers undertake to guarantee long-term preservation?

Absolutely;

Digital media ought to enhance preservation and long-term availability, but regrettably, it simply isn’t the case at this moment.

For us, it’s two-pronged; on the tangible side, making sure that all the content is indeed on the disc and cartridge – meaning you can pull these games off your shelf in 30 years, without the servers operational, and enjoy this game without any obstacles, and that they’re readily accessible in retail-standard editions without limited stock.

The other aspect, naturally, is that we collaborate directly with museums and archival organizations to share our games and resources with them whenever feasible. However, we aren’t the holders of the game rights, of course. It’s absolutely crucial, especially in this era of diminishing ownership and throwaway entertainment, that developers and publishers release their games without online constraints that may render them unplayable someday, to distribute widely across various storefronts, to not confine games behind streaming services, and to engage with museum groups to deliver game builds and developmental resources.

I’m a firm believer in preservation, as I wish to see every game conserved and remain playable, but we are quite far from achieving that. In the interim, we are contributing our share.

You likely aren’t enthusiastic about the concept, but do you envision a future in which consoles cease to provide the capability to use physical media? What transpires with initiatives like this in such an event?

I’m quite wary of the idea; the thought makes me consider whether I’ll just isolate myself and tackle my extensive games backlog at that stage!

No, but seriously, I’ve reflected on this extensively. We’re still quite a distance from that, as the individuals who continue to purchase physical copies today are committed to it, and we’re not vanishing for years to come, so there’s still a good profit in it for platform holders. I believe that even with next-gen consoles, they will struggle to eliminate those options.

We have time before that occurs, but even then, there will be actions we can take. USB sticks containing the DRM-free game with merchandise in a box, or something similar. There will always be an audience for as long as I’m around, so there will always be a means.

It almost appears that no game is truly “complete” nowadays concerning updates and patches. What obstacles do you encounter when selecting which games to grant the Lost in Cult treatment?

You’re correct, and this presents a significant obstacle. I would further assert that no physical publisher has the authority to dictate to developers or publishers regarding whether this occurs. Yet, we find ourselves in the optimal situation; we simply do not contract games where such occurrences are known or likely to transpire in the future, which of course plays a crucial role in our dialogues with partners.

I cannot emphasize enough that we are prepared to walk away and refrain from engaging with massive games that we believe would fail to uphold this promise.

We verify, verify, verify, and verify again – and I’m not joking; I inquire so often that I become bothersome – that builds are final and no patches or updates are forthcoming. Our preservation team, DoesItPlay?, tests each game before we proceed to print, and if there are any significant issues, we consult the developers.

In fact, we have one forthcoming unannounced game that we specifically anticipated might receive a patch in the future and have advised them to proceed with that now before we test or print, even if that implies a slight delay in shipping. This is extremely crucial to us, ensuring games are as final as possible, and are released with all the latest patches and content on the disc without requiring internet connectivity or updates.

I cannot emphasize enough that we are prepared to step back and avoid working on expansive games that we believe wouldn’t fulfill this commitment.

You’re understandably concentrated on current-gen consoles for now, but can you envision Lost in Cult revisiting earlier generations and reviving forgotten classics?

I would absolutely adore that, especially since I personally enjoy collecting for those consoles. My collections for PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, and DS in particular receive a lot of affection; they’re incredibly fun systems to gather for, and as someone nearing his mid-30s, were the consoles of my youth.

I ponder what possibilities are available for those. We’re witnessing this vast homebrew Game Boy resurgence, which is wonderful, but many of those older systems have lost their printing processes, and you can neither license nor produce for them anymore. Porting older games to newer consoles is sometimes the simpler approach. But yes, we’ll see; of course those types of ideas intrigue us.

Switch 2 has attracted some controversy recently concerning its Game-Key Card releases. I’d love to hear your opinions on this – is it truly a viable solution, and will Lost in Cult’s commitment to providing fully playable games on cart extend to the Switch 2?

Yes, we are preparing releases for Switch 2! Yes, they will only be complete games on cartridge versions!

It’s obvious that Game-Key Cards don’t align with our values and don’t conform to our belief that games should be fully on cartridge for future use. I comprehend why Nintendo developed them as a superior substitute for code-in-a-box type releases, but we will never publish Game-Key Card versions of games.

We are still some distance from establishing a regular cadence for Switch 2 releases, but we are in talks for several titles that may emerge as and when in the future, and we will solely do full games on cartridge. We are learning about developments simultaneously with most readers of this, but if it turns out that costs for standard cartridges are significantly elevated, I think most collectors would concur with us that it remains the more favorable option over empty cartridges.

It’s a dream question, but are there any games that you would absolutely yearn to work on for a physical release?

Oh, undoubtedly, tons. 1000xRESIST stands out to me; it’s one of my all-time favorite games – it’s just such a remarkable game and I would cherish the opportunity to work on it.

Annapurna, virtually anything from them; their style of games aligns perfectly with our EDITIONS. Promise Mascot Agency is a recent favorite of mine. I believe everyone is still hoping for Inside and Limbo on the Switch. The Sludge Life series and Boomerang X; perhaps not ideally suited for us, but the Dadish series should definitely receive a physical release.

I have a lengthy list of games I personally desire physically, many of which align with my wish for us to work on. Though it’s not on the Switch, I must mention Rollerdrome. It was my favorite game of that year, and I adore it wholeheartedly. It’s a challenging scenario since the developer was shut down and the rights were sold, but it’s definitely on my dream list.

We’re also not limiting ourselves to indie titles, I might add; our curation prioritizes artistry, which often leans toward indie, but I would relish the chance to give some AAA games our EDITIONS treatment as well.

This interview has been lightly modified.

A huge thank you to Ryan Brown for conversing with us. If you’re interested in exploring the new releases on Switch, you can visit the Lost in Cult website now. Standard editions are priced at £29.99 each, with EDITIONS available for £59.99 each. Dedicated collectors can acquire the complete set of Switch titles for a total of £179.97 (although currently there’s a £9 discount), including an undisclosed title.

For the superfans, ‘Collection’ versions are available which incorporate the EDITIONS game along with a vinyl soundtrack release and giclee print (or, in the case of Thank Goodness You’re Here!, just the vinyl soundtrack). These range from £89.98 to a staggering £178.98 for the PS5 Immortality Collection, in addition to shipping.