Nintendo Unveils New Virtual Game Card System to Hide Game Cards

Nintendo's latest Switch update introduces the new Virtual Game Card (VGC) system, which is now live. For those who prefer to keep their game collection private, you can now hide your Virtual Game Cards from the acquired list on Nintendo's VGC portal. This feature ensures that anyone browsing your list of Virtual Game Cards won't be able to see the games you've chosen to conceal, for any reason you might have.

I personally tested this functionality and successfully hid games such as Suikoden I&II HD Remaster and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Although these games still appear on my OLED Switch if they are installed or loaded, they disappear from the list once uninstalled. You can check out the lineup by navigating to "Redownload Software," but to view hidden games, you'll need to access the "Can't Find Software?" section and log into your Nintendo account. The same applies to the Nintendo website, where hidden games are tucked away in a separate folder under the "Can't Find Software?" option.

If you have games you'd rather not have noticed by others using your system, you can hide them in this folder. While the process might seem a bit cumbersome since you need to unhide and reload games to play them again, it could be useful. For example, when I launched Suikoden I&II HD Remaster, it still marked my account as playing it and showed it in my Play Activity. This feature could serve as a parental control tool, helping to keep games like Mortal Kombat or Doom out of reach. It might also be handy if you want to prevent certain titles from appearing when you're gaming at social events.

In any case, you now have the ability to hide your Virtual Game Cards. The latest update also includes redesigned icons, a system transfer feature in preparation for the upcoming Switch 2, and the closure of a popular game-sharing loophole. For more details on the new Nintendo Switch firmware update, you can find additional information [ttpp].