Why does my cartridge need an account?
The game is on the cart, but it won't start without an account or a server check.
What it means
This is the case that catches people out, because on paper everything is fine — the game is complete on the cartridge. But at launch it checks something: a linked account, an entitlement, a server handshake. Fail the check and the game you physically own doesn't start.
We put DRM in the same band as download-required for one reason: the failure mode is identical. Not that the mechanism is the same, but that the outcome is. When the check can't be answered, the cartridge stops being a game. A complete cartridge behind a server check is not a preserved game — it's a game on loan, indefinitely, from a company under no obligation to keep the lights on.
This is worth knowing precisely because it's invisible. Nothing on the box says it, and the cartridge status alone won't tell you.
Before you buy
- If you're buying to preserve rather than to play now, this changes the calculation more than the cartridge status does.
- Check whether the requirement covers the whole game or just online modes — they're very different, and we note it where we know.
- Region matters: the same game can behave differently on different releases.
How we know
From the community spreadsheet's DRM tab and user reports. This data is less reliable than our cartridge data — the source matches on game titles, and titles are inconsistent between regions and editions. If we've got one wrong, the report form is on the game's page.
Common questions
Can I play a DRM game offline?
Usually yes after the first check, but it varies. Where we know the specifics, they're on the game page.
Does DRM mean it isn't complete on cart?
No. They're separate facts. A game can be complete on cart and still require an account.
Why is this less reliable than the cartridge data?
The source matches by title text, not by cartridge code, and titles vary between regions. Cartridge codes are exact; titles aren't.