Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa recently confirmed via the official Nintendo Twitter account that the Nintendo Switch 2 will receive backwards compatibility. In the same post, Furukawa announced that Nintendo Switch Online will be accessible as well. There are still a few questions waiting to be answered, but this will undoubtedly give the Nintendo Switch 2 an edge over its predecessor.
The Nintendo Switch has had a successful lifespan, but it hasn’t been without its controversies. In retrospect, the console’s early days were its most difficult period by far. There were very few launch titles prepared, and even the following years were largely crowded by ports and remasters. Thanks to backwards compatibility, the Nintendo Switch’s successor is prepared to tackle this issue head on.
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Nintendo Gives Update on Switch 2 Backward Compatibility
Following years of rumors and speculation, Nintendo at last provides its first official comment on the Switch 2 backward compatibility.
Nintendo Switch 2 Backwards Compatibility is Great News for Launch Titles
The Nintendo Switch is Stuffed with Wii U Ports
Much of the Nintendo Switch’s design, including its launch strategy, was heavily influenced by the relative failure of the Wii U. Despite the Wii U performing poorly in critical and commercial metrics, the console still drew a loyal fanbase thanks to a few hidden gems. This created plenty of demand to take any solid games from the Wii U and port them to its successor, so that each of these titles could be played and judged by a much wider audience than the Wii U managed to draw in.
The Nintendo Switch did just that, with a sizable portion of its library consisting of first party Wii U ports. Even now, some of the biggest titles on its end of life release schedule are remasters of age-old games. As the Switch was influenced by the Wii U, Nintendo should take note of how the Switch 2 can improve off of its predecessors’ shortcomings.
Backwards Compatability Gives The Nintendo Switch 2 an Edge Over its Predecessor
Although many details still aren’t certain, the official confirmation of backwards compatibility is already a huge improvement from the Nintendo Switch. There is plenty of speculation that can be made from this point alone, assuming the backwards compatibility is both convenient and robust. If that is the case after all, it may be the perfect feature to give the Nintendo Switch 2 an edge in its early days.
Of course, it is important to recognize unknown factors and remain cautious. Previous Nintendo systems with backwards compatibility typically allowed one to simply insert the disc or cartridge from its predecessor and play library to library. It is currently unclear if the Nintendo Switch’s cartridges will be universally compatible with its successor, but this is certainly the expectation.
More importantly, this would remove the need to overflow the console’s library with Nintendo Switch ports. Of course, the Nintendo Switch has had plenty of solid games that will no doubt be worth playing on its predecessor. Thankfully, backwards compatibility is the perfect way to meet this demand.
Nintendo Switch 2 Launch Titles Have Massive Potential
There is more to support this perspective, in fact, and it bodes especially well for the Nintendo Switch 2’s potential release window. The Nintendo Switch’s early days were notably stuffed with ports, but it has released a number of widely well received games since. More importantly, its last days seem to paint a clear picture as well.
In simple terms, the Nintendo Switch winding down on major releases should bode well for the next console. Major titles such as Metroid Prime 4 continue to appear relatively scarce, and could very well be used to bolster the Switch 2’s launch year. Even Pokemon Gen 10 leaks have hinted at a dual-release strategy, which seems to confirm sweeping plans for backwards compatibility.
The Nintendo Switch is a tough act to follow. After the success of the Wii, the Wii U was in a very similar position, and unfortunately fell behind. The Nintendo Switch 2 needs to avoid a similar fate, and backwards compatibility may help it to do just that.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017, capable of being played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh coming in 2021.