Whether it ends up being called the Switch 2 or not, it’ll play Switch games.
No matter what sort of other cool or innovative stuff Nintendo announces, these days it’s going to be met by a chorus of gamers saying “Yeah, but what about the Switch 2?” It’s understandable, seeing as how the Switch has been Nintendo’s biggest success story since the NES/Famicom and Nintendo’s flagship franchises have been producing a steady stream of modern classics in recent years, whetting fans’ appetites for what’s next in those series.
Nintendo very much likes to do things at its own pace, though, usually only showcasing new projects and products when they’re getting close to completion, and so it’s been extremely tight-lipped regarding the Switch’s successor system. Even “Switch 2” is just what fans and the media have taken to calling it – Nintendo itself hasn’t used that name at all in discussing its future hardware plans. And while we still don’t have an official name, projected release window, or suggested retail price, Nintendo has finally answered one big question about the Switch’s successor: yes, it will be backward compatible and able to play Switch games.
In its characteristic plain-spoken manner, the official Nintendo of Japan Twitter account posted a message from company president Shuntaro Furukawa, stating that Switch software will be playable on the Switch successor system. Furukawa also states that Nintendo Switch Online, as the Switch’s online service is called, will also be available on the new system.
This plan mirrors, in many ways, what Sony has done with the PlayStation 4 and 5. Though the PlayStation 4 was released nearly 11 years ago, a lot of its software catalog remains viable entertainment to this day, and so the PlayStation 5 was designed to be able to play all of the 4’s catalog, in either digital or disc form. Likewise, the PlayStation 4 and 5 operate through the same online service, PlayStation Network, allowing users to use the same single account for both systems.
With Switch games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate still regularly showing up in weekly top-20 sales lists in Japan, it makes sense that Nintendo doesn’t want to entirely jettison its Switch operations/profits when it makes the step up to its next hardware generation. A commitment to backward compatibility also recognizes that while there will always be a segment of gamers who are focused on ever-increasing levels of technical performance in games, baseline graphics and processing power have progressed to the point where games don’t become obsolete in terms of entertainment value nearly as quickly as they used to.
▼ Tactics Ogre, which was a Switch semi-remake, was originally a game for the Super Famicom/Super NES, and is still fun to play.
Furukawa’s announcement also hints at a strong possibility that the Switch successor may be more of an evolution instead of a revolution in terms of things like controls and form factor. When designing new consoles, Nintendo sometimes goes completely outside the box (to varying results), but if the new system was going to be something really out there, like a hologram display that reads your brain waves for inputs, backward compatibility would be impractical, so it sounds like even if the new system doesn’t end up being named the “Switch 2,” that’ll still be a pretty apt description.
The announcement does still leave a few things shrouded in mystery, though, such as the new system’s “compatibility with Nintendo Switch,” which could be referring to whether or not Switch and Switch successor users will be able to play together in online games. The announcement also doesn’t specify exactly how backward compatibility with Switch games will work. Being able to download and play digital copies of Switch games on the new system seems like a given, but the successor may or may not have a cartridge slot that’s compatible with physical-copy Switch games. Furukawa’s announcement says that more information will be coming “at a later date,” which, as usual, means whenever Nintendo feels it’s ready to hand it out.
Source: Twitter/@NintendoCoLtd
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where yes, he would like a new Tactics Ogre sequel.