The Nintendo Switch 2 will certainly be backwards compatible, but that confirmation came with an asterisk, and the House of Mario is yet to explain why.
Something Sony really messed up in the PS3/PS4 era is backwards compatibility – neither console could play games from the generation before (except those very early PS3s), so the fact that the PS5 was backwards compatible meant was of course welcome news. Nintendo also allowed Wii games on the Wii U, but the switch (pun intended) to cartridges on the Switch clearly decided that. With the Switch 2 finally unveiled this week, the question on everyone’s lips from the moment the trailer started was, “Okay, but can I play all these games I already have.” The answer? Yes! But not all. Still, it’s pretty clear that Nintendo knows it has to keep its players happy.
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Speak with Game filethe developer explained why he decided to make his games backwards compatible. “Nintendo Switch is played by many consumers, and we decided that the best direction would be for consumers to be able to play their already purchased Nintendo Switch software on the successor to Nintendo Switch,” Nintendo said. “As a result of that thinking, Nintendo Switch 2 will play exclusive Nintendo Switch 2 games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. Details will be shared at a later date on the Nintendo website.”
Frankly, it’s more than likely that this applies to games like Ring Fit Adventure and Labo, which can only use the original Joy-Cons – the new ones are bigger and so won’t fit into their respective peripherals, and you obviously don’t want that people calling and complaining about it. That doesn’t mean Nintendo is ready to say which games won’t work yet, as it has explained that it has “nothing more to announce on this topic” and that if you want more details you’ll have to tune into that Direct on April 2 .
Hopefully it’s a limited selection of games that will be unplayable as there will be plenty of players who will be upgrading their collection rather than adding to it. Mostly, I just don’t want Nintendo charging $60 for ports of games that are only a generation old (and that should stop for games that are older as well (and to better credit the developers too)).