Following Nintendo’s recent Corporate Management Policy Briefing, some exciting news came to light on Twitter—games for the Nintendo Switch will still be playable on its upcoming successor, which many are calling the Switch 2.
The entire briefing, available on Nintendo’s official site, provides a comprehensive look at the company’s status in the console hardware industry. It’s truly remarkable that the Nintendo Switch Family has sold an impressive 146 million units, and according to Nintendo, more games have been played on the Switch than on any other Nintendo console. The detailed 59-page document dives deep into sales figures and other historical facts, confirming also that the current Nintendo Switch Online service will seamlessly transition to the new console.
For those familiar with Sony or Microsoft, this is likely not surprising. Microsoft has done an excellent job with backward compatibility, even enhancing older titles with FPS Boost and Resolution Boost. Both original Xbox and Xbox 360 games can now be enjoyed on the Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. Sony’s track record has been a bit more limited since the PS3 era, though the PlayStation 5 plays PS4 games with ease, and a good number of PS2 and PS1 titles are accessible via emulation. However, PS3 games remain confined to cloud streaming on the PS4 and PS5, much to the disappointment of PlayStation fans.
Looking at Nintendo’s history, its approach to backward compatibility was quite favorable until the Nintendo Switch came along. The Wii U could play discs from Wii and GameCube and offered a Virtual Console to bridge other past gaps. The 3DS supported Nintendo DS games, although it left out titles from the Game Boy Advance and earlier handhelds.
The introduction of the Nintendo Switch marked a shift as it merged handheld and home console experiences while transitioning from PowerPC to Arm CPUs, effectively ending backward compatibility with its predecessors. However, the current success of Switch’s Nvidia-powered setup seems to have convinced Nintendo to stick with this direction. As a result, players who are purchasing Switch games today can look forward to playing them on the Switch 2 hassle-free.
This decision could also benefit games that were previously limited by hardware constraints, like “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.” We might finally see these titles running at smooth 60 FPS or better, without needing third-party emulation software. Nintendo’s commitment to enhancement could deter potential issues akin to how Dolphin once emulated GameCube and Wii games, as unregulated Switch emulators might eventually support Switch 2, too.
So, for Nintendo fans and gaming enthusiasts alike, this announcement holds the promise of a smooth transition and an exciting future for the next generation of gaming.
