Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be backwards compatible, a non-surprise of which a key detail must be clarified

We all want Nintendo to present Nintendo Switch 2, but the company has started announcing everything (Nintendo Alarm, Nintendo Music) except its next-generation console. The only thing we know is that Switch 2 will be presented before the end of the current fiscal year, which means that the deadline is March 31, 2025, but Nintendo has just released a little pearl about its new console.

A few days ago, the president of the company confirmed that Nintendo Switch 2 would be backward compatible with the Nintendo Switch software and, beyond the news, there are two readings because, as often happens, it is something that has small print.

Expected, but not sure. That Nintendo Switch 2 is backward compatible with Switch games is something that, although expected, is still good news. Nintendo Switch is one of the most successful consoles in history. In the same statement from president Shuntaro Furukawa, the more than 140 million Switches sold in these seven and a half years on the market were confirmed.

These are brutal figures, but their games also sell a lot. It is often said that on Switch you sell whatever, and it is somewhat true when we take into account the number of releases, both independent and from large companies that stopped supporting Nintendo with the launch of the Wii. Nintendo itself continues to announce games for next year (‘Xenoblade Chronicles X‘ or ‘Metroid 4’) and it was expected that they would also work on its 2025 console.

Good news. The most important thing is that Nintendo, whenever it has maintained formats, has respected backwards compatibility. This did not happen with home console cartridges (although there were adapters), but on Wii we could play GameCube games (smaller) and on Wii U a Wii game could be inserted.

On laptops we have cases like the Game Boy Advance being able to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. In the first Nintendo DS there was a slot for Game Boy Advance games and in the 3DS you could insert Nintendo DS cartridges. That is, at least the previous generation could be played on the new ‘Big N’ machine. Taking this into account, and added to the fact that even Xbox Series X and PS5 are betting on backward compatibility, it seemed obvious that Switch 2 would be.

small print. That said, let’s go with Nintendo’s literal statement. In the report, it is ensured that Nintendo Switch Online will be fully compatible, which will allow us to keep friends and all those elements between generations, but regarding the software, the company states the following:

• The Nintendo Switch software will also be compatible with the successor to the Nintendo Switch.
• In addition to being able to play the Nintendo Switch software they already own, consumers will be able to choose their next purchase from a wide selection of titles released for Nintendo Switch.

The key: software backward compatibility. We all interpreted the news the first time as “okay, I’m going to be able to play my Switch collection on Switch 2, which includes physical and digital games.” But to put it to rest, Nintendo says “software” all the time and I find it strange that they don’t go into more depth. Does Software imply physical and digital software in this statement? If so, why haven’t they been much more specific?

It seems clear that Nintendo Switch 2 will be compatible with, for example, the ‘Animal Crossing New Horizons’ that we can have digitally, but… what if I have the physical card? For physical backward compatibility, one of these two scenarios must be true:

• That the physical format of Switch 2 is the same as that of Switchwhich would imply a greater memory density of the cards for the successor if they want to make games with more powerful graphics.
• Let there be two types of slotsas happened in its day with Nintendo DS and its slot for Game Boy Advance.

I want to think that I will be able to play my entire collection of physical games on the new Nintendo machine, since the Switch is a console that lends itself, due to the format of its boxes, to collecting titles in this format, but I also plan to remain cautious about respect because the interpretation of this software backward compatibility, as I indicated, implies two scenarios: backward compatible with everything or only with digital games.

¿Free remasters? The truth is that I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to play our collection of physical games on the new Switch. Otherwise, it would be something very negative for many players, but on the more optimistic side of this whole story, backward compatibility can be a great scenario to enjoy pending titles at the best quality in portable mode.

A feature of the Nintendo Switch is that the dock allows an increase in resolution. Also performance in some cases. Famous cases like ‘Xenoblade Chronicles 2’, with resolutions of up to 360p in portable mode, something that does not happen in dock mode. There are more cases like this and I have to confess that I am waiting for the new Switch 2 to be able to enjoy those games hoping that they perform in portable mode in the same way that they perform in the dock currently on Switch.

This is more of a wish than a certainty, although a wish based on what the competition does (PS5 Pro, without going any further) and what the Nintendo Switch itself does when scaling its games when we connect it to the dock. We’ll see what happens, but despite my caution with that definition of “compatible with Nintendo Switch 2 software”, the fact that the new machine is backwards compatible is, without a doubt, great news that does not lose value no matter how much we expected it.

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