Nintendo Confirms Backwards Compatibility for the Nintendo Switch
As Nintendo tip-toes around actually announcing the Switch’s successor, we continue to receive more and more information about the console without actually knowing anything concrete about it. The latest piece of news is that the ‘Switch 2’ will be backwards compatible. This means that any original Switch games will be playable on its successor- all but confirming that Nintendo’s next console is a direct evolution of the Switch itself.
The news was announced by Shuntaro Furukawa- president of Nintendo- as part of a post on Twitter/X. He said the following:
“At today's Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch… information about the successor… will be announced at a later date.”
This news may not be too surprising considering the leaks and rumours claiming it to be true but concrete confirmation from Nintendo themselves is still good to hear. This should mean that any Switch game will be playable on their next console. Of course, there’s likely to be a few exceptions but, until we hear more about this hardware, we can only speculate on what those may be.
Image by Nintendo
As well as confirming backwards compatibility, this tweet also confirmed that Nintendo Switch Online would be accessible on the system. This means that the perks (including NES/SNES/Nintendo 64 games) would also be accessible on the next console as long as you held a subscription. Whether any exclusive features will become locked behind the new console remains to be seen.
As for the ‘later date’ mentioned in the post, the reveal of Nintendo’s next console seems to be drifting further and further away. When it was announced that the official first look would come within the next fiscal year (before April 2025), many were hopeful that we’d see the console be revealed at some point in 2024. As the year is coming to a close, however, its becoming more likely that an early 2025 reveal will be more likely. By the time the Switch 2 is released, the original will be at least 8 years old. Thankfully, you’ll be able to play every physical and digital came from your collection when the next generation of the system launches.
