Nintendo announced Tuesday that the Nintendo Switch software “will also be playable on the successor to the Nintendo Switch,” according to a post from Nintendo's X corporate account. The publication, attributed to Shuntaro Furukawa, president of Nintendo, also confirmed that Nintendo Switch Online will be offered on the new console.
The official Nintendo account confirmed that many Switch accessories will be compatible with Switch 2, including the original Joy-Con controllers. However, since the Switch 2 Joy-Cons attach magnetically rather than using the Switch's rail clip, the classic Joy-Cons cannot be attached to or charged directly from the new machine, and can only be used as secondary controllers. Still, it will come in handy when you have friends around to play Mario Kart or Smash Bros.
The post said that Nintendo announced backward compatibility for the Switch 2 at its Corporate Management Policy Briefing, a semi-annual investor meeting where the company reports its sales and roadmaps.
The presentation, which is publicly available, also addresses whether players' Nintendo Accounts will work on the new console: “We believe it is important for the future of Nintendo to make use of the Nintendo Account and continue the good relationship we have built with the more than 100 million annual users who play on Nintendo Switch to its successor.” The report also clarifies that, “in addition to being able to play the Nintendo Switch software they currently own, consumers will be able to choose their next purchase from a wide selection of titles. released for Nintendo Switch”.
According to a previous leak, the Switch 2 supposedly has a card slot. However, the message does not confirm that the new Switch will be able to play physical Switch games. Nintendo's message reads: “More information about the successor to the Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with the Nintendo Switch, will be announced later.”
Backwards compatibility was seen as a make-or-break feature for the Switch 2. While it was widely rumored, doubts remained that Nintendo could pull it off if the new machine's chip architecture were too different or if third-party publishers objected. The Switch itself was not compatible with any previous Nintendo console, and Nintendo made money from re-releasing previous games for the Switch, such as selling 63 million copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
But consumer expectations about backwards compatibility have changed since Steam normalized the idea of a persistent digital library of games that works across multiple devices. In particular, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series It has sold more than 140 million Switches.
Other notable revelations in Tuesday's presentation include the report that the Pikmin, Kirby, Metroid and Xenoblade Chronicles franchises have seen “dramatic growth in sales on Nintendo Switch” compared to sales of titles in those series on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.