What Backwards Compatibility Means for the Nintendo Switch Successor

Nintendo just announced that the Switch successor will be backwards compatible with the Switch. Also, Nintendo Switch Online will remain available. This is a great move on Nintendo’s part and opens up some pretty interesting possibilities. 

This is Furukawa. At today's Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about…

— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) November 6, 2024

For the most part, Nintendo has been pretty good about backwards compatibility. The Wii supported the GameCube. The Wii U supported both of the previous consoles. Finally, the Virtual Console (RIP) gave us essentially the entire Nintendo catalog. 

Even the Switch, with the trickle of Nintendo Switch Online games, allows us to play a solid portion of the old games. If the Switch 2 comes in more powerful than the Switch? The benefits of that power could be felt in more ways than just graphical fidelity.

SWITCH 2 HAS THE LAUNCH CODES

What I believe this to mean in the immediate future is that Metroid Prime 4 would be a Switch 2 launch title. Similar to how Twilight Princess was a Wii launch title but also released on the GameCube. This allows Nintendo to get that last squeeze of juice out of the Switch while also giving early Switch 2 adopters something to play.

I’d be interested to see what else could come to the new console given Nintendo’s possible focus on ports near the end of the Switch lifecycle. This could open the door for enhanced versions of these games much like the PS5 Pro does for older titles. 

It would be a tough sell for some people. But, in the end, Nintendo would really be selling those games to people who either haven’t played them or have been feeling their absence. An enhanced version of Splinter Cell would likely do numbers just because we don’t get games like that anymore. It opens up a whole new fanbase. 

PUSHING THE RIGHT BUTTONS

Nintendo is in a position to take their time. The Switch is slowing down, but the install base is so large, they can afford to make sure every move made is the right one. Backwards Compatibility is the first big step in that direction. Now, let’s see some of those old first-party classics make a return on this console and we’d really be cooking.

I have all the confidence in Nintendo at this point that they learned from the Wii U misstep and are making sure the Switch 2 is something that justifies the move from the previous console.