It’s been long expected (although can you ever really know with Nintendo), but the company has officially confirmed that Nintendo Switch games will be compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2. It also confirmed that Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the Nintendo Switch 2 as well.
This statement was posted on Twitter, by president Furukawa:
“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 the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date.”
It went into more detail in its presentation to investors:
On Nintendo Switch Online:
“Until Nintendo Switch, there was no easy way to have consumers’ purchase and gameplay histories carry over across platform generations.
As a result, our relationship with the consumers was interrupted when a new system was purchased. The introduction of Nintendo Account made it possible to tie consumers’ history to their personal account, enabling Nintendo to maintain a continuous relationship with the consumers across platform generations. We have communicated that we plan on making an announcement regarding the successor to Nintendo Switch during this fiscal year. We believe that it is important for Nintendo’s future to make use of Nintendo Account and carry over the good relationship that we have built with the over 100 million annual playing users on Nintendo Switch to its successor. Thus, we will make Nintendo Switch Online, a service based on Nintendo Account, available on the successor to Nintendo Switch.”
On backwards compatibility:
“Furthermore, Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. In addition to being able to play Nintendo Switch software they currently own, consumers will be able to choose their next purchase from a broad selection of titles released for Nintendo Switch. Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch I explained today, will be announced at a later date.”
Nintendo also detailed franchises such as Pikmin, Kirby, Metroid and Xenoblade Chronicles that have grown hugely on the Nintendo Switch compared to sales on the 3DS and Wii U.
Nintendo is set to reveal the Nintendo Switch successor before March 31st, 2025, so not too long to go now. It’s rumored that the game will use AI upscaling (similar to that of the PS5 Pro) to upscale games to 4K, so it’ll be interesting to see how that works with original Nintendo Switch games.