Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has confirmed that current Switch games will be available and playable on the Switch 2.
Nintendo Confirms Switch 2 Backwards Compatibility
Switch 2 Gets NSO Too
The upcoming Nintendo Switch successor, being dubbed as the Switch 2, will have backwards compatibility, making current Switch titles compatible with and playable on the Switch 2. However, it is important to note that only "Nintendo Switch software" was specifically mentioned to be backwards compatible, suggesting that anything other than digital games, DLC, and other such items that fall under software won't be available on Switch 2. It is currently unclear whether physical components such as game cartridges or physical copies of Switch games will be compatible with the Switch 2.
Apart from this, the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) subscription service will also be available on the Switch 2, as confirmed by Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa. Though, the scope of the NSO's availability on the Switch 2 is currently unclear. There has yet to be confirmation on the roster of games that will be made available, as well as subscription tiers, and whether game save data and other features will work on the Switch 2.
"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," Furukawa said on Twitter (X) today. "Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date."
Nintendo Switch Successor Still Slated To Be Announced Within The Fiscal Year
During a recent online press conference on the company's latest earning report, Furukawa commented that Nintendo is still pushing through with its plan of making an announcement regarding the Switch successor before the end of the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2025, but offered no further details.
In May, Furukawa officially revealed that Nintendo has a successor to the current Switch console in line and that the company plans to make an announcement within the fiscal year. Other further details like the Switch 2's release date and official specs are yet to be revealed or announced. Official information on the Switch successor has been sparse, but reports have suggested that the Switch 2 is expected to launch post-April 2025.
Reports have indicated that developers were told not to expect the new console to launch within the financial year, suggesting it will come out any time after March 31, 2025. Nintendo's recent Q1 financial report, on the other hand, indicated that they will "continue to work to maximize software sales as well as hardware sales" for the current Switch throughout the current financial year.
Moreover, as suggested by reports, the Switch 2 will come with an 8-inch screen, and be powered by a rumored next-generation version of Nvidia's Tegra X1 chip found in the current Switch. It has also been speculated that the Switch successor could use Nvidia's T239 system-on-a-chip, understood to make the console as powerful as the PS4 and Xbox One.
Moreover, the Switch 2 is expected to come with an 8-inch screen. That's according to Hiroshi Hayase, an analyst from London-based independent consultancy firm, Omdia. Moreover, in 2022, Osaka-based company Sharp Corp. claimed that it was supplying LCD panels and working closely with Nintendo on the upcoming console that was then at its research and development stage. More recent reports, on the other hand, suggest that the Switch 2 will come with an OLED display at launch.
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