Nintendo has confirmed that its new console, the still unnamed console colloquially referred as the Switch successor or Switch 2, will be able to play Nintendo Switch games. The console will be backwards-compatible with Switch games.
The new console will also support Nintendo Switch Online, the monthly subscription for online multiplayer as well as access to other perks including a library of emulated classic Nintendo games from generations past.
The announcement was made during a “Corporate Management Policy Briefing, and Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has later confimed this publicly on a post from Nintendo Japan’s socials:
Nintendo previously said that they won’t be disclosing any information regarding the Switch successor until early next year. So this little, but important, tidbit, is an exception.
Nintendo’s consoles and handhelds have a history of supporting backwards compatibility. The previous Nintendo console, the Wii U can play Wii games, and older models of Wii can play games from the Gamecube. Similarly, the Nintendo 3DS can play Nintendo DS games, select models of the DS can play select Game Boy Advance games, and Game Boy Advanced can play older Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.
The Switch doesn’t have backwards compatibility with any previous Nintendo hardware. It runs on a different architecture of hardware and uses a new physical cartridge unique to the Switch.