With a Switch 2 looming, Nintendo is sending out the original with a bang::With the launch of Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the Switch, Nintendo is capping off an excellent 2023 for the console, just ahead of the rumored launch of the Switch 2.
That will make it or break it for me. If I won't be able to play my library of games on the Switch 2, I'm not going to bother. I'll just wait for a new version of the Steam Deck in that case.
This really isn't accurate - Nintendo has been very good about bc traditionally, when bc is feasible with changing form factors. GBA, DS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U all had bc.
Gameboy Color was backwards compatible with Gameboy cartridges. Gameboy Advance could play Gameboy Color games. The DS was backwards compatible with Gameboy Advance. The 3DS could play DS games.
Wii was backwards compatible with GameCube discs. And Wii U was backwards compatible with the Wii discs. The switch form factor didn't make sense to be backwards compatible with Wii U, and also Wii U was a commercial failure and didn't sell well, so less people who would be buying a Switch probably didn't have a Wii U.
I think that if Nintendo has a successful platform, they do try to have the games released on the platform last for about 10 years, so Switch games should hopefully be playable on whatever Nintendo's current console is in 2027 (10 years after switch launch)
Is Nintendo really going to stop first party Switch releases the moment they announce/release Switch 2? I can see they wanted to drop the Wii U fairly quickly, but for the 3DS stuff like new Mario Party games came out after the Switch release. Metroid 4 is still in development, presumably targeting the Switch.
The 3DS wasn’t meant to be replaced by the switch when it released hence they supported both for a period of time.
The Switch 2 on the other hand is literally meant to be a replacement to the Switch so I wouldn’t be surprised if they dropped first party support when it releases.
Like how they did with the wii U. The only thing that would make me think that they would still support the original switch with releases is that hopefully it's successor is backwards compatible, a-la GBA -> DS style of support
While rumors of a Switch successor have persisted for years, recent reports suggest that an upgraded device is not only coming but will be here relatively soon, with a potential 2024 launch.
The last time the company released a major Zelda and Super Mario in the same year was 2017, which just so happened to be when the Switch debuted.
Tears of the Kingdom, in particular, really feels like it’s pushing the upper limits of what the Switch is capable of — just look at some of the physics-defying creations players have come up with inside of its giant open world.
Nintendo built an all-new engine for the game and didn’t give the development team a specific deadline so that they could focus on quality.
After the dark days of the Wii U, Nintendo used the Switch to prove that it could offer a unified version of its console and portable businesses, one that — despite underpowered hardware — could find its niche among bigger, flashier competitors.
Nintendo is in a great spot when it comes to games right now, a process that was a decade in the making after the company merged its development divisions into one cohesive whole focused entirely on the Switch.
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The bombshell you're not expecting that I am is that this system will be fully backwards compatible with digital games, not physical. They already hinted at this a while back, so I'm unfortunately expecting the carts won't be backwards compatible.
I'm even concerned it won't have any physical media.