At the moment Nintendo has not announced its next-gen console and now we should forget about an upgraded iteration in the form of the Switch Pro. However, they have allayed one of the biggest fears of users and fans of the brand. . , knowing if our current games will be playable on the next console. Well they confirmed that Switch 2 will be backward compatible with current games. What does that mean? Let’s see
Nintendo’s handheld consoles since the launch of the original Game Boy have had one feature in common with each new improvement, being backwards compatible with the previous generation. So 3DS was with DS, it’s with Game Boy Advance, which in turn was compatible with Game Boy Color, and so on up to the original Game Boy. However, that didn’t happen with the current Nintendo Switch and there were doubts we’d see it for the next console generation, although it’s all but confirmed.
Nintendo confirms, Switch 2 will be backwards compatible
They did so in the form of a publicly given response to shareholders, in which they finally clarified that we will be able to use games from the current Nintendo Switch in the successor, which incidentally has not been announced. How little have we known so far? Well, Nintendo’s confirmation of the launch of a new system with an indefinite date and the theft of NVIDIA documentation a few months ago, which confirmed the project and at least the partial technical specifications of the graphics hardware, but that did not guarantee that Switch 2 would be backward compatible.
We must start from the fact that the big difference between consoles and PCs is the fact that so-called already compiled shaders are used in the former, that is, the process of generating the code for the graphics card is not done on the fly as there is unique hardware, which happens on PC. We must start from the fact that despite a graphic architecture having the same brand as another, it does not have to use the same binaries. Fortunately on computer this is taken into account and there is always a compilation of binaries, but not on consoles.
The information leaked by Switch 2 a few months ago talked about the use of a Processor integrated GPU with 12 SM based on Ampere architectureLet’s not forget that Switch is based on the Maxwell architecture. So the future Nintendo console, barring last-minute changes, which shouldn’t be ruled out, it will be a jump of at least four graphic generations
What practical effects will backward compatibility have?
The fact that Switch 2 being backwards compatible means that we will be able to use the same game cards and downloads already purchased on the future console without having to checkout. Until Nintendo comes up with a drastic way to charge us for the upgrade.
At the same time, this also means that they will continue to use the same operating system as the current version and it will rather be, unless they surprise us with a unique invention, a console fairly continuous in terms of approach. On the contrary, we think they’re stretching the gum of their current console too long and we’d like to see what they can do with a much more powerful system, Steam Deck level or better.
