Switch Games Will Be Playable on Switch Successor

"Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch." With these words, Nintendo President Shuntarō Furukawa confirmed the backwards compatibility of Nintendo's yet-to-be-announced next console. It is important for Nintendo to be able to bring existing customers over to the new system, and the Nintendo Account plays a crucial role in this.

Speaking at the Corporate Management Policy Briefing to present the latest financial results (GamesMarkt reported), Nintendo President Shuntarō Furukawa confirmed that Nintendo Switch software will be playable on the successor to the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online, which had 34 million members as of 30 September 2024, will also be available on the upcoming console. More information on the successor to Nintendo Switch will be announced at a later date. The announcement is planned for this fiscal year, which ends in March 2025.

"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", the company said. While the first Wii generation could still run GameCube games and the Wii U could still use Wii games, the Nintendo Switch was not compatible with the previous generation. That's why many remasters or enhanced ports have been released on Switch (again), such as the top-selling game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (64.27 million units sold), which is an improved port of the Wii U title. The company writes: "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."

Nintendo believes it is important for the company's future to make use of Nintendo Account and "carry over the good relationship we have built with the more than 100 million annual users of Nintendo Switch to its successor". However, no further details have been provided by Nintendo, including whether the successor will be able to read the Switch's physical storage media. But there have been unconfirmed rumours in the past that both digital games and physical cartridges for the current Switch will run on the new console.

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