More confirmation of the Nintendo Switch 2 having backwards compatibility its 2017 predecessor has surfaced. It was previously confirmed that the new hardware won’t make existing fans start their accounts from scratch, and Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has doubled down on that fact.
Bowser spoke with Inverse about the upcoming console, claiming that he can’t comment on what features the new system will have. However, the company president also said that the current Switch accounts will help players “ease in” when making the transition to new hardware.
“In the past, every device we transitioned to had a whole new account system. Creating the Nintendo Account will allow us to communicate with our players if and when we make a transition to a new platform, to help ease that process or transition,” Bowser states.
The company president also made comments about minimizing the dip that happens when transitioning from one console generation to another. While he wasn’t too specific about this statement, that seemingly hints at backward compatibility to ensure that the Switch 2 doesn’t launch with a small number of titles.
"Our goal is to minimize the dip you typically see in the last year of one cycle and the beginning of another,” Bowser says. “I can't speak to the possible features of a new platform, but the Nintendo Account is a strong basis for having that communication as we make the transition."
Currently, there are still no official details on the new hardware, though there have been a ton of reports and vague hints from Nintendo themselves. Shuntaro Furukawa, the president of Nintendo, said that support for the first system would last until March 2025. Reports have also come in of the system’s power, with Far Cry 7 and Final Fantasy VII Remake supposedly confirmed as launch titles.
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Expect more details on the Switch 2 next year. At the least, there are new games to keep current Switch owners busy, like next month’s Super Mario RPG and next year’s Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.