The Kyoto company must nail it this time
Nintendo Switch 2 has IMPROVED backwards compatibility! (Reputation)
Nintendo has yet to announce whether its next console — which we're calling the "Switch 2" for now — will be backwards compatible. Its silence on the matter doesn't necessarily mean anything, as it hasn't made any public comment about the console. But it has to be backwards compatible, right? There's no way Nintendo's engineers can release a console in 2024 without backwards compatibility… right?
In all likelihood, yes, the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible, meaning it can play games from previous console generations. But anyone aware of console gaming history knows this is not a given. There are several reasons why Nintendo's record on backwards compatibility is patchy, as is that of all console manufacturers. And while the feature has always been near the top of gamers' wish lists, it's only recently become an expectation—something it would be unthinkable to live without.
Although there are some examples of backwards compatibility dating back to the 1980s, the feature was very rare in the early years of the console industry. The constant change of physical characteristics ensured that. It seemed reasonable that your console wouldn't play the same games because the cartridges wouldn't fit in the slot, and in fact the software delivery format is one of the two main technical barriers to backwards compatibility.
