After months of speculation and hope, Nintendo has officially announced that the successor to the Nintendo Switch console will be backwards compatible.
Finally, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
This is Furukawa. At today’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about…
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) November 6, 2024
In the X that was X’d over on X, Shuntaro Furukawa, the president of Nintendo, announced that in a Corporate Management Policy Briefing, the company decided Nintendo Switch software would be available on the successor device that we’re still hoping gets announced this month.
The only thing that is holding a few back from being entirely relieved by the statement is the use of the word “software.” Does this include Nintendo Switch physical cartridges or not?
In the past, Nintendo has added an updated cartridge reader to its devices that allows older physical cartridges to be used on their newer devices, but it has altered the shape just enough to prevent the newer cartridges from working on their older devices. So we can almost rest easy knowing that they’ve done this in the past and are happy to do it again. Yet, with the surge of digital-only consoles that have hit the market from other companies, there is still a slight worry lingering in the air.
Do you think Nintendo will do us collectors a favour and include a cartridge reader for the old carts, or will they be stingy like every other business? Let us know what you think in the comments below.