We know that 2024 will play host to a new Nintendo console as the company gears up to replace its very popular Nintendo Switch device. However, due to Nintendo’s secrecy related to the Switch successor, we don’t know much about it at this point. A big question regarding the hardware is whether or not the console will support backwards compatibility for Switch games.
There’s been a lot of talk online regarding the matter with industry insiders claiming that Nintendo is going to struggle to implement the feature. This is due to the custom NVIDIA SoC the Switch uses. In order to run Switch games on the new console, Nintendo will have to either include the SoC (along with a new improved NVIDIA chip) or get NVIDIA to engineer backwards compatibility into the new, more powerful chip.
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According to a new report, Nintendo might opt to include the original Switch SoC in the new console and approach it like a “PS3 phat launch model”. If you recall, Sony’s original launch PS3 console included PS2 backwards compatibility due to its included PS2 chip. This made it possible to run PS2 games on the console. However, Sony’s second PS3 revision ditched the PS2 chip making the console a PS3-only device.
The report suggests that Nintendo might follow the same route with the Switch 2. The company will launch two Switch 2 models. One would be a physical Switch 2 and one would be a digital-only model. The physical model will be the only unit to include backwards compatibility. The launch will also follow Sony’s PS5 console which is available in two models.
Of course, it is still too early to tell what Nintendo plans on doing with the new console. At the moment, fans are concerned about the lack of backwards compatibility on the device. Many claim it will be a dealbreaker for the company if it decides to ditch the Switch’s large library of games.
The Nintendo Switch successor is reported to include quite a substantial jump in performance. So much so that a previous report claimed it could run the Unreal Engine 5 Matrix Awakens demo. It is said to pack 12GB of RAM and a new custom NVIDIA Tegra chip capable of DLSS 3.0 upscaling.
Nintendo is expected to announce the console in early 2024 and release it shortly after. Watch the latest XboxEra podcast below where they discuss backwards compatibility.
