By now it's no secret that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to play your existing Nintendo Switch games, a decision Nintendo immediately called the "best direction." And as shown in Thursday's dedicated Switch 2 Direct, some games will even get a "Switch 2 Edition," featuring enhanced features and, in some cases, extra DLC.
We are so back.
That said, if you're not too keen on paying an upgrade fee, you can still pop in an original Switch cartridge and play it on the Switch 2. However, it won't be a native experience. That's because the Switch 2 isn't technically compatible with the original Switch.
As shared in Nintendo's "Ask The Developers" Q&A, the Switch 2 and original Switch aren't compatible on a hardware level. "When we first started Switch 2 development, the focus was on enhancing its performance as hardware, namely, expanding its capacity," Takuhiro Dohta said. "So, compatibility was a lower priority."
To get things compatible, the end result is a mish-mash between an emulator and actual hardware. "If we tried to use technology like software emulators, we’d have to run Switch 2 at full capacity, but that would mean the battery wouldn't last so long, so...
