Topic: Anyone else a bit unhappy with backwards compatibility?

I don’t know how Nintendo messed this up so bad. Xbox one X was forever ago. That was the model to copy. Here we are waiting for patches which should have been available for free day one. Instead here we are paying for upgrades no different than ps5.

@OmnitronVariant,

"what we've been left with is a min-maxing purely profit driven company."

That's every company in a nutshell, they exist to make a profit.

I can definitely see how some people think they've lost their magic though. Even for me, so far I am not liking the Switch 2 situation as much as the original Switch simply because of Game Key Cards and what Nintendo of America did to Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth Collection and other Japanese games last fall. Though a lot of the things I've seen and heard about Switch 2 sound absolutely awesome.

@sixrings, this whole patches thing is not the best scenario either, I think. I still think the Switch 2 should've had Switch technology inside it or whatever so that all Switch games could at least play as they do on the Switch. Everytime a new batch of Switch games starts working on Switch 2, I'm grateful that I don't have any of those games and have to deal with compatibility issues, and I feel sympathy for anyone whose games are affected by that.

I've said it somewhere else, and I'll say it again: while I'm not satisfied with the way NIntendo handles some parts of their business, there are people here acting as if they had become EA or Microsoft, which I find a bit silly.

@topsekret
honestly its been interesting in these topics learning more about the ins and outs of how aspects of games are measured and the details regarding how BC works.

while i don't have any way of measuring things like the latency myself i do have a couple of games i ended up double dipping on a physical copy so was able to play on both systems at once (mainly sonic mania and octopath 2) and while i didnt really notice a difference when using them side by side as i mentioned i didnt have any way of actually measuring it. (as for the inherant issue with things like Gamecube games on NSO i dont have the expansion pack but also remember hearing bad things about N64 games on switch 1 at least when they first launched, unsure if they were improved though as you mentioned those were issues with the emulation itself and not switch 2)

as for some of the issues with games compatibility im curious since while some firmware updates have improved issues with certain incompatible games from what i gather i am also curious if individual patches are done on the publishers side or not, i have heared of the klonoa issue and it does seem frustrating to see that some games with issues are still listed as compatible.

The handheld experience with Switch 1 games on Switch 2 isn't great, and although many games namely 1st party games will get updates to combat this, this does leave a big gap when it comes to many third party games.

It was immediately noticeable to me and some people probably don't care, but it was a large enough difference that I had to bring out the Switch 1 as someone who plays in handheld mode very often.

@ShonenJump121 for me while i didnt really notice any differences in controls (tried playing side by side) the visuals in games definitely had a noticeable difference due to being for a lower resolution screen and it does make me wish there was an option to run docked settings in handheld mode since a lot of games the touch screen itself can be ignored.

lol

You guys should look into writing those hilariously overblown YouTube video titles.

Has Nintendo lost its soul AND taken the souls of all its loyal customers?

Nintendo Switch 2 prices just got MORE INSANE in their blood-filled quest for PROFITS!

Nintendo’s CHARGING for tiny Switch 2 upgrades? THIS NEEDS TO STOP!

@rallydefault you do realize this is by far the worst implementation of backward compatibility between the three main systems? This is no longer Wii prices. This system costs on par with a ps5 digital and more than a series S. Both do the backward compatibility better. If you want to charge these prices then you asking to be put under a microscope. Yes the system has sold well. But there’s at least 10 million hardcore Nintendo fans who bought the Wii u. So at the 20 million mark we start hitting casual territory. The hardware has sold well. But there’s only games selling well are Nintendos first party games. And those are in limited supply. Arrogant Nintendo has never ended well and we are well in the super arrogant era.

@sixrings
lol dude what are you even talking about?

If I have a switch 1 game I wanna play on my switch 2, I put the cartridge in and… ta da!! The game plays.

It’s crazy, I know.

So what are you losing your mind about?

I take your point but they have to optimise the engine for ARM processors rather than x86 which is a task in itself and they also have to get the engine working so it makes best use of the Switch 2 hardware and reduces load where weaker. So the amount of pedestrians has been seriously cut back even compared to low settings on PC probably more inline with Xbox One and PS4 I guess (not seen those versions I bought it on PC) because of the very low CPU resources. I see this as a lot of effort and a well optimised port and compared to many Switch 2 offerings they have produced a game that looks technically impressive for a portable system despite its cutbacks. I would never buy the game on Switch 2 as have it on PC and its an old game that I never liked that much to be honest (I don't like GTA series game either they just don't work for me). It's the only game I can think of on Switch 2 that I have been impressed with technically so far. Dare I say it but technically I've not been super impressed with either Mario Kart World or Donkey Kong Bonanza. They both look a bit compromised by weak hardware even though very good games. However I'm talking about looking at high quality video of docked Switch 2 games on youtube with a 4K tv and seeing the aliasing and other visual issues etc. I realise portable screens can be more forgiving. My Switch Lite makes it look like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has no aliasing at all.

@rallydefault since the Xbox one x (2017) the new standard for backward compatibility has been not just games being playable but them being improved. So higher frame rates. Higher resolution. Auto hdr. We have had a small amount of Nintendo games get free upgrades then a few get paid upgrades. The vast majority just play. I know Nintendo fans want to go on and on and make it seem like modern gamers are entitled and back in the day we played 64 with 10 fps so how dare anyone complain or expect upgrades when previously that wasn’t possible. But we live in this world. 2025. I grew up with a black and white tv with no remote. I played games on that tv. That doesn’t mean that games should be released in black and white and if they are no one should complain. Standards change. We should expect at minimum 1080p 60fps. That’s the bare minimum. Call me when backward compatibility has got us there for free!

Where does the idea that a platform needs its entire lifetime of exclusives in the first 6 months coming from?

PS4 had very little for years and did just fine.

@sixrings
Uhm... except no? Most Switch 1 games, even all of the many without any kind of patch, DO play better on Switch 2. Faster load times, higher resolution, etc. It depends from game to game, but the majority do run better on Switch 2 in some way.

So again, what else ya got?

The firmware updates that fix issues with backwards compatibility are fixes from Nintendo to the Switch 1 to Switch 2 translation layer.

However, in theory, if devs had dev kits, they could potentially find workarounds for bugs in the translation layer.

That's what LRG did for their Carbon Engine titles: they reported the root issue affecting their games in the translation layer to Nintendo, but then they also went ahead and submitted patches to workaround the translation layer bug so that players wouldn't have to wait for an unknown amount of time for Nintendo to fix the root issue.

@rallydefault if they do play better it’s because they had dynamic resolution and an unlocked frame rate on switch one. So that would mean that many of them had some pretty lousy performance on the original switch. I wouldn’t exactly celebrate that. And yes the hardware does naturally help those games get to what a switch ones performance should have been. So the very maximum is 1080p 60fps. Which is what I would say is the bare minimum. But let’s go with Nintendo games. Yoshi, peach, dread, all are bellow 1080p off hand. And there’s plenty of games like Luigi, paper mario not 60 FPS. And we all know we had to pay for Zelda or Kirby upgrades. Btw breath of the wild, tears and Kirby which people had to pay to upgrade still are not true 4k. We can’t get switch 1 games 4k except for NSMBUD???? So no this is not the standard set by other consoles.

I would hope the blatant double standard expressed here isn't lost on people reading this. You could just as easily argue that backwards compatibility, performance improvements and updates are just a fundamental part of how the Switch 2 ecosystem works. Or that the ability to access your Steam games "for free" on multiple devices ignores the fact that those additional devices are not free and things like new GPUs and portable PCs come at a hefty premium

You don't have to rip up one platform to recognise the qualities of your preferred platform. It's possible for both to have positives and negatives. I for one got my Steam Deck because it opened up flexibility for PC gaming and emulation. It's portable, more easily luggable and to an extent dockable. And yes, because it opened up my already existing library of PC games to portable play "for free"

Switch 2? I got it for similar reasons. It improves the performance of the games I've already purchased on Switch. It opens me up to already existing as well as upcoming Switch 2 exclusive and enhanced titles. It's just broadly a more improved and more modern version of the most frictionless gaming device I had. And yes, there are some games that have got enhanced versions that boost performance and in some cases asset quality "for free"

Yes PC gaming is still more flexible in terms of performance, licences, settings adjustments and so forth. PC also allows you to do whatever you want on the device. But that being true does not diminish the fact that Nintendo has done pretty well with the Switch 2 in terms of the generational transition. I don't see how Nintendo not charging full retail for the ability to play Splatoon 3 at 4K is a bad news story. Or the continued expansion and improvement of their emulation services rather than a hard reset. I just don't. These are good

Equally while I think Valve has made huge advances in "consolising" the PC experience with Steam OS and I think broadly Steam Deck is the gold standard in this space. It's not perfect. It's certainly not as plug and play as you'd expect from a console. You say there's no longer a large gulf here, and maybe subjectively it isn't "large" but there's definitely still a gap. But even so, there's a reason why when I went on holidays back in April I packed my Steam Deck and not my Switch OLED or Laptop

In any case, why does it have to be a competition? Why does one have to be "better"

@skywake oh yes splatoon 3 in 4k forgot about that. NSMBUD and splatoon 3 in 4k!!!!!

I guess part of the frustration is I don’t want to have to own two systems. I was hopeful that I wouldn’t not need two eco systems. And within the first two months I realize that’s not going to happen. The backward compatibility is limited and games like fifa run at sub 60 fps. I’m doubly frustrated because I exclusively play docked. So I don’t get any of the benefits of the portability. If this was a console only at the same price the games would all run better and I could throw out that damn Xbox. This is my frustration.

Actually I’m also frustrated that my Nintendo games don’t all run at 4k 60fps. That might be the most frustrating thing. Even if the games were available on pc I could buy that but because I like Nintendo and because a good amount of people like portable I am having to play an inferior product on my 4k tv. That’s the most frustrating thing. Since Xbox one x in 2017 all of these Nintendo type games could have been 4k if the system was different.

@sixrings
I keep proving that you’re overreacting, you keep moving the goal posts.

This is tiring.

Most Switch 1 games, with or without a patch, run better and look better on Switch 2. End of story, morning glory.

That’s not good enough for you? Uhm… ok?

@rallydefault so you are ok with the very very very base minimum. I am crazy for expecting first party Nintendo switch one games to be 4k 60fps instead of 1440p. Switch games running marginally better on switch 2 is just that…. Better… it is not “good enough” as die hard Nintendo fans like to say as some sort of defense mechanism. And I have always maintained that for other games I would be OK not happy but OK with third party games being 1080p 60fps. Based on fifa I don’t think that’s a thing but again I am sorry you feel I was moving goal posts. I think it’s a bit more nuanced than that but I maintain that this is thee worst implementation of backward compatibility across the three systems. I hope that last sentence is consistent enough for you.

Once again I have had every single Nintendo system since the nes minus the virtua boy and a dk arcade cabinet. I am a Nintendo fan. It’s ok for me to not be happy with everything Nintendo does.