Topic: "Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games and Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games"

Quoted from the fine print of the Video Game Card page.

https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/virtual-game-cards/

Doesn't quite answer the question of if Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games are either 1) An automatic upgrade if you bought an OG Switch version of the game. 2) A small fee to upgrade if you bought an OG Switch version of the game (lets say...$10 per game) or... 3) Nintendo asking full price ($70) for a "new" version of the games we already bought.

Can't wait until Wednesday to find out.

That's an interesting find. Seems to confirms upgrades in some capacity at least.

Just saw this myself and came here to make sure people knew, a nice little tidbit

My guess is that they'll be full price releases for those that don't own them, but with an upgrade path for those that own the Switch 1 version and that upgrade will be free for NSO Expansion Pack subscribers

@IceClimbers Honestly I kind of like that expansion pack theory. It would definitely be a very Nintendo way to do it.

@Magician Quite possibly, it could be all three of those, depending on the publisher's choices.

At least that's how it seems to work on Sony and Microsoft consoles.

At least it's very likely we'll be getting some kind of upgrade for OG Switch games.

I know Nintendo can be greedy with their pricing, but I really can't imagine them trying to pull something like entirely separate purchases for games we already have.

I think an upgrade fee is most likely since that's what other companies (at least Sony) are doing.

The fact that they're saying that Switch 2 Edition games "can only be loaded on a Nintendo Switch 2 system" basically confirms that there is a separate licence for them. Which implies some kind of separate transaction for each edition.

In other words, if you buy Metroid Prime 4 on Switch you don't have Metroid Prime 4. You have the Switch Edition of Metroid Prime 4. If you want the Switch 2 enhanced version that's a another licence acquired through another transaction. Now, how they charge for that or if it's part of NSO or something else? Who knows. But it is a separate licence

Now the question is..... if you have a Switch game do you buy the Switch 2 Edition separately? Do you get a discount on buying the Switch 2 Edition for having the Switch game? If you upgrade do you now have two Editions of the game or does upgrading remove your Switch Edition? I guess we'll find out

@skywake I'm wondering how many people will actually pay for this though. How many will be okay with having to pay extra just to get a better looking version of the game they could just play normally through Backwards compatibility. I know Sony charges people to upgrade their games, but I don't really know anyone who has a PS5 that's actually paid the amount for that.

I was sorta hoping Nintendo wouldn't sink to the lows of Sony's predatory practices- but I guess it was inevitable given that they made people have to pay for Online. This was just the next step.

@VoidofLight
I guess it depends on how much they charge, how good backwards compatibility is and how big of an improvement it is. And whether or not you're still interested in playing that game. For example if they offered an upgrade of BotW for maybe even the full price again. Because I'd be interested in revisiting it and it's a game that pushed the Switch fairly hard so it could be pushed further

But if they offered an upgrade for something like Ring Fit Adventure it could be free and I probably wouldn't even bother with the download. Because it doesn't really need it and, lets be honest, I'm probably not booting it up again

Hoping they either do it as a free update or a small fee.

Okay, so they did explain this in the Direct. They're making Switch 2 Editions of Switch 1 games. Some of them have new content, others it's just a performance upgrade. Confirmed so far:

Super Mario Party Jamboree- Includes new gameplay modes that utilize the mouse controls and camera
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild- Performance upgrade
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom- Performance upgrade
Kirby and the Forgotten Land- New gameplay mode
Metroid Prime 4- Performance upgrade and mouse control support
Pokemon Legends Z-A- Performance upgrade

You can either buy the Switch 2 Edition directly or if you have the Switch 1 version you can upgrade to Switch 2 Edition.

I'm guessing this is going to be what they use for filler games, just take an old Switch game and give it a Switch 2 Edition. With BotW getting one, age is clearly no issue, anything is on the table for them to go back and upgrade with a Switch 2 Edition. Not sure I'd like this for pure performance upgrades, but new content additions would be welcome.

Paid upgrades it is then.

I can ignore that for most games, unless the performance on OG Switch is dire.

All right, so I think we're getting more than just these 6. Again this feels like the answer to "what are they going to use for filler titles without the Wii U library to lean on?". Any games you want/think would be good for Switch 2 Editions?

Smash Ultimate- With Sakurai working on Kirby Air Riders this should be a lock I think. This says to me that Sakurai is moving on from Smash and the younger developers are taking over, so I think they simply make Switch 2 Edition Ultimate, throw in even more characters, and used what they learned from that for Smash 6. I may even be right about Smash 6 being a Switch 3 game.
Super Mario Maker 2- This game is just begging for mouse controls, and it seems like they initially planned to have more styles than just 3D World, so now's a good time to revisit that.
Splatoon 3 (and maybe 2)- I suspect Splatoon 4 is not happening very soon. So taking the old games and throwing in mouse mode seems like a good way to tide Splatoon fans over.
Super Mario Odyssey- This is probably going to be more of a mid-gen release since they probably have a new 3D Mario planned early (we all thought it was going to be a holiday game but now it's looking like it may be a 2026 game). But it's too popular a game to not rerelease
Luigi's Mansion 3- Similar situation to Odyssey. I strongly suspect Luigi's Mansion 4 is coming soon, but 3 sold so well and looks so gorgeous that they're not going to be able to resist upgrading this one.

Has there been any mention of whether buying a Switch 2 edition of a game also gives you access to the Switch version? I'm thinking of a situation where yo might have a Switch 2, but also a Lite for travelling or something which obviously isn't compatible with a Switch 2 version.

@dmcc0

Switch 2 and Switch 2 Edition games are for use on Switch 2 only.

https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/virtual-game-cards/

@Magician
This may not be the case for physical Switch 2 Edition games.

"Includes the Nintendo Switch game and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack. Upgrade pack also available separately"
https://support.nintendo.com/switch2/upgradepack (link not live as of posting time)

The phrasing suggests that the physical game card should work on any Switch 1 system and just let you play the Switch 1 version.
What's not clear is whether or not the upgrade pack is built into the cartridge as either full data or a license-key, or if it's a download code.
It's also not clear if this Switch 1 compatible game card will be grey like they've always been, or red to indicate it has Switch 2 support.

@RupeeClock

It's nice that physical copies will have that flexibility.

No doubt a non-option for digital purchases though.

Something else worth noting in this thread given nobody has mentioned it. It seems there are multiple tiers for these "enhanced" versions and I guess Switch backwards compatibility generally

At the lowest tier there are just generally backwards compatible games. No work done on these, they just run as the original game. But it sounds as though these games may well perform better somewhat purely by just being on Switch 2. Slightly more stable framerates, slightly faster load times. That kind of thing

The second tier are free upgrades. These games are getting a patch that has no charge but either allows additional Switch 2 features or runs at higher resolutions of framerates. These games are, at this stage:

• ARMS
• Captain Toad
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Super Mario World + Bowser's Fury
• Clubhouse Games
• Link's Awakening HD
• Echoes of Wisdom
• Game Builder Garage
• New SMB U Deluxe
• Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
• Big Brain Academy

I would assume some of these are now running at 4K or a stable 60fps, like Link's Awakening HD maybe. From the looks of some of the footage in the Direct I assume Clubhouse Games is getting screen sharing (i.e. additional players don't need to download the demo, big win). Probably Game Builder Garage gets mouse? But still. Small upgrades, no additional content, no charge

The third tier are the ones that are getting a charge attached. Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Party Jamboree, Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon Legends Z-A, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Civilization VII. Technically I guess the difference with these is that these have a licence attached to the enhancement that Nintendo can charge for. Some of these are being included in NSO, like we've had DLC do before, and some of them are fairly significant content updates to justify the price. So it's kinda hard to be to upset about this category I think

edit: Prime 4 is kinda interesting given its' not out and I kinda half wonder if they're going to just..... not have a Switch version of the game? As in the game is just straight up the combo version. You buy it, you're buying the enhanced version. Food for thought

TBH this is landing pretty much where I expected..... if not a tad better than I was anticipating. I was half expecting them to charge for all of them, for there not to be any significant content updates attached. I was also honestly half expecting fully enhanced versions of BotW and TotK to just be outright new full priced releases

@Magician
I don't see how the flexibility isn't there, actually.
You just buy the digital Switch 1 version of the game, and the upgrade pack separately. That way you can play your purchased game on both systems, a point that'll be relevant for households that keep their original Switches for the rest of the family.
That said, Nintendo are likely to sell Switch 2 Editions that can't be played on Switch 1 at all due to however they manage the licenses, and might not let you purchase the Switch 1 versions via Switch 2? We'll have to see how they handle it.
It could also just be a misinterpretation of "Switch 2 Edition games can only be played on Switch 2", that having a Switch 2 Edition may mean you still get a Virtual Game card that lets you play a Switch 1 version? I mean think about black cartridge Game Boy Color titles could still be played on a monochrome Game Boy.