Topic: How do I download my games library?

Hi, I'm new to Switch (have just picked up a Lite) to play my favourite Nintendo games portable.
I'm a longtime Gamer but have stuck with Xbox for the last few generations before deciding to go multiplatform .

I cant work out how I can download my old games to the Switch, I had bought Zelda Link to The Past along with a few other games on my 3DS that all look to be backwards compatible but I can't seem to work out how I can redownload them?
I don't want to pay for the online as I have GamePass on the Series X for that.
Any help would be appreciated.

@RandomNPC Sounds like you want to put your 3ds games on the Switch. You can't. The Switch is not backward compatible with anything. There are games ported from other Nintendo consoles, but those have to be purchased, or are only available via Switch Online subscription. In the Nintendo ecosystem, no digital purchases transfer to the next gen consoles. Each console had it's own eshop.

Although, with the Switch's new cartridge(aka game cards), those will likely work on the next gen console/Switch successor. (Gamecube games worked on Wii, Wii games worked on Wii U, and DS games worked on 3DS.)

There's no Virtual Console on the Switch either, to everyone's disappointment.

Sorry if that's a lot of bad news. Let me know if I misunderstood anything.

EDIT: Oh yeah, Xbox One digital purchases trasnfer to Series X? Man that's nice. Phil's the man for that move. (My brother has xbox one. We play the heck out of Forza Horizon)

@WoomyNNYes So there's no backwards compatibility at all?
You have to buy all of your games that are on the system again? That seems like a bit of a cash grab.
I can access games on my Series X that I bought all of the way back to my original Xbox.

Hopefully I get some use out of the console as the games seem to be quite expensive. I picked up Metroid with the switch as I loved Super and Fusion but was slightly disappointed after finishing it in a day and it cost me £50. I dont have anything to play now lol.

@RandomNPC Forgive me, I edited my post above to flesh it out better, and I think it answers your questions.

I totally understand your disappointment coming from xbox. Physical Nintendo games have often been backward compatible with the previous gen console, but digital purchases don't transfer to the next gen consoles. Each console's eshop is it's own ecosystem.

Let me know if I missed anything. I'm really sorry to break that news. I totally sympathize.

@WoomyNNYes thank you, suppose I should have looked into it instead of assuming it would be the same as other modern consoles.
Hopefully something good comes out soon as I'm loathe to pay such high prices for years old games. I was going to pick up Zelda breath of the Wild but can't find it for less than £40 - for a release title!!! It's insane.

If I sign up to the Nintendo gamepass do you get 2 or 3 new games each the like you do with Xbox Gold or PS+ - it seems to have a small library of old stuff but no details about what you get each month for your money.

Only time as mentioned by WoomyNNYes if they remaster on Switch carts game from other popular consoles. One can only dream of games remastered from older Nintendo consoles over but that is only if they are on-demand or high seller would they make such move.

@SwitchForce it's really strange coming back to Nintendo and realising you need to keep buying your games back, I'm used to Xbox letting me play most of my back catalogue - with a large portion of games having free upgrades in line with current gen systems (Like FPS boost etc).

No games are the same unless they were from 3DS to 3DS or Switch to Switch. There is programming that is needed to change so game work from different console to different consoles. You don't just copy and paste and it works. Because the xbox and psx are same model programming to programming they don't need as much work. Nintendo consoles aren't the same so that is why it cost Labor/$$ do redo the programming. So one needs to consider that factor when saying as such.

@SwitchForce from what I've read this afternoon the N64 and Snes games are pretty much straight emulations.
If you had purchased these previously on another system I don't understand why you can't access it on the Switch - Especially as I synced my 3DS account with my Switch. Nintendo can see exactly what I've purchased before.

https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a...
This link proves that they could do it as you can switch credit between accounts so Nintendo know what game licensing you own.
The only thing I can thing of for not allowing this is straight up greed, feels like the stuff EA tries to pull off.
I suppose you guys are so used to getting screwed over you don't see it anymore.

Edit: "There is programming that is needed to change so game work from different console to different consoles."
So you are saying that the original Xbox is the same console as the Series X because I can play those games I've purchased without having to pay again for them.

Because Microsoft does what Nintendon't

@Tasuki This has genuinely blown my mind. I took it for granted that games just carry over between systems after being with Xbox so long. I cant believe that this isn't a common practice from all hardware developers.

Will hold off buying too many Switch games until I know if they will work on the next system or not as I had over 100 3DS games that I can't play now (my 3DS died a while back), Its worse as many of the Legacy titles are available on Switch but behind a paywall.

@RandomNPC Oh it is, Just not Nintendo.

Reading all of this i can only sigh sometimes

Well, the main reason Sony made PS5 BC with PS4 was because of MS doing so much with their BC, @RandomNPC .... Yes, it does take some work to make games from previous consoles run on current ones
While there are reasons it'd be more work for some systems depending on the hardware & perhaps MS does have an advantage in using more similar components where the Switch had to use significantly different hardware
Then, for 3DS games, they would have to be remade for the 1 screen, so that is a lot of work

@BruceCM I meant legacy titles rather than full 3DS games. I appreciate that the switch couldn't handle anything duel screen but what about Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, LttP, Super Metroid, super mario bros 1-3 etc.

Does no one else think it strange that these legacy games are gated behind a paywall even after purchasing them.

I think a lot of us would like to have the classics we bought on newer systems. There's a good reason why a lot want the older virtual console back. While I love Nintendo games, they still can do some pretty anti-consumer stuff like this. There's good reason why I'm critical over Switch Online (and this is coming from someone who's generally positive about games I play too, I even like the less popular lower rated games most don't like).

Personally, I wish I could buy classic Nintendo games again, just to have my favorite classics on newer hardware. Playing NES and SNES games on Switch Online is nice, but if I like a game, I would like to have it for keeps rather than have it tied to a subscription.

Are those on NSO, @RandomNPC ....? Since I don't play online stuff on my Switch & I'm not interested in those games, I wouldn't know what's in that
Good luck playing stuff from PS1, 2 or 3 on the PS4 or 5. So, it's XBox that's the odd 1 out, rather than Switch, really.

@BruceCM you can play older PlayStation games on PS4 via PS (which is cheaper than the Switch Online!), but I've never bought much on PlayStation so I don't know how they handle true backwards compatibility.
The PS5 looks to be fully BC with PS4 games though so that's a good move.

Yeah, I meant without paying again, @RandomNPC ... Since that was the complainant for NSO games I'm sure if we could make the games from previous Nintendo consoles available for Switch, there'd be lots of them

@RandomNPC Well they are two different companies so it is kind of naive to think that one company does something the same way another one does.