I've not always been an advocate for digital purchases, and have actually found myself flapping between physical and eShop games where availability is concerned. But as someone who is now fully 'in', it's only just now hit me that this system of purchases may not outlive the remainder of Switch's lifespan; say 4 years.
Things have obviously changed a lot since the Wii/3DS era and the confusing - even frustrating - ways that purchases were linked to hardware and more.
But with a modern account system now in place and a platform with potential to advance, do you expect Nintendo to allow users of the 'Switch 2' to carry over their purchases?
Or will they holdout and 'rerelease' the said software, forcing users to purchase them again?
I'd say it's a definite...maybe? It certainly would be more profitable for Nintendo to resell you the games you've already bought on the previous generation of Switch if the next-generation Switch were to not have backwards compatibility. I'd like to believe the Switch successor will be compatible with the Switch's library. It's assumed, but it's not guaranteed it will.
Nintendo is corporation first and foremost, and loyalty counts for nothing.
Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay
Mr Iwata quite explicitly stated that they are starting from square one with Switch. They have a 20 year partnership with NVidia and going forward, you'll be able to take games with you.
I never drive faster than I can see. Besides, it's all in the reflexes.
@Emperor-Palpsy I'd be more open to digital gaming future if my game ownership didn't die with the eshop.
Since no eshop purchases have ever carried over to the next gen console, I don't see it happening.(Anyone, correct me if I'm wrong, I think that's accurate?) Granted, I'd love for my digital purchases to carry over to the Switch successor.
Although, physical games have been compatible with the next gen consoles: gamecube/wii, and DS/3DS. But I don't think we've seen game compatibility span more than two console generations. Could the Wii U play physical Wii games? I didn't have a Wii U, so I don't know.
I've got a feeling the Switch successor may be compatible with Switch game cards. If that's the case, then I already have BOTW, Mario Odyssey, etc., for the next gen console. My game library is split between physical and digital. It's definitely nice not having to change game cards.
Aren't Xbox One digital games playable on Xbox Series X? Maybe their trailblazing could put pressure on Nintendo. ...Or have no impact at all.šš Because, Nintendo being Nintendo.
I donāt believe they will but I hope they are. I basically only buy digital so I will be totally screwed if it doesnāt port over. Especially since I have a switch LAN party room and own multiple copies of multiple games.
Digital games bought belongs to the NIN account that purchased the eShop game. But the only difference here is if the eShop games are removed or pulled then you won't have access to them maybe but that depends. Your question should be best answered by contact Nintendo Support and asking them to get the right reply.
Could the Wii U play physical Wii games? I didn't have a Wii U, so I don't know.
Yes, the Wii U is literally 2 consoles in 1 (Wii U and Wii).
By clicking on a button in the home menu you switch to Wii mode where you can play Wii discs / WiiWare games / Wii Virtual Console games natively, exactly like on the Wii.
It's like there's two pieces of hardware in one console: The Wii U hardware and the Wii hardware. There is zero emulation involved.
The Wii U is even 3 consoles in 1 (if you modify it) since the Wii mode is able to play Gamecube discs just like the original Wii.
I don't think they will be seeing as how Nintendo's making bank selling full priced "deluxe" ports of all their Wii U stuff
Unless their next console functions extremely similarly to Switch and is built off the same architecture like PS5 to PS4, I think Nintendo probably won't go that route. Even the positive reception towards Xbox Series X|S playing every generation of Xbox games or PS5 being BC with virtually the entire library of PS4 games with enhancements will probably not compell them to stick with the crowd. They've been detached from making their consoles fall in line feature-for-feature with competitors for around 15 years now and it's only really backfired on them once
Backwards compatibility is also, while great for game preservation, isn't really a selling point for a lot of people as it might be claimed to be. The Xbox One and Series X can play multiple generations worth of Xbox games but both have been or are currently being outsold by PS4 and PS5 respectively, one of which isn't BC natively at all, and the other only being able to natively play a single past console's library of games. The Wii U could play Wii games, the Switch can't play Wii U games because of technical reasons and look what happened
@WoomyNNYes Yea itās pretty awesome; I have a digital library going back to the Xbox Live Arcade Games from 2006 and I can play them on my Series X. Thats 15 years so far and Microsoft shows no sign of stopping.
Would be great if Nintendo had done the sameā¦ all those Virtual Console games oh man. Rip. Still would be better to start now than leave it even longer.
Eh, not as easily as you think. The Tegra X1 in the current Switch is being discontinued. Previous Nintendo backwards compatibility involved using the old hardware coupled with the new hardware. So with the X1 discontinued, the Switch successor will most likely be running a new SoC alone, no old hardware included. And chances are good the new chipset won't be powerful enough to run emulation necessary to play Switch games.
If I were I betting man, I'd assume Nintendo customers who purchase the Switch's successor will have to build their Switch library from scratch. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo uses Sony's "spend $10 for an enhanced port" method of upgrading previously purchased games.
Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay
I really hope that Nintendo does allow backwards compatibility.
Saying that Nintendo have a habit of making consoles with a new gimmick each generation so the likelihood of a switch 2 is slim. The next gen Nintendo Console has just as much chance of being a home only console that fully utilises some form of VR instead of another hybrid.
If the next Console isn't fully backwards compatible it will be the first one that I won't be buying. I've become really fed up this gen having to repurchase my wii-U library and definitely won't be giving Nintendo any more of my money.
@Mr-Fuggles777 I think it will. They apparently asked developers to make their games 4K ready (although I do find it increasingly difficult to trust what is reported these days - which is a shame, but they do it to themselves so no sympathy.) If that is so, then I dare say their next console will either be a direct successor or something different again, but incorporates Switch games and can give them a boost. We'll see.
I never drive faster than I can see. Besides, it's all in the reflexes.
@GrailUK if they are making the jump to 4k would cartridges be a cost effective medium for larger games?
Looking at PS4 games (which is likely the quality we will expect from the Switches successor) the average download size is between 30-50 GB so we could assume an average of 40gb - how much extra would that put onto a physical release utilising carts?
If Nintendo are thinking of going that route than I imagine the next Console would utilise blue-ray discs for physical. That would also mean that they would do BC with switch games.
@Mr-Fuggles777 Well, that's why all the DLSS talk was so juicy. It's a software solution, so the game on the card would be the normal game, but the console will be able to render it at 4K without requiring much more hardware.
I never drive faster than I can see. Besides, it's all in the reflexes.
Those game sizes didn't change much between the Ps4 and PS4 pro. Look at AC Valhalla (which utilises DLSS upscaling to 4k on the pro) 46.2 gb on Pro vs 45GB on PS4.
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Topic: Switch successor - Will digital purchases carry over?
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