Nintendo explains whatbackward compatibility is on the Switch 2
The verge: a Switch 2 review of games with startup issues and compatibility, and why I am excited to buy the Switch 2 at The Verge
The senior reviewer has been at The Verge since it was founded. His coverage areas include audio (Sonos, Apple, Bose, Sony, etc.), home theater, smartphones, photography, and more.
Nintendo squeezed in some promising info about Switch 2 updates for older titles during today’s Direct. The selection of games getting updates — which includes Arms, Super Mario Odyssey, and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker — is relatively small, and it sounds like Nintendo is taking steps to make them compatible with the Switch 2’s new GameChat feature. It was confirmed by Nintendo that the updates could improve performance for certain games on the list, like Pokémon Scarlet and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
The company also divides “games with startup issues” — Doom Eternal, Rocket League, NBA 2K25, and Warframe are among these — and “games that are playable, but have some in-game compatibility issues” into separate lists. “Nintendo is continuing to improve compatibility, including by working with publishing and developing partners,” the company notes on the site. The work will continue until the console is available in early June.
I imagine Nintendo will inevitably release full-color Joy-Con 2 controllers in the future, but I think the Switch 2 out of the gate could have looked much more fun.
As long as Nintendo keeps up the quality, I will purchase a Switch 2 on day one.
Its much larger 7.9-inch size is a blessing for the eyesight of a generation that grew up with Nintendo consoles — myself included. I was surprised that the company decided to use a 120Hz panel with variable refresh rate.
Nintendo Switch 2 Revisited: Will the Sticks Drift? The Case for a PowerA Replica GameCube Controller and Mario Kart World
The Joy-Con can be used like a mouse, and are larger, more comfortable, and attach via magnets. Will the sticks drift, is that the real question?
Imagine being able to enjoy the joy of a meeting in your game. Video streaming and voice chatting are not the best things to do in gaming. I will not use the features to frighten my friends.
I play a lot of my Switch games with a licensed PowerA replica GameCube controller. Even though it uses AA batteries, there is an additional ZL button that lets me play most of my Switch games. While Nintendo’s official wireless GameCube controller for the Switch 2 brings rechargeable batteries, Nintendo opted to give it a little nub of a ZL button instead of a full button. I was hoping for the WaveBird successor, but it was not there.
$449.99 is higher than I was expecting for the Switch 2. I was hoping for $399. I will be doing all I can to get the bundle that includes Mario Kart World, a game that retails for $799.99 on its own.
I am not a huge fan of Mario Kart World but I was waiting for Nintendo to make a single- player killer app so I could play it. I wouldn’t place a wager on Donkey Kong Bananza leading the charge.
He may be as old as Mario, but this is only Donkey Kong’s second-ever 3D platformer, his first since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64, and his first solo game since Tropical Freeze in 2014. He’s an unlikely candidate for a system seller. Then again, that’s probably what Mario Kart is for.
Source: Verge staffers react to the Nintendo Switch 2
GameCube vs. Switch 2: Why Nintendo is charging for the Welcome Tour app on the Switch 2 console? Reflection on the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct
The age of new consoles being bundled with a free game is behind us, but it’s confusing why Nintendo is charging for the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour app. Although it does appear to include a small selection of mini-games, the app seems to be more of a highly-polished interactive tutorial than a game.
The Wii Sports console made that console a hit for Nintendo and it also introduced the motion-controlled gaming capabilities of the Wiimote and Nunchuck. The Welcome Tour app feels very similar to this one, in that it has less replay value.
Throughout the Switch 2 Direct, I was waiting for the iconic Super Smash Bros. logo to flash across my screen. During the Kirby Air Riders trailer it seemed like a new game was about to be written, and I almost jumped out of my seat.
Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of the original Air Ride, is directing Riders. It is my hope that he will be up for another SSB.
In a Nintendo Direct that aired over the summer, it was revealed that GameCube games would be coming to the new console as a Nintendo Switch Online feature. In addition to GX, I can’t wait to finally play bangers from Nintendo’s most adorable console in higher resolution without the need to screw around with the pain of emulators.
After my decision to stick with digital game downloads for the original Nintendo Switch led to frustrations with playing those games on the Switch OLED, I was planning a return to physical cartridges for the Switch 2.
But Nintendo’s reveal of its new virtual game cards last week has changed my mind. The switch 2 upgrade allows the games to be moved between multiple versions of theswitch without the consoles needing a constant internet connection.
