You will be able to use all your Switch games on the Switch 2

Nintendo has presented its financial report for the second quarter of the 2024 financial year. In the report, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa also gives an outlook on future developments.

Furukawa confirms a topic that will certainly make fans breathe a sigh of relief: You'll be able to use your Switch games on the highly anticipated successor console. To be precise, he's talking about "Switch software", which includes games from the Nintendo online shop as well as games purchased on memory cards.

This concession on the topic of backwards compatibility is not necessarily common for Nintendo. Most Nintendo consoles do not allow games from previous console generations to be used on them. The Switch is also not backwards compatible with its predecessor, the Wii U.

You will also still be able to use the "Nintendo Switch Online" service on the new console. The service is subject to a charge and allows you to play online with others. Numerous retro classics are also included in the membership.

According to the report, 100 million players are active on the Switch every year. Nintendo wants to retain this loyal customer base and make it easier for fans to switch to a new console with these measures.

Announcement of the "Switch 2" in the current financial year

However, Furukawa is leaving it open as to when the Switch 2 will be released. However, he confirms an earlier statement from May 2024: The announcement of the Switch successor is still planned for the current financial year, which runs until the end of March 2025. According to Furukawa, new Switch titles will continue to be released into the coming year. The fact that these will also be usable on the new console should make a purchase more attractive.

Fans have been waiting a long time for Nintendo to comment on the release and specifications of a "Switch 2".

Dropping sales figures and a milestone is still approaching

Nintendo's game and console sales have fallen by around 30 per cent compared to the same period last year. Between April and September 2024, 4.72 million Switch consoles and more than 70 million games were sold. According to these new figures, the Switch has sold a total of 146 million units since its release in March 2017.

Furukawa attributes the drop in sales figures to the fact that hits such as "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" and the film "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" were released in the same period last year, which boosted sales. Such blockbusters were missing in the past six months.

However, sales are still solid for a console in its eighth year of sales. The Switch is currently the third best-selling console after the Nintendo DS with 154 million units and the Playstation 2 with 159 million units. The Nintendo DS was produced from 2004 to 2014, while the Playstation 2 was on the market for more than twelve years from 2000 to 2012.