Nintendo remains coy on backwards compatibility for their next system (UPDATE)
Not ready to talk specifics
Nintendo held their The 83rd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders a few days back, and as you expect, those shareholders had a wide range of questions they lobbed at Nintendo.
One person was interested in knowing if Nintendo’s next platform would be backwards compatible with Switch. In particular, this person mentioned that Wii U/3DS games couldn’t be brought over to Switch, and they’d be saddened to see the same situation happen with Switch to whatever comes next.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa wasn’t ready to share any specifics about Nintendo’s next piece of hardware, but he did talk about digital/physical software philosophies in general. You can see some of his statement below, as translated by Robert Sephazon. (h/t VGC)
“We are always considering various things about the specifications of future hardware, but at this stage, I would like to refrain from making any specific comments about future hardware.
As for the sales style of Nintendo Switch software, there are different types like physical package software bought in stores, download versions of package software, and download-only software.
Many of our customers have been playing on the Nintendo Switch with download software or download-only software, and compared to previous game consoles, the ratio of digital sales has been increasing.
As a company, we would like to continue proposing unique gameplay through dedicated game consoles that integrate hardware and software in the future, so please look forward to it.”
UPDATE: You can now see the official question and answer in English, as Nintendo has released their translation of the Shareholders Q&A.
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the schaef
7d agoCoy means no.
For a company with the oldest extant back catalog, it is stunning how slow and stingy they are with bringing a literal lifetime worth of absolute bangers to their consoles.
I really don't get it. You could play everything on the Wii, and it was amazing. And it's just been less and less over time.
captaincolon
7d agoI used to be one of those that didn't care about backwards compatibility, but now as I get older I do care about it because of "too many games, too little time". For example I recently started Guacamelee! 2 on the Switch...and this is a game I had pre-ordered in the eShop in late 2018. I buy so many games and it sometimes takes years to get around to them. If I can't bring my Switch library to the next console, this could be a big factor in how soon I want to get the next console once it releases.
sdsichero
6d agoIt would be pretty dumb if what we bought on the eshop this time, with the account we set up (which they said was inspired by Apple), would not work on the next system.
The one thing we know for sure from the image, is that the next system comes out before 2100!
Same with Wii U. The difference is that those systems released during the Iwata era.
Switch didn't, and nor will its successor. It's a different, less consumer-focused leadership.
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