The Nintendo Switch 2's backwards compatibility means it can avoid one problem

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently confirmed via Nintendo's official Twitter account that Nintendo Switch 2 will gain backward compatibility. In the same post, Furukawa announced that Nintendo Switch Online will also be accessible. There are still a few questions to be answered, but this will undoubtedly give the Nintendo Switch 2 an edge over its predecessor.

The Nintendo Switch has had a successful lifespan, but it hasn't been without controversy. In retrospect, the early days of the console were by far the most difficult period. Very few launch titles were made and the following years were largely littered with ports and remasters. Thanks to backwards compatibility, the successor to the Nintendo Switch is ready to tackle this problem head on.

Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatibility is great news for launch titles

Nintendo Switch features Wii U ports

Much of the Nintendo Switch's design, including its launch strategy, was heavily influenced by the relative failure of the Wii U. Despite the Wii U performing poorly in critical and commercial metrics, the console still attracted a loyal fan base thanks to a few hidden gems. This created a lot of demand to take any solid games from the Wii U and port them over to its successor so that each of those titles could be played and judged by a much wider audience than the Wii U was able to pull in.

The Nintendo Switch managed this, with a significant portion of its library consisting of first-party Wii U ports. Even now, some of the biggest titles on the end-of-life release schedule are remasters of older games. Since the Switch was influenced by the Wii U, Nintendo should take note of how the Switch 2 can improve on the shortcomings of its predecessors.

Backwards compatibility gives the Nintendo Switch 2 an edge over its predecessor

Although many details are still uncertain, the official confirmation of backwards compatibility is already a huge improvement for the Nintendo Switch. There's a lot of speculation that can be done from this point alone, assuming backwards compatibility is comfortable and robust. If that ends up being the case, this could be the perfect feature to give the Nintendo Switch 2 an edge in its early days.

Of course, it is important to recognize unknown factors and remain cautious. Nintendo's previous backwards compatible systems usually allowed you to simply insert a disc or cartridge from its predecessor and play library to library. It's currently unclear whether Nintendo Switch cartridges will be universally compatible with its successor, but that's certainly the expectation.

More importantly, it would remove the need to flood the console's library with Nintendo Switch ports. Of course, the Nintendo Switch has plenty of solid games that are undoubtedly worth playing on its predecessor. Fortunately, backward compatibility is the perfect way to meet this demand.

Nintendo Switch 2 launch titles have huge potential

In fact, there is more to support this perspective, and it bodes well for the potential release window of the Nintendo Switch 2. The Nintendo Switch's early days were heavily ported, but it has since released a number of widely-received games. More importantly, his final days also seem to paint a clear picture.

Simply put, the Nintendo Switch running out of major releases should bode well for the next console. Important titles such as Metroid Prime 4 are still appearing relatively rare and could very well be used to boost the launch year of the Switch 2. Even Pokemon Gen 10 leaks have hinted at a dual-release strategy, which seems to confirm extensive plans for backwards compatibility.

The Nintendo Switch is a tough act to follow. Following the success of the Wii, the Wii U was in a very similar position and unfortunately fell behind. The Nintendo Switch 2 needs to avoid a similar fate, and backwards compatibility can help it do so.