Gaming | August 16, 2023
While it’s not yet official, many fans believe that Nintendo will release the successor to the Switch in 2024. There are still many unanswered questions as of today. One of the most important ones revolves around its backward compatibility, and the Japanese company acknowledged in the past that implementing it was easier than ever. However, we haven’t heard anything more about it since, but all signs point to it being crucial for players.
Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, has discussed this topic with Gamesindustry.biz and emphasized its importance. The head of the American company confesses that Nintendo’s next console should be backward compatible. Not implementing this feature might lead the Japanese company to generate more revenue, but not following this path would “break the contract with players.”
“You have to give consumers what they want and optimize their experience, and you can’t fail to offer a feature that you can provide to maximize sales. That’s not fulfilling your contract with consumers. You have to do the best you can for them. I suppose it’s possible that the lack of backward compatibility might increase your income for a while, but at what cost?” Zelnick expresses.
The latest report from VGC regarding Switch 2 reveals that Nintendo is aiming for a launch of its next console in the second half of 2024. As a result, some key partners already have development kits, and it would likely follow a similar model as it can also be used in handheld mode. In terms of the screen, an LCD would be used instead of an OLED to reduce costs. It will also accept physical games through a cartridge slot, but what remains unclear is its backward compatibility.
