Switch 2 could support and enhance OG Switch games

The next Nintendo Switch console will be backwards compatible with current-generation games and could make them even better, according to a new leak.

According to the Portuguese website Universo Nintendo – also one of the publications claiming a March Switch 2 unveiling is on the cards – the new Switch will support physical and digital games from the OG Switch. That means the next Switch is also likely to support the same physical cartridges.

Furthermore, developers would be able to improve existing games in the current Switch library thanks to the additional processing power within the new console, the report says. The report arises from the Control X Portuguese language podcast.

In fairness, Nintendo has had a rich history of offering backwards compatibility, so this wouldn’t be a surprise should it come to fruition. You could pop Wii discs in the Wii U, just like you could use GameCube CDs with the Wii. Even the Game Boy Advance supported cartridges from the original handheld. That theme continued with the 3DS enabling 2DS cartridges.

Some notable exceptions are the absence of backward compatibility for the N64 and Super Nintendo, which was largely down to largely different cartridge designs and different architecture.

However, the news a Switch 2 would not only support but possibly enhance the player’s existing Switch library will be a big hit among fans.

Recent rumours have suggested we’ll get a Switch 2 unveiling in March, with the company then showing the new hardware off to developers at that month’s Game Developers Conference.

March will mark seven years since the original Switch went on sale, during which it has become one of the best-selling machines of all time. Recently, Nintendo revealed the console was just a few thousand short of hitting 140 million. The new Switch could bring that glorious era to a close by the end of the summer, if recent indications are to be belived.