Nintendo Switch 2, or the successor to the current Big N video game console, remains a mystery in every way. This may come as no surprise to those familiar with a company that has traditionally tended to be very secretive. However, recent statements by current CEO Shuntaro Furukawa suggest that future consoles it will have backwards compatibility with the current Nintendo Switch.

Twitter account genes found that during a question-and-answer session held at Nintendo’s latest financial report, Shuntaro Furukawa would make a brief reference to the Big N’s future console to say that the plan is facilitate the transition of customers to a future product using the services of a company that currently has 290 million registered accounts between consoles and mobile devices.

Nintendo’s upcoming console is attracting a lot of interest thanks to the success of the Switch, but the information circulating around it has become conflicting, ranging from a revolution in performance and backwards compatibility to an overly conservative approach and no backwards compatibility.

It’s a bit surprising that the backwards compatibility issue is still up in the air at this point, especially considering how the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S provide such a feature to make games that were published in the previous generation work. However, Nintendo has not excelled in its consumer policy in recent years, and what’s more, its transgressions in this regard have sometimes been difficult to correct due to government pressure, such as drifting Joy-Con in the European Union.

Another front that Nintendo will have to face is handheld console with x86 processor architecture, which are gradually opening the gap from the Steam Deck and currently there are some interesting models that work with Windows, such as the ASUS ROG ALLY. These devices, due to the fact that they are ultimately nothing more than a standard PC for life, offers extensive support for apps and emulatorsso the lack of backwards compatibility in a future Nintendo console would make it lose interest compared to those positioning itself as its most direct rivals.

As is always the case with this information, it is best to remain cautious until the information is official and confirmed, but looking at the current context, the lack of backward compatibility would make the successor of the Nintendo Switch lose a lot of points. It’s true that the Japanese video game giant has the advantage of playing in a league of its own, with no obvious direct rivals, but that doesn’t mean it has infinite room for failure.

PLEASE NOTE: Images are of current Nintendo Switch.