Topic: What Are "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" Games?

[Kairon]

Mentioned only in fine print, could this be a part of next week's April 2 Switch 2 Direct?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/70440/what-are-nintendo-switch-2-edition-games

The wildest Nintendo leaks are the ones they leak themselves, such as in the fine print in the official Nintendo website detailing how the company's new Virtual Game Card sharing feature works. Despite the company's conscious and clear effort to focus on the original Nintendo Switch for now (until next week's planned Nintendo Switch 2 Direct presentation), that official website includes the text "Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games and Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games can only be loaded on a Nintendo Switch 2 system."

What are "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" games? Will they be a significant part of next week's Nintendo Switch 2 presentation? Does this bode well for brand new titles coming to the Switch 2, or do we brace ourselves for launch year full of ports and remakes of older games?

In truth, one might expect to see a lot of answers next week at the Switch 2 Direct. However, that's not guaranteed. We don't even know the Switch 2's official launch date yet, and Nintendo may want to stretch out the information sharing for their new system over time if they have it, instead of info-dumping everything at once.

(Should we consider Nintendo marketing as thoughtful for not overfeeding us with too much news at once? Or should we yearn for older and less-controlled ways of revealing and discovering the company's plans?)

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was among many ports of older Wii U games that padded the Switch's 2018 release calendar

With the truth so close, one thing does at least seem a sensible take-away: it sounds highly likely that Switch 1 games will be re-released in a form where they can benefit from the Switch 2's stronger hardware. The Switch 2 is already confirmed to be backwards compatible, but maybe if a game wants to run at a steadier, or even higher, framerate, have further draw distances, or faster loading, then Nintendo could require you to buy a "Nintendo Switch 2" version of it.

Here's another question: Will the Nintendo Switch 2 rely heavily or in part on ports and remakes? Nintendo has a history of porting older games to newer systems - often in order to pad out release schedules and avoid release droughts, or to give older games a chance to gain new audiences. And we have to consider the modern day trend for extended cross-generation videogame console transitions - Newer consoles like the PlayStation 5 are now taking longer to gain truly exclusive titles, and instead padding out their libraries with "better" versions of games released simultaneously on older consoles. Nintendo has history here, and developing brand new videogames is taking longer and longer, so it's a question to ponder.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was neither 1080p nor 60 fps on the Switch. Could a Switch 2 Edition achieve those lofty goals and eliminate load times?

To that point, could Metroid Prime 4 be the headlining example of a "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" release? Given the game's long development time into the original Switch's final years, and given the prestige the name carries and the Metroid Prime franchise's reputation for graphical excellence, it always seemed a shame for so much investment to be stuck on the Switch 1 at the dawn of newer and more powerful hardware. But maybe the game pulls a "Breath of the Wild" and released in both a Switch 1 AND Switch 2 version. It could certainly go some way in explaining the subtle lack of fanfare that Nintendo gave Metroid Prime in the March 27 Nintendo Switch 1 focused Direct... they could be planning to talk about the game in a Switch 2 context very soon and at that time give it the spotlight it deserves.

Will Nintendo spend a significant portion of the next Nintendo Direct fawning over a Switch 2 Edition of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond?

Certainly there's a list of other questions where speculation will run rampant. Will these cost as much as full priced games, or be a discounted upgrade? Will they be released in physical copies you can buy at stores, or only digitally on the eShop? Does this mean that ordinary Switch 1 games running on Switch 2 via backwards compatibility won't show any performance improvement at all?

We'll know more next week. But we are still on the very first steps of a journey to discover everything about the Switch 2, so maybe we won't know everything just yet, and we'll have to continue to speculate until these sorts of games are finally in our hands and on our screens.

[Ian Sane]

The Switch has lots of ports/remakes/remasters but I hope Nintendo takes a few things into consideration regarding the specific circumstances of the Switch.

1. The third party ports are usually games that were released on the other current systems but came to the Switch late or are older games that were never on a Nintendo system before and are thus "new" to Nintendo-only fans.

2. Being a hybrid system there was value in console-exclusive games getting a portable version of the first time.

3. Wii U ports were accepted because the Wii U was a flop and thus the vast majority of the Switch userbase had never played them before.  They were effectively "new" games.  Mario Kart 8 on the Switch has sold more copies than the Wii U system itself ever did.

It would be naive, but a very typical corporate attitude, to look at how well remakes sold on the Switch and think that rehashing old content is a formula for success.  The Switch 2 is backwards compatible so every Switch owner that bought a big hit like Breath of the Wild doesn't need to buy a Switch 2 to play it, and doesn't gain the ability to play it on an airplane.  There isn't as much value if the remastered content is just a Switch game that's a little better.

Now if they have Switch 1 games that benefit from running on the Switch 2 or even has a Switch 2 upgrade that's an impulse level price that will probably do well, but I don't think it would be a big selling point for the majority of the existing userbase.  New games that aren't available on the Switch 1 are what will do that, and you can interpret "new" as "new for the Switch platforms".  I think if they remade older Nintendo games that have yet to show up on a Switch system that that would work, just don't rehash existing Switch games.

Now when Nintendo says "Switch 2 Exclusive" they likely mean from the perspective of the Switch ecosystem and it won't take into account if the game is also on the PS5 for example.  So in that sense "Switch 2 Edition" would mean a Switch 1 game.  I figure Nintendo WANTS to sell you Breath of the Wild again, I just don't know how successful of an idea that is.  It seems it would be an unnecessary disclaimer if it was just Switch games being enhanced.  If Xenoblade X runs in 60 FPS on the Switch 2 but it still a Switch 1 game, do you need a disclaimer?  You can still move the game between the two systems and while it will run better on one, it's still clearly the same copy of the game.

Though it is all possible that this is just a catch all disclaimer to cover their asses.  Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends Z-A may be simultaneous releases on the Switch 1 and 2 and this disclaimer would account for if you bought the Switch 2 version and tried to move to the Switch 1.  That is a possibility without Nintendo going nuts on Switch 1 ports.  Nintendo also is not in control of what third parties may do.  They will likely have releases across both platforms and may go port-happy and Nintendo needs the disclaimer for that.