Nintendo accounts will allow for a smoother transition to potential Switch successor

With the Nintendo Switch coming up to 7 years on the market, anticipation for the next Nintendo console has been steadily building. Tentatively dubbed the “Nintendo Switch 2”, recent rumors suggest that tech demos of this new hardware took place at Gamescom behind closed doors earlier this year, indicating that a full public reveal could be imminent.

A new console would undoubtedly be fantastic news for Nintendo gamers but there have been plenty of concerns about its compatibility with existing Nintendo Switch game libraries.

Backward compatibility has been a huge draw of other recent systems like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, as it allows long-time players to jump right back into their favorite titles without the need to wait for a remaster or costly re-release. 

Based on the latest leap between the Wii U, 3DS, and Nintendo Switch, however, many have been left wondering whether they will have to buy their previously owned games all over again.

Thankfully, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser has tried to ease these fears in an interview with Inverse. Although he would not comment on the existence of a Nintendo Switch successor directly, he did suggest that proactive steps were being taken to “help ease that process or transition [to a new console].”

He says that while “in the past, every device we transitioned to had a whole new account system”, the arrival of the Nintendo Account with the Nintendo Switch will help “minimize the dip you typically see in the last year of one cycle and the beginning of another.”

We will have to wait and see if this means that games will be fully backward compatible but, as digital purchases on the Nintendo Switch are registered with your Nintendo Account rather than stored locally on the system, it certainly seems like a good start.

If you’re a big Nintendo fan, why not discover your next favorite game with our list of the best Nintendo Switch games? Also, don’t miss our breakdown of the upcoming Nintendo Switch games for 2023 and beyond.