When Nintendo formally revealed the Change 2 again in January, it confirmed long-standing rumors that the brand new handheld console would take pleasure in backward compatibility with the video games from the unique Change—bodily and digitally. Excellent news, however there was one disclaimer: “Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2.”
That despatched some gamers into, if not a panic, at the least a interval of confusion. On condition that the unique Change launched in 2017, many have constructed sizable collections in that point, and the uncertainty over which amongst them would proceed to be playable on the brand new technology of {hardware} was trigger for concern. However issues are trying higher than anticipated, with the Change 2 supporting among the most area of interest titles within the Change library, even people who required bodily peripherals distinctive to the unique {hardware}.
In an replace posted to Nintendo’s official website, the corporate revealed that just about one hundred pc of first-party video games stay suitable with Change 2 {hardware}, with “no issues found during basic compatibility testing” for 122 video games revealed by Nintendo. On a bar chart, a tiny sliver of purple, indicating “not compatible,” quantities to simply one sport.
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkatu
That unlucky outlier? Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Package, Nintendo’s bold build-it-yourself digital actuality headset fabricated from cardboard. All the Labo line was aimed toward children, offering tactile experiences the place you’d construct steering wheels or robotic fits, then play devoted video games constructed across the kit-bashed devices. The VR Package took issues to a different stage, offering the supplies to construct rudimentary goggles and a mock blaster. When constructed, the Change pill slotted into place whereas lenses break up the onscreen picture right into a “My first VR”-level expertise.
It is that particular bodily mixture of console and cardboard that makes Labo VR Package the one unique Change sport incompatible with Change 2. Nintendo explains that “the Nintendo Switch 2 console cannot be inserted into the Toy-Con VR Goggles accessory, so this game cannot be played.” That is it. The Change 2 merely would not match the headset, so VR Package turns into the one first-party sport jettisoned into the tides of gaming historical past.
Even different Labo video games can be utilized on Change 2, due to what might show to be the brand new console’s secret weapon in the case of backward compatibility—you possibly can nonetheless use unique Change Pleasure-Cons on Change 2. Nintendo says that if “you have Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers and connect them wirelessly to Nintendo Switch 2, you can play [select] games as you would on Nintendo Switch.” That is nice information, opening the doorways for a lot extra of the Change’s software program library to stay accessible than anticipated.
A Wholesome Alternative
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkatu
Maybe the most important shock is that Change 2 will proceed to help Ring Match Journey. When the brand new console was introduced with that caveat about compatibility, I used to be positive Ring Match can be reduce from the roster, primarily due to {hardware} compatibility. The health role-playing sport requires the right-hand Pleasure-Con controller to be bodily slotted onto its Pilates-style ring peripheral, which makes use of a slide bracket that might not accommodate a brand new, magnetically linked Pleasure-Con 2 from the Change 2.
