Terrible Switch 2 News 🤦‍♂️

[BigShirtGaming]

CORRECTION: so it’s actually going to be using a combination of hardware and software to run the switch one games. A lot of people are saying that this isn’t emulation and a lot of people are saying that this is emulation. Still doesn’t change the fact that we may or mar not have some Switch one titles that aren’t going to be able to run on the Switch two so just be careful if you were thinking about selling your Switch one.

God bless

[jimhalpert]

Modern Vintage Gaming predicted this yet most of you were laughing at him

[bradpennartz]

Never sell a console. There will always be a reason to pull it out and play, eventually

[IsItLunchtimeYet-]

From my understanding, they aren't emulating, they are translating the switch 1 games to switch 2 hardware in real time. It's in-between emulation and running natively. Nintendo stated that they tried to use emulation but it used up too much CPU/GPU and the battery drained too fast. So they found a way to just have the switch 1 architecture translate to the switch 2. That's why not all games are compatible.

[RazielAU]

Developer here, it's not really emulation, it's closer to something like WINE for running Windows games on Linux (WINE actually stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator", similar to WINE, this is not an emulator, it's more like a compatibility layer).

Everything still runs directly on the hardware and there is no issue when it comes to the CPU side of it as it's all ARM instructions. The problem is the GPU, every GPU architecture has its own instruction set and shader format. On PC they handle this by having a driver that translates the API calls from something like Direct3D, Vulkan or OpenGL to instructions the GPU can understand, as for shaders, they get compiled at runtime (which is what causes shader compilation stutter on some modern PC games). If you get a new GPU on PC, you simply provide a new driver and it all keeps working.

On console, shaders are precompiled (as we know exactly what GPU it's going to run on), so there's no need to compile shaders at runtime, and the instructions for the GPU is compiled directly into the binary itself. This has several benefits, like you can't have a GPU driver update break compatibility with an existing game, and it has performance benefits as you're removing that translation layer that sits between the game and the GPU on a PC, finally, there's no shader compilation stutter on console as shaders are compiled in advance.

The problem is, the instructions to support the new GPU architecture does not exist with in the game's binary/executable, it is therefore not binary-compatible with the Switch 2's hardware. If you tried to run a Switch 1 game on the Switch 2 without any sort of translation layer, it would try and issue GPU commands to a GPU that no longer exists in the system, and it has no idea how to communicate with the new GPU. As a result, you need to translate all those old GPU commands to commands supported by the new GPU. On top of that, the shader format will be completely different between GPU architectures as well. So for Switch 2 to run Switch 1 games, it needs to convert all the shaders to the new shader format that the Switch 2's GPU can understand. This is a really complex task, and hence, it's not too surprising that there will be a hand full of titles that don't run as expected. It is worth noting that this translation shouldn't have major impacts to performance like an emulator does.

The same kind of thing was needed for PS4 backwards compatibility on PS5. I don't know if people remember, but when the PS5 first launched, there were quite a few PS4 games with major issues which quickly got resolved in system updates, and in fact, even today there are still a hand full of titles that don't quite work correctly, but it's at the point now where a PS5 is basically just a better PS4. Same problem, similar solution. I don't think it's something to worry about.

[babyaintmoe]

Misinformstion everywhere. There is a translation layer inbetween, that converts code for
machine A to code for machine B in close to realtime. This is marvellous and requires loads of preparation, similar to when you create a mapping for an an interface between two softwares.

[robsg]

This is why I'll be waiting 6 months to a year to buy one. To work out bugs and get more Switch 1 games compatible. The main reason I want a Switch 2 is better performance for games I already have/love, not for any Switch 2 games (at least announced yet)

[GuessWhseBack]

keep in mind the compatibility list nintendo published is not a final definitive list of incompatible games; they're actively cooperating with those game's creators to help make their games playable on switch 2

[ANerdTries]

Honestly with tariffs, a looming recession, and that price point, I don't think the Switch 2 will do well.

[mightymoeish]

Please don't resell your Switch 1 for a whopping $20 after buying the second.

[Antman]

At $80 a game these shits better be 8k 120fps.

[Max_Toons]

So, how is this gonna be a problem if all my Switch 1 games are compatible and run the same (or even better than before)?

[zaccuhree]

Literally not even gonna buy the switch 2. I have no reason to. Literally all of the video games I want to play I already own for my switch one. Non of the new titles interest me in the slightest and the bump in processing power alone isn’t enough to make me spend $450

[sap]

Thank you for placing your hand next to all your products. It really helped.

[amoodi]

Not sure if this is true. There has been no source whatsoever confirming this. Besides, the physical version for Switch 2 upgraded games will contain Switch 1 cartridges of the original game, with a download code to install the upgrade files and additional content (if there were any).

[TrueZero]

To be fair, right now it's looking like the list of non-compatible games are going to be those that specifically require Switch 1 peripherals, such as Ring Fit Adventure or Nintendo Labo.

[az]

There are like 100 games so far identified and not that they won't run but that they have issues they are working on. Literally mostly games that no one would touch again with very few being "major" games

[jaredhood]

I contacted Nintendo about this a few days ago support told me they're working with publishers and developers on making their games better for switch 2. 95% of games sold up till January 2025 are compatible with switch 2 and 5% still being worked on.

[rosannshd]

It's not emulating the games/hardware it uses a translation layer like the Steam Deck. It basically translates the code for the Switch 2 so it can run these codes. Just like I said the Steam Deck does this with Windows Games and is called Proton

[generalohu]

I don’t sell my consoles 😂 so I’m good.