To cap off two weeks of questions, confusion, and occasional solutions about Nintendo Switch 2 pricing, pre-orders, DLC, Switch 2 Edition upgrades, controllers, and extra, here is one other bizarre situation so as to add to the pile. According to an FAQ from Marvelous on the upcoming sport Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, no less than some Nintendo Switch 2 bodily cartridges might be appropriate with the Nintendo Switch 1.
This comes from this Marvelous FAQ, which incorporates the next:
What is the bodily “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition”?
The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a pink 64GB sport card that features, in full, the Nintendo Switch sport and the Upgrade Pack.
There’s no have to obtain the total sport: merely insert the cardboard into both a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 console, and the proper model will launch routinely.
Like most trendy titles, there could also be small updates or patches accessible at launch to supply minor fixes and enhancements, however relaxation assured: the entire sport is on the sport card, able to play from day one.
This suggests you should buy the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Guardians of Azuma, and slot it right into a Nintendo Switch 1 to play the Nintendo Switch 1 version of the sport in case you so select. If that is certainly the case, that is the primary time we’re listening to of the power to play sure Switch 2 cartridges on the Switch 1.
We’ve identified for some time that the majority Switch 1 video games might be appropriate with Switch 2. We additionally know that video games which are unique to Nintendo Switch 2 (Mario Kart World, as an illustration), or Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of Switch 1 video games (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Switch 2 Edition, with all of the upgrades), will not be playable on the Switch 1. But the query of whether or not you’ll be able to simply take Switch 2 cartridges and plug them into the Switch 1 to get the Switch 1 model of the identical sport has been up within the air thus far. Some gamers have spotted an image in the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour that prompt a tiny “notch” within the plastic of Switch 2 cartridges may forestall that from being the case, however whether or not that notch is preventative or not stays to be seen.
It’s additionally unclear as to how precisely many video games this can apply to. We know that first-party and a few third-party bodily Nintendo Switch 2 Edition video games will embody each the bottom sport and the Switch 2 Edition upgrades on the cartridge, whereas different third-parties might select to launch Switch 2 Edition video games as obtain codes in bodily packaging. Additionally, some boxed Nintendo Switch 2 video games is not going to even have the sport on the cartridge, however as a substitute will include a game-key card that can help you obtain the sport when you insert it.
So primarily, once you buy a Nintendo Switch 2 boxed sport at retail, you could be getting any of the next:
- A bodily Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive sport cartridge that solely works on the Switch 2
- A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition sport that has a Nintendo Switch 1 model on the cartridge, in addition to a Switch 2 improve, which will or might not be playable on each Switch 2 and in its base model on the Switch 1
- A game-key card that does not have the sport on it, however means that you can obtain the sport in query (and will or might not even be usable on the Switch 1 as nicely)
- A bodily field with a obtain key for the Switch 2 which will or might not work on the Switch 1 as nicely
If all this has your head spinning, you are not alone. It’s been a complicated journey making an attempt to kind out what, precisely, you will be buying once you purchase boxed Nintendo Switch 2 video games, and Nintendo has been hesitant to step in and make clear issues simply far. We reached out to Nintendo for touch upon Marvelous’ FAQ, particularly asking if it is true that some Switch 2 cartridges might be playable on Switch 1 and in that case, which. We’ll replace this story if extra info surfaces.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can discover her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a narrative tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
