Nintendo's backward compatibility Problem... | MVG
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2024
- With recent next generation Nintendo hardware news last week - It's assumed that Nintendo will provide Switch backward compatibility for their next generation hardware. However, there are some technical hurdles that must be overcome. In this episode we discuss the concerns with backward compatibility and why I have some doubts that Nintendo will bring the entire Switch library to new hardware
Sources:
► www.anandtech.com/show/600/2
► www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoun...
► www.ign.com/articles/nintendo...
► mynintendonews.com/2022/03/01...
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#Switch2 #backwardcompatibility - เกม
A friend wrote the emulation layer for Xbox. He wrote an auto patcher. It was a lot of work, but they were able to generate per-game patches for almost all titles. There were 20 or 30 titles not released on physical media in the US, so they sent a Microsoft employee out to second hand stores in Akihabara to find the discs. I don’t remember the pull forward, but it was almost 100%. There are a lot of funny stories there, but that’s another day
That's sad and hilarious at the same time. I always remember seeing the small shelve of them in every other Akiba store. It kind of gives me deja vu of the Vita physical selection in the US and I always ask myself: "why bother looking?" Funny how Vita/Saturn and Xbox consoles had way more success in their home regions then overseas.
a friend of mine, made a xbox 720 it is was more power full than any console, even today. It was ready for 8K. Source trust me bro. But that's another day
@@drueckglueck9918 This person provided specific details, and is posting from an account with personal uploaded content and his picture, not the usual rando with a random avatar posting from an empty account - I'm inclined to believe him.
@@ahoyrobi I would imagine because said consoles released a lot of content that appealed to regional tastes in their home region. The Saturn/Vita had a ton of RPGs, which are incredibly popular in Japan and more niche elsewhere, the X-Box had a ton of FPS/sports titles which tend to do well in the West and so-so elsewhere.
@@yellowblanka6058 Plus, the auto-patching the Xbox 360 did for its backwards compatibility is actually something we've known about since around the time the console released.
If it isn't backwards compatable with the orignal switch than that's a huge fail.
Historically, re-releasing games on the next system is a lot more profitable that backwards compatibility.
@@clydefrosch if they do it they will have a massive problem in that the other systems ARE. The marketing nightmare that would unfold could break their next system.
then
@@morriganrenfield8240 And all Nintendo handheld were backwards compatible too, at least one generation.Except for the Switch.
I’d rather play a powerful new console that’s not dragged down by backward compatibility
I actually think this'll be one point in gaming that if it doesn't include backwards compatibility it'll genuinely be a huge deal. I can see a lot of casual consumers getting very upset if they have to manage two portable consoles. It'd be a huge blunder of Nintendo can't get 99% compatibility working.
They could certainly get away with it, but it would be a big disappointment for people playing switch games. Imagine bringing that whole library forward... For me, it's a huge reason to upgrade. Without it, I won't upgrade for awhile. I've got plenty of switch titles I'd like to finish first.
@@viridionwaves and they will and fools will continue to keep throwing money at this anti consumer company smh
Agreed. People are pretty used to backward compatibility these days. It’s not like your phone games need to be repurchased when you buy a new phone. It won’t destroy the Switch 2 but it could stand to lose them some of the people who never bought a Nintendo console before, which Nintendo should want to avoid
If Nintendo was smart, they would make every Nintendo game ever, playable on every Nintendo system going forward via an online store and/or subscription service. It would solve most of their challenges with piracy.
No, because you'll still buy it to play the same Mario game, the same Kart game, and the same smash game all over again.
I'm gonna take a wild guess in that they'll go with a compatibility layer similar to the Wii U running Wii games, with the games running on a tweaked version of the Wii's OS and the hardware limiting itself in that mode with likely some API wrappers. It worked really well at the time with only a tiny handful of games having issues. As far as the cartridges go, they could do something similar with what they did with the 3ds.
That's what I am hoping for. The Wii mode on the WiiU was pretty cool, and we still use it
It wasn't so much a compatibility layer, as the system had to reboot into that environment. A kind of multi-booting that computers have. Even the 3DS did this with DS/i and GBA titles, though that at least could list the titles within the 3DS OS.
@@stuartmcallister3341 Good point, and ya it would be nice to have the ability to see your games within the main OS. In both cases it works quite well for the sake of compatibility.
similarly, the initial wii consoles would do the same with gamecube titles.
The Wii U is a hardware solution. They designed the Wii U CPU and GPU so that it had those of the Wii built into them in a fashion that allowed them to re-use most of the common architecture. It's so good that you can even put the vWii into backwards compatibility with the GameCube with the aid of hacks, and almost every game will work on it.
I don't think we'll see the likes of it again though, as it was an expensive exercise that didn't really help the Wii U in sales much. I'd think it far more likely that they'll do it in software, either with game-level patches - with the onus being on the developers to provide them - or virtualization and automated shader recompilation.
The switch 2 or whatever not only needs to have backwards compatibility but also improves the resolution and framerates of previous generation games. It would be a disappointment if this doesn’t happen
100 % agree
They don't necessarily. It's only quite a limited market that would care about that.
Millions of Pokemon fans: Nah fam, 13 fps is good enough for me!
Millions of Pokemon fans: Nah fam, 13 fps is good enough for me!
Good luck they are probably gonna go with amd chip so nothing is going to be automatically backwards compatible
Really hoping Nintendo does backwards compatibility. That was a huge selling point when I bought my series X.
Well yeah there's like 5 Xbox Series exclusive games.
Edit: Wish the Xbox S/X doesn't have huge DRM or some games require internet connection to play Xbox one games on Xbox series S/X especially the digital primary owned games, even though the game was design to be play offline. Native Xbox series game's works offline without update or internet test. Imagine if the server went down and backwards compatible no longer works. They did update the Xbox series X so that backwards compatible doesn't need internet check but mainly working on physical but not all Xbox one games work offline.
Why? U talking about OG xbox and 360?
@@briandadude Correction: 0 as they all come to PC anyways.
bruh, your series x can run all the way back to the og box. you got 4 generations of xbox right there (tempted to buy a series s for reasons)
I think it's likely they will build in a compatibility layer. Dynamically recompiling shaders and perhaps an ARM compatibility mode. ARM has a long history of hardware compatibility support.
I was thinking, if Vita games can be made to run on the Switch what is stopping Switch games running on the Switch 2 with the same method?
I think better solution were they just embed tegra x1 in the new silicon. Tegra X1 is tiny in modern standard. With 5nm or hell 7nm, it would occupy next to nothing. Nintendo can leverage the X1 by using as OS processors in the background to adding support like discord etc.
Skyline is already doing it. It's a compatibility layer with some yuzu code.
@@vaibhavdabwalv1 oh yeah you're right lol, totally forgot about that.
I do not think that CPU compatibility would be a big deal, but the GPU could get really tricky.
Modern Vintage Gamer said you can simply swap you graphic cards and update the driver on a computer; no: NVIDIA sometimes has to quirk their drivers for certain games and GPUs to work proper. Smaller games have to do the leg work them self and release patches.
That is with an abstraction layer and testing on many GPUs during development; the switch is one plattform. There is no good way to have and test abstraction, so some hardware quirks are just part of the game.
I was thinking about this just yesterday. It's an absolute deal breaker for me, especially after *so* many Switch releases were basically just up-rezzed WiiU releases.
So you just won't buy the new Switch or its games?
@@BigSnipp yeah
@@Getlucky12 I get that and would feel screwed too, but there's no way I'm skipping BOTW 3 on the Switch Pro.
@@BigSnipp ok
There are more Switch exclusives than Wii U ports. I’m constantly surprised seeing this opinion thrown around in 2023, it was only true in 2018 lol. Did yall just sell your Switches in 2018 or smtg?
The GPU binary problem also applies to PS4-on-PS5 and XboxOne-on-XboxSeries, as the GPU architectures are vastly different. Both consoles solved it by using modified GPUs with extra BC modes and it's entirely possible for NVidia to offer similar modifications for their next Nintendo SOC.
The issue of the drivers being included in the games is fixable by including replacements in the new console firmware and hot-swapping when loading a BC game, which is how PS4 games (which use a different graphics API) work on PS5.
This time around Nintendo won't be able to slap an underclocked off-the-shelf Nvidia SOC and call it a day: none of Nvidia's SOCs after the X2 seem to be "tablet-ready" and the bigger focus on AI components means it will likely need to be more customized than the X1 was.
Nvidia itself is also probably more on top of this since after the Switch's success this is their sole foothold on the console industry.
There were a lot of fun tricks going in between the GB and the GBC so I don't see why other fun tricks can't be done with the Switch and Switch 2 :)
@@beardalaxy There's DS (and GBA) on the 3DS as well.
It would be cool if Nintendo went the AMD APU route
Not to mention Nvidia tried to outright buy ARM a few years back. Nvidia probably would rather pull an Apple and develop an ARM SoC fully in-house instead of tacking their GPU tech onto a licensed ARM design
@@gustavrsh I doubt they will - ARM (on a modern process node, that is) is still more power efficient than AMD's mobile APUs, and I doubt they'd change the architecture if they want to have any shot at backwards compatibility at product launch
I'm just one customer but backward compatibility is critical for me.
It took 4 years of Switch games release to convince me to buy one.
A backward compatible follow up would be an early purchase for me, followed by an ongoing software attachment.
A non backward compatible system would have me explore my backlog and waiting for the new catalog to convince me if ever. Since I also own a PS5 and an XSX, I have options anyway.
Backwards compatibility is my number one priority. I don't have the Switch yet because I got the PS5 but I have plenty of friends and family with Switches, so I've been waiting for the Switch 2.
Backwards compatibility is essentially going to decide whether I get the next Nintendo or not. I've been tempted to get the Steam Deck for a long time now.
@@skycloud4802 as someone with an functioning brain and alot of knowledge and deep dive behind Nintendo's shady buisness,
Get the Deck.
Hell you can play Xbox, Playstation and PC Games while you at it
I'm waiting to even buy a Switch for this very reason. I don't want to get stuck with 30fps 480p if I don't have to.
@@samgee500 shut up
Thank you, I’ve been waiting for this video. I appreciate your thorough analysis!
Another option would be to create a decompiler for precompiled shaders and automatically recompile them for the new architecture. For cartridge games, this could be done the first time the game is played and the results could be cached in on-board flash storage.
I wouldn't expect emulation. Translation like DXVK probably would work, but I fully expect Nintendo to put the work on the developers to recompile and resubmit games.
DXVK simply implements the D3D API in terms of the Vulkan API. It sits between the game and the driver translating graphics calls. On Switch the driver is compiled into the game, there's no way to put anything between them.
@@WhiteG60 That obviously wouldn't be at the driver level then. The hardware is reading command buffers produced by the driver. This would class as low level emulation instead, and would be a lot less simple.
This whole discussion misses the more pressing point that DXVK (or command buffer translation) would not translate the pre-compiled shaders used on Switch. On PC Vulkan can compile and run the same shader code as DX12, but an Ampere or Lovelace GPU can't run shaders already compiled for Maxwell.
@@WhiteG60 what you're suggesting isn't getting between the game and the driver. It's getting between the driver and hardware.
On Switch the driver is compiled into the game, it's not a separate library being linked at run time, it's not a part of the OS. There is no longer a distinction between the game and the driver. Thus there's no way to get between them.
@@faustianblur1798 IDK much about the driver architecture in Horizon OS or whatever Switch's OS is called, but it's likely the case that MVG saying "the driver is bundled into the game" is an oversimplification. Generally graphics drivers are divided up into a kernel module and a user mode driver library. It is likely the case that the user mode driver is the only thing that is bundled with the game. I would be quite surprised if it's hot swapping kernel modules with every game launch.
The kernel module is necessary for address patching into kernel space (references to buffers), semaphores for command buffer timing, etc. It is very unlikely they allow a publisher developed game to monkey around in kernel space with that kind of power. So that being said, it is most likely very feasible to put a low level emulation shim between the driver & the game to do necessary command translations on the fly. The problem I see comes with what you referenced earlier, the compiled shaders. There may be some way to do a recompiled and optimized translation like that on the fly but I have no idea how that would work, I don't think it's possible on the fly on something that low powered. And yeah, agreed that you likely can't just re-use them.
So yeah, it certainly wouldn't be like DXVK, but they should be able to do something of the sort there, but IDK how they'd handle shaders at all., and I certainly don't think they'll cough up the tough for a TX1 order. I don't think they'd completely kill back compat, I think it'd piss a lot of people off at this time, so not really sure what their options are all things considered.
From what i heard, Nintendo ask developer to make their game 4K ready ( more likely upscaling) for the future..
Nintendo hasn't ordered any Tegra X1 since their last order of 30 million in mid-late 2021, since Nvidia stopped producing the X1. Its highly unlikely to see a hardware based back-compat implementation unless Nvidia has a translation layer created to convert Tegra X1 calls into the new chip.
Id bet money that it will run through a translation layer that or no backwards compatibility at all lmao
Which is a possibility MVG didn't cover in detail. The new hardware could be made to have a mode that mimics the old; and in this case, it would be money and design time well spent.
Isn't that what the wii u did? If I recall it had a tri core powerpc cpu and when running original wii content it would reboot into a different mode closer to the wii
@@Draggobuttboi That's also why you could spoof it to run GameCube games... Friggin love my Wii U...
@@Draggobuttboi wiiu is a bit different. To give comparison I'll use the 3ds. The 3ds uses two processors, arm 9 and arm 11. Arm 9 is responsible for backwards compatibility. However what's responsible for output, attached to the main 3ds display. Is actually arm 11. As the 3ds technically has a capture card built in, specifically due to this issue. In other words, arm11 actually taps into arm9 data lines responsible for video output.
The wiiu, has 3 pieces. the powerpc CPU. And two "gpus", aka what'll just call gx1 and gx2.
When the wiiu goes into wii mode, it clocks down the cpu, and turns off the multiple cores present, down to one. And then reboots, shutting off gx2 entirely, and using gx1. (There's a specific chip designed to act as a video interface, that interacts with gx1, before being pushed to the hdmi or component/composite cables)
Nvidia could also include a binary translation layer in the updated SOC's driver. They have in the past done similar things between GPU architectures to optimize games for specific architectures
Ah yeah, back when Nvidia actually was a company targeting gamers. Somehow I feel like a big reason the new Switch is taking so long is that Nvidia is expecting Nintendo to pay PC gamer kind of pricing, and Nintendo won't have it.
They've had this ability for a while now. It's called a graphics API wrapper. Kind of like what they did with Windows 98 voodoo fx glide to work with Windows 10.
As he said the GPU driver is statically linked into the game so replacing it would be difficult
@@circuit10 Nah, they could still do it with a wrapper. It would intercept API/library calls and replace them with patched ones. They could write a translation layer to interpret the compiled shaders/drivers, or even distribute replacements/patches/etc through the eShop
@@clebbington They could still do it but it would be a bit of a hack since they’d have to hook into the calls to the original driver and replace them, which would be a bit harder
Love the technical talk. I don’t understand most of it, but it’s fun to listen to.
Same
There is another solution, a automate proces to recompile the shaders for every game. This is possible, as its currently the way that the emulators work. It reads the precompiled shaders and then it recompiles for the host graphic card. Then the rest it should be easy.
Yep! The video talks about the UDA architecture when it comes to gpu drivers but forgets to mention that pc games like Forza Horizon 5 and Borderlands 3 (those are the ones that I can name from the top of my head) have Shader Compilation after every driver update. If I had to guess this will be a fallback option for games that haven't had an "Official" patch yet, a bit like how Xbox Series consoles did the Xbox One console backward compat.
Reticulating splines, but this time for real!
came here to say this: each game has all the shader information it needs easily accessed (unlike GameCube/Wii for example) so a simple "preparing..." dialogue box on first boot of legacy switch games on the new hardware while shaders are being recompiled can do wonders.
Nintendo could get these precomputed and distribute along with update data.
@@Vitreia SC2000 get out of this body :)
As others have pointed out, some sort of API translation layer a la DXVK would probably be a solid option. Maybe Nintendo could also go the way of Microsoft and opt for something similar to their Smart Delivery, with older Switch games getting some form of performance boost. The translation layer could act as a sort of fallback if the game hasn't been patched for the newer hardware.
The problem is not the API but rather the compiled shaders / gpu drivers. They will probably update the API but making that backwards compatible isn't really the issue.
I think it’s also worth noting that not all of the hardware needs to be pure software emulated thanks to ARM64: the PSP’s PS1 emulator only emulates the GPU components and runs CPU instructions as native code.
@@crimson-foxtwitch2581 sure, but that doesn't mean it works just like the switch - Tegra1 is just some arm stuff the same as your phone, and tegra 2 is noticeably different. A lot of the issues is with the gpu bits on top of that.
i appreciate that you give detailed explanations about why you make these inferences
I laughed out loud when you said they may just overclock the Tegra X1😂
It's Nintendo, you never know, they might just actually do that, they literally did that from the Gamecube to the Wii, the Wii was just little an overclocked Gamecube, so I wouldn't discount as an option that Nintendo might be considering.
Which would be a joke for sure lol
Yeah but then the system would be something else. Like folding screens or two screen system
@@heisenbergwhite00 Isn't the Wii U a super overclocked GCN?
@@estignatic i don't think the Wii U was a GCN, I think the Wii U was actually totally different than the GC and the Wii
@@heisenbergwhite00 I thought they were similar since the Wii U could play both Wii and GCN (hacked) perfectly. They are all PowerPC based.
I definitely hope Nintendo and Nvidia figure something out; given how manny good Switch games are there, back. comp. would be a way to get newer fans to play those - unless of course, Nintendo would consider more profitable to re-release them instead lol
It was a solid excuse for the break off for the Wii U 3DS error to switch.
They can't pull that shit off again without massive controversy
It would be an insane never ending controversy, every other platform offers back compat. I doubt people would accept that when it's feature normalized on the entire rest of the market.
People will buy regardless of comparability. The average consumer does not watch this channel. As long as they have IP like Mario and Zelda people will buy their product.
@@Matanumi eh, i would argue the wii u hw is quite capable, what took the console down was the stupid pad no one liked. and the games gave a clunky experience when paired with that. both consumers and developers quickly went away. but there are great games nonetheless. almost all were then ported to switch
The Nintendo way...smdh
An auto-patching layer would be fairly trivial to implement I'd imagine (into the new OS), with full library compatibility released in steps. But I also wouldn't be surprised if they forced a login/stream option to prevent piracy which they are currently pretty salty about.
It's only a matter of time before the Switch 2 gets pwnd and it hasn't even been announced yet lol. I think the reason people haven't been as dead set on looking for a software hack for the newer Switch models is because it's much easier to obtain an OG one and if you're really looking for a new one like an OLED then the hardware hack is perfectly fine. When the Switch 2 comes out, people are gonna be firing on all cylinders to get that think cracked.
I can imagine that some games for some specific reason in certain areas get strange visual glitches (that can be game breaking).
Getting to 99% compatibility is a thing; but even Switch Online N64 emulation is not perfect (and we know that nintendo applies some runtime patches to some specific games to workaround certain issues).
I love these videos. Your content is always so well put together. I aspire to gain this knowledge on your level one day. Bravo MVG!
I think a standardized translation layer wouldn't be too horribly difficult in this case. Translate the GPU and CPU calls on the fly to the new hardware. We're talking ARM64 > ARM64 and Nvidia to Nvidia hardware. They aren't that much different in how they accept and process the data. There will be issues with some titles but those can be resolved with title specific patches.
EXACTLY i do not understand MVG's point here at all, how does he thnk the ps5 did backcompat with ps4 ? RDNA isn't GCN
Assuming the new console will even be ARM/Nvidia based. They could easily go for RDNA2 instead, seems to be the most popular chipset out atm and we know Nintendo prefer proven hardware.
@@Intelligenz_Bestie AMD has stated that RDNA has full support for the GCN instruction set. Meaning shaders and command buffers compiled for a GCN GPU will run natively on an RDNA one. That is not normal practice and none of Nvidia's architectures are backwards compatible like that.
@@faustianblur1798 Maybe Nvidia and Nintendo are planning new architecture that is compatible with Maxwell
@@0x1D3A That would be ridiculously expensive. Hence why AMD made _all_ their RDNA line backward compatible even though they only needed it for the consoles. If Sony and Microsoft didn't account for such a huge volume of their chip production it wouldn't be there.
Nvidia have much more profitable markets than Nintendo consoles, they really don't need to take that sort of hit to make Switch users happy.
I play so many ps4 games on the ps5 and really enjoy the improved performance of many titles, to be honest for indie and lesser end games I prefer the ps4 version over the native 5 as there are no really improvements aside from file size compression and load times. My entire ps4 library lives on an external drive and I keep the internal ps5 ssd for the new more graphically intense games. I like the direction of travel for a gen free future, you have the platform and all games work regardless of the era, like with PC. I really hope Nintendo also embrace this approach as well as I’d love to still play og switch games in the future. One concern I have about switch hardware is that you need a working battery for the console to boot, even when plugged in. I’m concerned that when the battery dies the console won’t boot. Some mods are being developed to get around this but it’s a little worrying for the long term.
Gens still exist but nothing gets left behind... like how PS used to do things up until PS3's mid-lifecycle crisis. PS4 BC on PS5 is a return to form for PS.
Awesome stuff as always, thanks much!!! :D
I kindof agree that not having backward compatibility won't hurt Nintendo in the long run, but I think including it will help with early hardware adoption. Personally if I know the next console will still play my existing games I'll go ahead and spring for it early on since there's already an established library. If not then I would probably wait a couple years for the new library to fill up before springing the money for a brand new console.
I personally think this, plus making specific titles BC, would be their business-preferred option. They literally dont need a new switch, but just to give a refresh with enhanced graphics for the smaller portion of the fanbase that really wants it, while new software piles up, which will slowly induce the rest of the base to switch over. And they can keep doing this every 5 years or so, so that the switch remains cheap too.
Exactly. I'm in this same boat. It'd be a shame if it wasn't backwards compatible considering the huge switch library. People will still buy it if it's not, but I won't buy it for a few years if it's not. I've still got switch games to finish. If it is though, I wouldn't mind getting one around release. One of the things that made their older handhelds so useful and popular was the backwards compatibility and access to older titles.
NES was the origin for Nintendo's console market...
SNES wasn't BC.
N64 wasn't BC.
GameCube wasn't BC.
Wii was with GC only.
Wii U was BC with Wii and GC (iIrc).
Switch isn't BC.
Could Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo decides to call Switch's successor) have BC? Find out, sometime in the undisclosed future!
(GameBoy Pocket through the Nintendo DS were all BC with the OG GameBoy through GBA while N3DS had BC with NDS software so BC is only a problem for Nintendo when it comes to home consoles for some reason.)
But the thing is your average consumer isn’t stopping from purchasing the new console just for not having BC. Nintendo is a games company more than a technology company. Maybe this was different during their NES/SNES/N64 days, but what drives sales is an innovative console gimmick with your new Marios, zeldas, and all other games that help sell the system
@@edgaracosta9976
To drive home that fact point the nay-sayers to The Nintendo Switch's sales!
Imagine you bought most of the first party titles on the Wii U, then rebought them on the switch. and then with the new consoles you gotta buy the games again.
Well, you don't have to buy them again. No one is holding a gun to your head. If you played those games on Wii U and then on Switch again, do you really need to play them again on different hardware?
@@Aki_Lesbrinco that's not the point though is it? It's pretty scummy corporate behaviour and I don't condone that.
Just pirate at that point
Pirating games you already own is morally correct
@@KaitouKaiju It's not pirating if you already own them...
the dock could be one big switch cartridge adapter
That would be pretty cool imagine that you can insert your cartridge into the dock and install your game onto the switch digitally
@@VSMOKE1 very interesting idea.
Great video. Very informative.
I'm not getting the next system if it's not backwards compatible tho...we have 5 switches, one for each of us, and a ton of games. And we're happy enough with these.
Thing is, they HAVE TO make it work if they want the system to sell because there's no way anyone can make the legal nightmare for Smash work again.
Nintendo doesn’t care about that. They really, really don’t.
@@Scarabola So were plenty of people who bought Gamecube’s… and Wii’s… and Wii U’s. Nintendo still doesn’t care if you can’t play it on their new hardware.
Of all reasons this is the hill you're going to die on? As if smash hasn't had 5 different releases up to this point?
They have to because of Smash and it's potential licensing issues? lol. Adorable. Hell, Smash might be the perfect reason to not have BC that way they can sell you the game again.
@Leeartlee they got away with that a bit becuase of the form factor changes
I think there's a disparity between how much people play old games on new hardware, vs how much they want the option. IIRC it was Sony who talked about that market research and I think it was a way of dismissing Xbox's achievements, but just because I'm not constantly playing Xbox 360 games on my Xbox Series X, doesn't mean that I don't want an easy way to do so when it suits me. Backwards compatibility is a huge deal for game preservation, and as the medium matures I think it's absolutely essential.
Excellent video thanks for clarifying some of the challenges Nintendo will have and some of the potential options.
Is there a reason a wrapper/translation layer can’t handle this? They don’t need to actually run the NSO drivers, just re-interpret calls based on identifying the NSO version from a known list? Shaders can still be extracted too if the format is standardized?
Even if we're talking about GPU emulation and enable a "hybrid" solution doesn't sound so bad; the base Switch handled GPU emulation like a charm with Mario 3D All-Stars. Wii games ran flawlessly even though only part of the game was re-compiled.
Yeah, if Apple could find a way to get x86 software to run on their new ARM SoC, I find it unlikely that Nintendo couldn't pull off a similar feat with two ARM SoCs. Obviously this could lead to a performance hit, but as long as they can at least match the native Switch performance then it should be fine for most people. Shaders and Binaries could also be re-compiled on first launch, or Nintendo could compile themselves and have the Switch 2 download the shaders and binaries when a Switch game is inserted/downloaded. There's a lot of theoretical ways to do this, especially when both SoCs are known quantities.
Shaders need to be recompiled on the fly, which will introduce stutters. The problem is not the CPU, the instructions, it's the GPU and shaders. This is also where all emulators struggle the most.
Projects like Skyline do just that, they run the CPU code natively on Android because it's the same architecture, but GPU is really what's limiting them for now (they're doing great progress each day however)
@@MK73DS Thing with shaders is that you can pre-compile them. It is a viable option when it comes to emulation and what some developers use on PC (although ALL of them should provide it), when you are launching the game for a first time. There is also a case of Steam Deck - there's only one configuration to worry about and Steam OS is delivering pre-cached
shaders generated using Fossilize toolset. You are downloading them with the game. Steam has also allowed sharing pre-cached shaders between Linux users for a long time now.
@@kamilciura7953 Did you watch the video? Shaders don't work the same way between PC games and Nintendo Switch games. Talk to any Switch emulator developer, they'll tell you you can't extract all shaders from a game and precompile them. This has to be done on the fly. Of course, you can cache them, but they have to be compiled once, and you'll experience stutters the first time.
Sharing shaders would require a ton of work from Nintendo to precompile them all, and there's some legal issue sharing them too since they contain proprietary code.
MVG out here spittin’ out more great content that I somewhat understand.
He doesn't understand it either and is talking bullshit to get more views. It is a non-issue.
@@TomaszKucza Okay, random guy in the comments. I totally believe you. 100%
@@TomaszKucza Hmmm, who should I believe. The game developer who made a 12 minute video going over the problems thoroughly, or some random guy in the comments who’s educated response is “this is bullshit.” …. Hard to believe, but imma go with MVG on this one.
I would have thought there could be some kind of compatibility shim between the old drivers/shaders and the new hardware, kinda like the x86 emulation on Apple Silicon via Rosetta
Same, I'm not sure what MVG is thinking that translation and emulation layers can't easily fix driver issues. I mean there's a 19 year old girl that currently working on Linux drivers for the M1 and M2 chips. What makes a little driver compatibility issue a roadblock?
Rosetta 2 is the most impressive emulator ever made. It's way beyond the technical capabilities of Nintendo.
Sorry about all the attention this got, just feel assured you made a great video! And the internet is just being the internet about it and there's no good reason for those who have acted out unreasonably. They likely failed to even actually watch the video. Anytime who has seen your content knows what to expect, and appreciates your insights to be sure! You're a brilliant person. Keep shining!
New SOC with an integrated x1 on the die is most likely. Same cartridge slot with improvement in throughput. Just my two cents
It's possible I didn't understand the actual problem here, but if all games link statically to a bundled-in SDK that Nintendo provided, what's to prevent Nintendo from swapping those libs for ones that are compatible with the API from the old gen, specifically for the purpose of providing transparent back-compat?
But as per backwards compatibility, a solution could be that games’ companies would have access to the tools to export the existing code to, so that it could recompile it to the new architecture. In fact, they could also use this as an opportunity to add visual, game play, and regional (language) enhancements to make this version more compelling.
The end user might simply need to download the switch 2 version from the game shop, if they already purchased it. Or perhaps, a small upgrade fee of a couple of bucks. Most people don’t mind paying a little for receiving an upgrade.
You completely overlooked the most likely solution, translation. They can develop a software translation layer for the new hardware. Since the two SoCs are so similar a translation layer should be very efficient compared to emulation. They are also using graphics APIs derived from the same ones used on Switch so I’m sure that continuity will add to efficiencies in translation. What am I missing? NVida and Nintendo will make this work. The future of Nintendo depends on it.
While I don't disagree that backwards compatibility via a translation layer would be good, Nintendo's future has never depended on backwards compatibility.
@@soviut303IMO it’s not something they can afford to overlook with so much riding on Switch 2. They only have one platform now. It’s certainly possible the Switch 2 could be a massive success without it, but that would be an incredibly stupid risk to take for no reason.
@@RETR0_P0CKET What's riding on Switch 2 that wasn't riding on their other consoles that weren't backwards compatible? For example, I can't plug a GBA game into my DS, nor is any of the software compatible.
@@soviut303 The stakes are higher because they only have one platform. When Wii U failed they leaned on 3DS. They’ve always leaned on their handhelds. That’s the difference IMO.
@@RETR0_P0CKET Perhaps, but there's no saying the next console will even be anything like the Switch. The switch may become their new handheld while they experiment with something completely different. Besides, they've got massive war chests built up from the record setting sales of the Switch and their first party software that's bolstered further by their online service.
Nvidia could have a NVN to NVN2 intermediary stub just for this purpose, it would handle translating calls from NVN to NVN2.
exactly, just like what Proton does with DXVK (but more complex I guess).
The trick is that NVN and the rest of the GPU driver stack is statically linked into the game's executable, but that's not an insurmountable problem.
@@deus_nsf Exactly what I was thinking. They can run a stub before the main executable and dynamically relink the NVN functions to NVN2 using their associated mappings. I would say this is similar to what TheFlow did with PSV and Android games.
@@guspaz is it possible that a developer would modify the driver themselves to get additional performance or work around bugs - thus breaking this “Patch the driver” strategy unusable?
I also want to say that the fact nintendo are still announcing dlc and season passes to existing software and are releasing tears of the kingdom on the og switch should show that they are at least aware that we can have some accsess to these titles on the next console.
Nah, they'll just sweat the Switch for 2 years after the NG release. I hope it isn't the case, but Nintendo hate their users and only want to rinse them.
that doesnt say anything
Yeah it would suggest that since they are releasing all of this stuff they would at least think of keeping it backwards compatible.
They continued to release 3ds software even after the release of the switch with no backward compatibility so I'm not so sure. This is Nintendo were talking about. They don't do 'consumer friendly'
@@lpnp9477 this is exactly my point
Also interested in the blurred out box in the background :P
I do think one advantage of seamless backwards compatibility is not just playing older games, but also seamless development for Switch Indie scene, since there is likely a lot of developers make less demanding games who may have ongoing projects or low demanding projects who would be able to stick with developing on the switch rather than moving to a new architecture and this would make the new Generation transition seamless for Nintendo if they already have new games coming out.
Be very interesting to see what they do next. Just hope it's not all digital
I wont be buying it if its all digital thats my only issue
If they cease to produce physical media I'll not be buying the console. The customer should have control of what they own, not the developer/distributor/publisher. I hate the way that digital media takes the ownership away from the customer (and yes, I know even physical media is a 'licence to play' but you know what I mean). Digital only games can be removed or disabled at the flick of a switch and that's incredibly anti-consumer.
That’s the cheapest option though lol
I’m don’t think all digital would be a good idea even tho most things are nowadays.. No one bats an eye with Steam tho interestingly..
I’m sure big N has the power to implement both physical & backwards compatibility like they’ve almost always done so everyone would be happy
@@Mintcar923because steam games are always supported no matter your pc since "PC2" isnt a possinle comcept
If they don't provide back compat, Switch 2 is dead to me, actually Nintendo is. I've invested too much (physical games especially) into the Switch for it not to work on the NG version. Adding Tegra hardware for BC is pointless, why would I want to pay for new hardware when my back catalogue runs as crappily as it does now?
well because they wont upgrade every game even if they can you wont get 60fps patches like on the xbox only for special games most will only have more stability and higher dynamic res anyways
Best to emulate them. You can play Zelda and Pokemon and everything else at 60fps with patches. I'm finally getting around to playing last year's Kirby game since I found the 60fps patch.
Cartridge can also be slightly different on the new Switch, but the slot can still accept older one. We have seen that on 3DS for DS games
I'm a bit suprised about the UDA - after all games would call the DirectX, OpenGL or Vulkan API to interact with the GPU - and the calls would be translated by the kernel for both CPU and GPU. For the Switch this might be OpenGL, Vulkan or NVN - couldn't NVN2 simply be backwards compatable with NVN. Some shaders would need dynamic recompilation, but this shouldn't be an issue.
I liked the expanded explanation from a game dev perspective. I hope that backwards compatibility does happen in whatever form.
Yes the way they did it like the 1st gen wii and gamecube compatibility would probably be best. But who knows at this point. Nvidia could have some magic going on with the next chip nintendo picked and was added with little cost. Time will tell. If need be I'll continue to keep a switch 1 for what may not work if it's not compatible on the switch 2.
I'll make it simple for them. It's backwards compatibility with my vast library that I've accumulated or no buy.
This is a well thought out video MVG. What I think makes the most sense as a player/consumer is to just have another X1 and the option to patch to make the game run enhanced or just somehow build that in. The media/cart is I think one of the biggest hurtles to be cheaper and more capacity. Not to mention making all this fit in something that is an acceptable size and battery life. Either way, no backwards compatibility is a bad decision to make and could blow up in Nintendo's face with such a large install base and software sales.
I was trying to decipher if nintendo was going to make the system backwards compatible. Thank you for making this video it's really thorough
10:29 If the rumor is true that Nvidia stopped producing wafers for the tegra x1, then overclocking while can be done is not going to be the route Nintendo takes. It's totally plausible that switch production is going to dry up and a new SoC is going to happen whether Nintendo likes it or not
Similar thing factored into the Xbox 360's release being fast-tracked to 2005, since Nvidia declined to continue supplying the video chip for the original Xbox and Microsoft simply wasn't going to be able to produce anymore original Xbox units, which is also why Microsoft has since-severed ties with Nvidia for all their future Xbox hardware.
@@chemergency
Your story is at least plausible. PlayStation and Xbox used Nvidia and if Nvidia forced everyone to move on possibly breaking terms, it would make sense that other manufacturers would go elsewhere. AMD might be nicer to their partners than Nvidia.
@@VariantAEC AMD is definitely way nicer to their partners than Nvidia.
To be fair, backwards compatibility has always been a thing. I remember watching a video about the SNES where parents were upset they couldn’t use NES games on the new console
Lack of backwards compatibility is what made me sail the high seas in the first place
Great video. Is the potential incompatibility down to shader compilation ?, as in existing Switch games come with the shaders pre compiled for that architecture and therefore won’t work on different hardware ?. If so does that mean it could run but it would have shader compilation stutter like on modern UE4/5 PC games ?.
I think they could solve for this by emulating the boot sequence. They have the keys to everything and could MITM a new instruction set.
I love speculating about gaming hardware and what I expect from Nintendo is a surprise - they rarely follow any standard industry pattern, or even their own patters. They will doe something strange and unusual with their hardware, and that makes it all the more interesting
Interesting and frustrating.
and obnoxious...
I could see a potential scenario where digital backwards compatibility is supported, but not physical. There's a precedent in the form of the PS Vita, which could play digital PSP games but obviously not physical ones due to the lack of a UMD slot.
I was thinking the same, it would fit Nintendo's efforts to steer people towards digital distribution and subscription models.
However, people still want physical copies, as evidenced with current Metroid Prime situation, where people are waiting for physical availability instead of digital version.
yes but no
psp to vita was a format swap from optical disks to flash cartridges so yeah of course that didn't work
but for the switch there's no logical reason to change the cartridges they do NOTHING special there essentially sd cards with at best a security chip inside there isn't much sense to changing the cartridge between versions because there's nothing to gain other than forcing people to buy more games
at least with PSP they wanted to swap from optical to the smaller game cards
Great video. A lot of people are assuming that backwards compatibility is a done deal and it's great to see the many hurdles to this laid out. One more is the controllers. They need to be pretty much the same in terms of button layout and capabilities. It seems veeery farfetched to me for it to be just a Switch 2 with more zazz... Nintendo hasn't done that kind of transition since the jump from 8 to 16 bit.... Thanks for your hard work!
Nvm Hurdles their greed alone is enough to kill backwards compatibility
What’s the blurred out rectangular device near your desk behind the microphone?!
I see what you did there using Shantae as an example :) It's cool how you brought that title to the Switch yourself.
I don't think they'll keep the Tegra X1 SOC till the end of times. At some point they'll upgrade the SOC in their systems. They might have (say we have another refresh) a new SKU with the same chip but again smaller, and squeeze even more battery, but at some point this conundrum will happen.
I think the new idea is the translation layer as a way to get games not made for your system. We've seen it on the Steam Deck and also in the Intel ARC lineup of GPUs. It could be that the "Switch 2" will have a small overhead in the style of this compatibility layer and maybe have some games with a "Switch 2"-specific executable on the side, at the expense of the developer. What is also true is that, as we see dynamic resolution and framerate, it actually could be easier, or plainly feasible, for games to simply perform better if specs are better. But this might be me.
I think a real issue a Switch 2 faces is that when the Switch released, it was getting ports on par with full Xbox One releases games in docked mode. Now we're onto Series S/X and the Switch is struggling to run late gen Xbox One games at 720p30 docked. With Xbox One all they needed to compete with was 8 low clock, low power jaguar cores.
Developers can certainly try to strip back even their Series S releases, but even the Series S has a 3.2ghz 8 core zen 2 processor. You can strip graphics back forever but a games simulation can only be reduced to a limit.
Apple showed how powerful yet efficient ARM SoCs can be, I don't think CPU power will be a big issue.
That’s why it seems likely that S2 launches in another 4 years. Nin needs to try and get some of these next gen only titles to be capable of being ported&playable over onto their new hardware. And if Nin wants day one profits on hardware then the technology they need per price is years away. It would seem crazy to have Switch2 locked out of new gen aaa & it only be capable on small indie games as the gen progresses. All this is why I think standard Switch launches at $400 in 2027’ish
Also, I am a little confused binary compatibility - if it is just the GPU shader program that would be the issue, isn't it feasible for Nintendo to emulate just the GPU (recompiling shaders similar to how high level emulators do it nowadays?). I didn't quite catch why the CPU architectures would be different, though.
CPU architecture shouldn't be that much different, at least on paper. New Nvidia Tegra chips supports more or less the same instructions as the X1 with some new stuff in there. Real issue would be getting the clock speeds down, as some less experienced developers like to do weird things like pinning game logic to the core speed.
The issue with emulation is that it sacrifices power and efficiency to be able to get things running, which is undesirable for a portable device.
The biggest reason I don't think they'll do backwards compatibility with the Switch is market saturation- there are already Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Pokémon and many more games on Switch. Keeping backwards compatibility could be one more reason for people who bought the new model to *not* buy the new exclusive games, such as Mario Kart 9 (whenever that comes out) or the next mainline 3D mario game, Pokémon games etc.
I think its a mistake to not have backwards compatibility.
Interesting how this was expected and a non-issue before and now there are problems everywhere.
This is click bait ...... there are NO problems .
@@BennyBsolo I know, my comment had some sarcasm, I controlled myself so I don't sound like an asshole.
Being able to play my entire Switch library at better framerate and updated visuals so they're at least as good as the PS4 is the main reason I'd want to upgrade. I'm interested in buying my entire library again. Not to mention, a large portion of my library are special, limited edition ports of games that won't be getting a second port on new hardware.
I think you mean "not interested"
Interesting thoughts, but I’m curious about what’s blurred out in the background.
Would a compatibility layer similar to DXVK work to map Tegra X1 API calls to API calls for the new SOC? On top of DXVK being used in Linux gaming, Intel is also implementing it in their Arc GPU drivers for Windows.
Fingers crossed to migrate our games to the new hardware. Also a better eShop. 😮💨
I believe the Tegra X1 is out of production because it is so old so Nvidia stopped making it. There was a report a while back about how Nintendo stocked up on those chips when it happened. So unfortunately they won't be able to include one in the next switch
With the amount of Switches sold every year, I just dont see Nvidia stopping production. The Switch sells more units a year than many of their modern GPUs.
There are at least 3 Tegra generations after X1. Currently Switch is the only real-life mass produced device with Tegra in it (AFAIK), so I guess NVIdia will do their best to continue partnership w/ Nintendo.
@@APopov Audi Dashboards are Tegra based
Nah, it isn't. There was a bullshit report from early 2021 that they'd stop production in 2021 - and nothing was ever heard about that again. 16nm production lines are probably pretty cheap at TSMC nowadays. Maybe they paused it for a bit and then produced a big chunk again or whatever, but there is no good info to be found that they actually stopped producing them.
I'm willing to bet that that stockpile was actually for the wafer to be on the new switch hardware, honestly only a first reservation run makes me backwards compatible after that the game's library should have filled out by then and it's not really needed at that point
Do you think they will just add a GPU ABI translation layer so that the shader pipeline can still work? Similar to Wine that does it for DirectX on Linux
Aw man, I had to wait all the way to the end for the cool music?
The most probable scenario in my mind what’ll happen is that Nintendo will offer two variants of the Post-Switch console: a more expensive version that’s backwards-compatible with physical Switch titles and a less pricier option with no physical backwards compatibility.
I would not be against this but I don't think it would happen. I just want backwards compatibility on all devices moving forward. We should have the technology to plan this stuff out but we don't, and then we shoot ourselves in the foot later trying to make it work.
I mean its still gonna use a cartridge because its handheld, I imagine they could just use the same cartridge slot like the 3ds but the access to games will be limited to 1st party and 3rd party developers.
@@Saz103 or they could be all digital. I don't like this future, but it makes a lot of sense for publishers.
Interesting idea. Sony had kind of done something similar to this with the PlayStation 3. Having the launch console very pricey but very versatile, with backwards compatibility, extra USB, and even a SD card slot I think? The models afterwards were much cheaper, but too many things were getting cut out which I didn't like, such as the PS2 compatibility.
I think Nintendo has also done a similar approach, keeping backwards compatibility at launch before cutting it down the road once the current portables success is established. Like the DSi cutting the GBA slot I think, and the Gameboy Advance Micro not being able to play Gameboy games if I remember correctly.
Sounds like a marketing disaster
What if they embedded a Tegra X1 onto a dock similar to the Gameboy Player on the GCN?
They could then recycle old stock into docks, and sells Back-Compat Docks for a premium.
Don't give them ideas for fucks sake :S.
That'd take away the ability to play original Switch games in portable mode and has zero benefit vs just including it into the console itself.
So the graphic driver is statically linked to the game itself. This is an odd choice. Apart from recompiling, that does not leave much wiggle room unless the GPU on the new SoC has some sort of compatibility mode or the new OS some translation layer that can work with the original Switch graphic driver.
I'd wanna see in the next system more use of assymetric multiplayer. They've been trying to do that since the GameCube with Pacman VS and Four Swords Adventures but the Wii U and Switch never really capitalized on it
I think the "patch required" route is the most likely. Depending on the form factor of the hardware they might also drop the switch cartridge slot and do some kind of ownership verification via your Switch and your Nintendo account to play the game digitally on Switch 2
Hey! What’s up?
Ownership verification thing will not happen. They would have to verify every time you launch a game. Nope
would be annoying but very possible
@briandadude seems to me they may have some way of registering a specific cartridge to a specific Nintendo account such thar that cartridge couldn't be sold and then registered to a different account. If cartridges have some kind of unique identifier then Nintendo could allow you to register the cartridge once and only once to your account, transferring it to your digital library permanently. The only blocker would be if cartridges have no unique identifier, then Nintendo couldn't stop multiple accounts from registering the same cartrige.
@@DanielHaywood I imagine that would run foul of the EU
Whats ya hiding back there mate XD Came from RGT But i think this is a Good Video mate :)
What about the option that a new Switch might have an compatibility mode on the OS and/or hardware level (pre compiled shaders could also be solved either via some extra memory in the system where game specific shaders can be stored via a download or via a translation layer that runs on the hardware extra CPU and GPU compute that isn't used otherwise for current Switch games) and game patches are just required if wanting to take advantage of the new/extra hardware capabilities.
For the option you mention if Nintendo would stay on the same Tergra architecture it could be made on a much smaller node to make it run on higher clocks at same or even less power usage, include more of the Maxwell GPU compute units as well as have an updated IO to bring the system up to speed as well as bring faster and more up to date connectivity standards in regard to USB/Bluetooth/WiFi/network etc.
Thanks for your thoughts and opinion, very competent...as always! Personally, if Nintendo doesn't make the current switch library (or at least the ones that sold well so far) compatible in some way, I will "boycott" buying the new "Switch 2"...this would be a real problem and cost Nintendo quite much customers I guess...maybe this move would even turn out more expensive in the end, due to the loss of customers, instead of patching the games up, in order to make them compatible for the next switch model.
This is just silly.
@@leeartlee915 Please be so kind and let me know what you think about the issue and what you consider to be silly. 😀
One of the absolute most well-thought-out presentations on this in the industry. Your insight and developer knowledge really goes a long way to making your content entirely it's own thing!
How about a translation layer? Similar to how wine/proton translate DirectX calls to Vulkan calls. That would incur a performance penalty, but one that can realistically be bridged by a generational performance increase. It sounds like the obvious way to go to me, but the fact you're not mentioning it probably means it isn't that obvious at the very least.
Do you think that it's possible to have a generic auto patch for Switch games, that can somehow work as a "bypass" of the old code embeded with the game, to make it work with the new hardware ?
Or even something similar to what "Nintendon't" does for GameCube games to work on Wii or Wii U... Like a interperter of that piece of code embeded on the games, that can translate it to the new hardware ?
If they go the route you suggest, patch all their first party games (excluding stuff like Labo) and try to get this parties on board. I think they would get away with it if they focus on and prioritise the best selling and highest rated third party games. I doubt many people will cry foul if most of the eShop shovelware is left out.
I'm a little lost; what's the problem with having the same cartridge format on the newer system? DS and 3DS games shared the same cartridge format no problem.
They'll probably say something about climate change and it helping the environment and people will eat it up
@@Dairunt1 I'm saying that will be there justification for not adding the cartridge slot, my goodness man keep up, these are billion dollar companies that Like to virtue signal it's just my opinion man you don't have agree with it.
Its an expensive Preparatory card much like the SD card was for the Vita
I think the main issue is likely the size capacity and cost. I presume the Switch successor will have some ginormous games at a whopping 80gb or more, similar to pc and the latest PlayStation/Xbox installs.
Unless, maybe of course Nintendo do something special with it, like getting manufacturers to install games through a code in the box and WiFi, or need of install through heavily compressed files of the current carts (much like on pc with disks).
It's a bit of technological dead-end. Not fast and not big enough for modern games in the current state.
@MVG the new room looks cool!
🤔 considering option 4, how much of an improvement would it be if nintendo overclocked the existing chips, added more ram and increased the memory bandwidth? Would it be a worthy upgrade or place it in the switch pro category?
This is Nintendo we're taking about here. I fully expect no back-compat, and full price ports of certain games.
Maybe even subscription only backwards compatibility like how they do for retro games
@@ThomastheDankEngine8900 almost all handhelds from Nintendo except the switch were backwards compatible
Considering that the Switch is still selling well, I expect that it will still be 2/3 more years before we see them release a new system. The longer they can hold it off, the bigger the potential leap forwards in system specs.
Imo, the Switch's guts say more about Nintendo's lack of attention to specs and desire to create a system that has a gimmick. I'd be surprised if the next console they release will have internal components that are relatively new. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but the components the Switch used at launch were already roughly five years old iirc.
@@carlborch1887, it runs on an overclocked NVIDIA Tegra X1, which was two and a half years old when the Switch released.
Nintendo are the only company who sell their hardware at a profit, so I wouldn't expect their next system to be a Rolls Royce if it's in a similar price range. But graphics and performance in the portable market has improved rapidly in the last decade, so hopefully a new Switch would benefit from that.
FYI last week's 4chan leak (Confirmed by Centro leaks) never mentioned anything about it being/not being backwards compatible, just that there was a graphical improvement patch in the works; which were also done for XSX and PS5 games which do have back compat.
Also, im curious if something like what sony did with PS5/PS4 BC could be done with a newer Tegra. To have clock modes for BC and keep the logic from the previous arch.
I feel like Nintendo would have to include backwards compatibility on the next system because its basically a necessity for modern consoles now. New games take so long to make that while Nintendo is usually the best at getting out first party software, people have spent so long with the previous consoles that having backwards comparability allows them to transition over to a new system without having worries that their purchase was completely worthless if no new games are coming out for a while
I expect the Switch 2 to be wayyy more locked down than the OG Switch. That being said, I'd be shocked if they actually managed to address software piracy and homebrew to a level that would really stop it or significantly reduce it.
So was putting the graphic driver stack in each game a major mistake or did it provide some kind of overwhelming benefit?
MVG - if the switch 2 uses the rumoured Tegra 239 chip, Will it still need custom API calls for backwards compatibility or will it still require patching for the individual games in order to function?
I would think that a tegra 239 would still be able to execute code from a X1 chip and only newer games would take advantage of the extra horsepower.
At the OS level they could do you upscaling for existing games via DLSS yeah?
If anything is stopping Nintendo from incorporating backward compatibility into their next console, it is probably not the hardware/software challenges, but security concerns as we all know that backward compatibility layer is a great potential point of initial entry for hackers.