Nintendo has been dominating the news over the last couple of days on account of the impending Nintendo Switch 2 Direct and the recent (and final) Switch Direct. There is a stacked deck of games on the horizon, and the new hardware release is imminent, filling fans worldwide with a sense of anticipation.
Recently, eagle-eyed fans discovered a reference to something that’s yet to be covered by Nintendo, and that’s ‘Switch 2 Edition’ games. The reference was found on an official Nintendo site, and it immediately makes us think that remasters and re-releases are inbound.
Enhance It
On a new Nintendo page hosted to explain how the new ‘virtual game cards’ will work, the term Switch 2 Edition games was coined. It was written in a legal disclaimer tucked away at the bottom of the page, but that’s enough for speculation to be running rampant:
Compatible systems must be linked to a Nintendo Account to use virtual game cards. Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games and Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games can only be loaded on a Nintendo Switch 2 system. To move virtual game cards between two systems, you must pair the systems via local wireless and an internet connection, but only when pairing the systems for the first time. Up to two systems total can be linked per Nintendo Account.
(Thanks to Dualshockers for the spot)
Differentiating between exclusive Switch 2 games and Switch 2 Edition games is enough to get me envisioning a range of remasters and re-releases, which isn’t a far-fetched concept. The likes of PlayStation and Xbox have done similar things in the past when new generations of hardware have been released.
Everyone’s thoughts now turn to how these Switch 2 Edition games could operate. Will they be free upgrades for those who have already purchased the game on the Nintendo Switch, or will they be paywalled with a fresh price tag and packed with extra features?
It’s hard to tell, but I’m willing to bet it’d be the latter option.
We’ll likely know more on April 2 when the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct takes place.
For more GPlayr coverage, check out the news that Naughty Dog has apparently been working on a secret game for three years