Nintendo Switch 2 rumors continue to swirl, with the latest online information suggesting that the currently unannounced console will feature an LCD display and could launch as early as this year (although 2024 seems more likely).

The persistent speculation about the inevitable successor to the Nintendo DS makes me think about the upgrades I want to throw cash at to purchase at launch. While my colleagues have claimed a variety of new features, including a 4K OLED display and improved Wi-Fi speeds over the current Switch's anemic Wi-Fi speeds, the must-have feature of the Nintendo Switch 2 for me is a simple question.

The Nintendo Switch 2 must be fully backward compatible with the current Switch's game library. In fact, I would say that if the Nintendo Switch 2 is not backwards compatible, it is almost certainly a deal breaker for me.

In a recent interview on the Kinda Funny Xcast podcast, Xbox's Phil Spencer, referring to the fact that the PS4 has significantly outpaced the Xbox One (roughly 117 million units vs. 51 million), "Xbox has lost the biggest console generation it has to lose." He conceded.

This is a surprisingly candid admission, and Spencer makes an astute point, as millions of gamers have accumulated digital libraries of games tied to specific user profiles over the past decade. And the same can be said for the Nintendo Switch.

A visit to the "My Library" section of the Nintendo eShop reveals dozens of the best Nintendo Switch games available for download at the touch of a button. These games are a bigger financial investment than I care to admit, and the ability to carry these titles over to whatever Nintendo hardware comes out next is seriously important to me.

The prospect of having to start my game library all over again from scratch with the Nintendo Switch 2 is very unappealing. And the lack of backwards compatibility could prevent some of Nintendo's most dedicated players from adopting the new Switch from the get-go.

It should also be remembered that whenever new hardware comes to market, the software library is usually quite small and then grows over time. Backward compatibility allows gamers to have access to literally thousands of titles at launch. This allows early adopters to replay and catch up on many old favorites while new software gradually emerges. In short, they will always have something worth playing from day one.

This is exactly what happened when the PS5 and Xbox Series X launched in November 2020. In my personal experience, after playing a PS5 launch title like "Spider-Man: Miles Morales," I used the console's backward compatibility feature to enjoy PS4 games like "Cyberpunk 2077" and "Persona 5 Royal" while enjoying "Returnal" and "Ratchet & Clank" while waiting for next-gen console exclusives like "Rift Apart".

Another benefit of backwards compatibility is that it is often overlooked, but critical to game preservation. There is nothing worse than having a quality game essentially locked into one system. And in the case of the Switch, it would be a shame to see "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," "Mario Odyssey," and "Metroid Dread" forever tied to one hardware system, making them virtually inaccessible to future generations of players.

While there is no definitive word on whether Nintendo's next hardware will be backward compatible, it is at least comforting to know that the company has a strong track record in this department.

For obvious reasons, the Nintendo DS was not backward compatible with the Wii U, but the Wii U could play original Wii games (both physical and digital titles) and the Wii could play Gamecube games. Additionally, the Nintendo 3DS was compatible with original Nintendo DS games, and conversely, the original DS could play Game Boy Advance games.

If that's not comforting, recent reports suggest that Nintendo's attempts to make the Switch 2 backward compatible will be a real headache. This is because the existing Switch console family (Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED) are all powered by Nvidia's Tegra X1 GPU. chip, which will almost certainly be upgraded from the previous model, but this could affect the console's ability to play games released on the previous model.

Nintendo could emulate the Tegra X1 chip in the Nintendoswitch 2 or take drastic measures and include it as a co-processor, but these solutions would have their own challenges and would almost certainly increase the cost of manufacturing the console.

Naturally, Nintendo wants to make the price of the next Switch as competitive as possible, so increased manufacturing costs are not something to be taken lightly. As a result, backwards compatibility may be omitted in the name of keeping costs down.

For now, all we can do is wait until Nintendo is ready to talk about what comes after the highly successful Nintendo Switch. The video game giant has indicated that sales of the console are starting to slow, so perhaps we'll hear official details about the Nintendo Switch 2 by the end of the year, although the chances of it reaching our hands in 2023 seem pretty slim.