Well, I sure bought a Wii U and all the Wii U first party games. Then I bought many of them again on Switch..
And Nintendo knows it..
Give me Deluxe editions of:
Pikmin 4
Astral Chain
Trials of Mana remake
Particularly a Pikmin 4 Deluxe would greatly interest me. 60 fps and one extra game mode would really sell it for me, and make the 10 year wait for a Pikmin 5 a little easier
I still take the view that backwards compatibility should be robust enough that for most games this simply isn't necessary. For example games where the only thing the Switch version really needs is a more consistent level of performance or at most a higher resolution/framerate target. That should be just part of the BC experience. Because for every game like BotW where some might well fork out full retail just to play again there are a hundred titles that are not
Now are there some games that could do with a full reworking? 100%. I'm not sure about some of the ones you mentioned, Link's Awakening really just needs a more stable framerate. Astral Chain or Bayonetta 3? Possibly. But my attention mostly gravitates towards the "impossible ports" from third parties where the game was seriously trimmed for Switch. Those games without question need more than just a setting change
But I think mostly I'd want to see backwards compatibility just done well and for us to move on. Oh cool TTYD now runs at 1080p/60 but otherwise the same. No charge, it just does because the compatibility layer just does that. No waiting for them to announce and release the enhanced port, it's already on the eshop. Boom, done. And now they can spend their energy on something else
I hope Nintendo won't charge any money for these enhanced versions, unless they actually put a lot of work in them like the rumored BotW Remaster. But anyway, the games I hope run better on the Switch's successor are... all of them.
As for actual enhanced versions I'd be willing to pay extra for: Pokémon Legends: Arceus and the three Xenoblade games.
So baseline, I just want every single Switch game to be able to run in an enhanced mode; access to extended memory, faster processors, and increased resolution (assuming the system is 4K capable).
Emulators can do it, and in most cases the games just straight up look and perform better without drawbacks... other than shader compilation and stutter, emulation inaccuracies and errors, etc. Those are big reasons to want new dedicated hardware.
If they start selling enhanced versions of games, I need to see it take full advantage of the new hardware, and do stuff it's rumoured to be able to do like raytracing and proper lighting systems, with higher quality textures.
Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are already good candidates for that, whereas titles like Super Mario Odyssey were so well optimised that it's hard to see them enhancing it as such.
Bayonetta trilogy will perform so much better on new hardware, Origins would also be great to see running at 60 FPS.
A lot of games in general capped at 30 FPS, could run at 60 FPS though it may require re-working the games if they were specifically timed around that hard cap. Forcing such games to run at 60 or higher can sometimes cause unexpected issues.
Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity is one I seriously want to have running at 60 FPS proper.
One of the exciting aspects of the new hardware is that it also opens the floodgates to bring software from other platforms finally onto Nintendo Switch. We could see Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, maybe? Hi-Fi Rush might happen in spite of the horrendous decision to shutter Tango Gameworks (as Microsoft owns the game and its source).
@skywake I do expect the BC to stabilize frame rates and resolution, but I’m not sure if it will actually accelerate the specs? Possibly, I guess. I do like the precedent Nintendo set with the Wii U Deluxe-style editions. BC should be incentive to buy the new hardware, but I’d still be open to incentives to buy Switch games that Nintendo would pursue putting into Switch 2 branding/packaging to renew the shelf-life for first time buyers, as it was for Wii U games.
@NinChocolate
There are a few levels I think. The quickest win would be to give the Switch game access to the additional power. That means any game that had dynamic resolution scaling, any game that missed its target framerate? Boom. Hits them. Comfortably. You'd also right then and there significantly reduce things like load times (although maybe not so much off cartridge) and other issues like slow asset loading. Right there I think that solves the majority of the Switch game headaches
The next level would be forcing docked mode. There are a lot of games that turn on or off settings depending on whether or not you are playing in docked mode or not. Often it's just the resolution targets but it can technically be anything. Usually they get away with it because the screen is smaller, we demand less from a portable device and it's 720p also. But even so, this one change combined with the above could make Switch 2 already pretty great for Switch games on the go
Those above two? No need for any validation or code changes of any kind. The next stuffs might. Firstly, resolution and framerate. They should be able to override this fairly easily and they could just straight up make all Switch games run at a higher resolution. And you might be surprised at what that resolution would be. But..... how well this will work will depend on the game. It would be low effort in terms of implementation, potentially high effort for validation especially deep into the Switch library
Beyond this we get to actually going in and making changes to the game. Some of this might be as simple as changing a couple of settings which could be a fairly low effort thing. Some might be some more in-depth optimisation and testing of settings. Not talking full rework here we're talking like, post release patch kinds of effort. Would be stuff like..... making the distant Pokemans in Legends: Arceus run at the full framerate. That kind of thing. How much they'd bother? Depends on the game and developer I guess
But then beyond all of this there's the actual full on reworking. And here we're talking asset replacement, proper HDR, reworking sections, maybe even putting in things that weren't possible on Switch. For BotW the talk is that they've killed entirely the loading when walking into Shrines. For this level of stuff..... that's definitely beyond standard backwards compatibility
... but the question I have is if you can do the first three things with just straight up backwards compatibility you should. And as noted above, emulators ALREADY do all of those things. With or without the Switch 2. So if those things are happening the last one is a bit of a harder sell. Especially for people who've alright paid for the game which, by definition, is everyone using backwards compatibility
I would love a remaster of games like BOTW, Smash Bros, or even Mario Odyssey remaster, but I hope that they would have the option for it to be DLC you could add to a game rather than having to buy the game again. I would love to have a remastered BOTW, but if there’s backwards compatibility I don’t think I would spend another 60 bucks on a game I already have, no matter how much I want it. It also depends on the improvements and whether or not it’s just the base game itself plus technical improvements or if there’s a new mode/extra DLC associated with it.
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@SmashBall35 I really expect any bespoke enhanced editions to include all Switch DLC and include Switch 2 exclusive extras. I think it’s the only way they could re-SKU Switch games for Switch 2 if it’s back compat
The next level would be forcing docked mode. There are a lot of games that turn on or off settings depending on whether or not you are playing in docked mode or not. Often it's just the resolution targets but it can technically be anything. Usually they get away with it because the screen is smaller, we demand less from a portable device and it's 720p also. But even so, this one change combined with the above could make Switch 2 already pretty great for Switch games on the go
That would probably be their impetus to include a 1080p display outside of any supplier recommendations to upgrade to it
@NinChocolate
Something to mention about forcing docked mode when using the Switch as a handheld, it could has some unexpected behaviour.
As an example, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu / Eevee changes the control scheme between docked and handheld modes, and would need to be able to play the game with the handheld gyro aiming to throw Poké Balls in wild Pokémon encounters.
I believe there's also a number of games that only run in handheld mode, due to being touch screen exclusive.
I imagine so, yeah. It’s a bit beyond me how those complexities shake out. I’ll be eager to learn how the Switch 2 handles itself in respect to Switch software.
If Nintendo well and truly decides to take the full-price enhanced port route, so be it. I'm not gonna like it, but then again, I don't have to partake. In that scenario, I'd probably just buy upgraded versions conservatively. As much as I love the Switch library, I don't have the disposable income to re-buy all of my games at full price just for visual upgrades. Like, if Nintendo made an enhanced version of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, I'd probably skip. The game looks very beautiful and runs fine as is (at least for me.) @NinChocolate I'd love to see something like Astral Chain get the 60 fps treatment. The game looks great as is, but having 60 fps in such a sleek and stylish cyberpunk-esque game like that would be quite a treat. It felt like the one thing missing from an otherwise gorgeous game.
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I've mentioned this in other topics - I would love to see native upscaling of games out of the box. If there is an optimization option, I would hope that it is included in the Online Expansion pass. Take BOTW - I'm not sure that I would re-buy the game for $60-$70, but I would likely replay the game if the upgrade is included with the pass, or comes at a $10-$20 upgrade cost. I'm hoping to see more value come from my expansion pass. I love having the additional games, but the reality is that I play newer games far more frequently.
For people new to the Switch (2) - they could have the option of purchasing the fully upgraded BOTW version for Switch 2. Or to really blow away people's expectations, include it with the system's purchase...
I'd love to see more 3rd party games come with Expansion pass features as well.
A good comparison would be how Sony offered the remade version of TLOU2 as an upgrade priced at $10 for existing owners of the game.
If Nintendo were prepared to do the same with any Switch 2 remakes of Switch games, I'd be fine with that, and would be picking up quite a few. I'd be a lot less keen on buying them again at full price.
That's for substantially re-made games with new assets and content, though. If we're just talking about automated enhancements from backwards compatibility, the going rate for that should be free.
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Topic: What Switch games should get enhanced ports on Switch 2?
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