Nintendo confirms emulation is used on the Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo developers have confirmed an emulator was designed to run original Switch games on the newly announced Nintendo Switch 2.

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Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto (left), technical director Tetsuya Sasaki (middle), director Takuhiro Dohta (right)

Nintendo has finally unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 with a close-up look at the upcoming console during a recent Direct dedicated to the successor of the original Switch, and during the Direct, the Mario-makers revealed the upcoming console will be able to play original Switch games. But there's a catch. It won't play these games natively, as Nintendo developers have recently confirmed an emulator has been created to run these older titles on the Switch 2.

Nintendo developers explained that past consoles such as the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS, along with the Wii and Wii U, had similar enough hardware that backwards compatibility was easy enough strictly through hardware. However, the Switch 2 hardware isn't anything like the original Switch, meaning a workaround needed to be conceived.

According to the developers, a software-based emulation technique was first attempted, but due to the processing power it required and how running the Switch 2 at full tilt would significantly reduce battery life, Nintendo opted for a hybrid solution between software and hardware.

When asked about how the Switch 2 was playing GameCube classic titles and the original Switch games, Nintendo developers responded, "It's a bit of a difficult response, but taking into consideration it's not just the hardware that's being used to emulate, I guess you could categorize it as software-based," said Nintendo technical director Tetsuya Sasaki