During the Direct at the start of the month, Nintendo laid out their plans for breathing new life into a number of Switch games through a series of free and paid updates. So far we have a number of titles confirmed to be receiving free updates, with the focus being a mixture graphical and performance upgrades, as well as adding support for features like GameShare. Though some of the titles shown aren’t necessarily headliners, I was pretty happy to see both Link’s Awakening and the most recent Pokemon releases in Scarlet and Violet present. These are games that really do need that performance kick, and I’m glad I won’t be needing to pay for it.

The other titles that have been announced are:

• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
• Super Mario Odyssey
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
• New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
• Game Builder Garage
• 51 Worldwide Games
• ARMS
• Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain

When it comes to the paid updates, titled "Switch 2 Editions" by Nintendo, the content you’re going to get seems to vary a little more. On one end of the scale we have Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. These games will feature improved graphics and framerate, with Mario Party specifically naming support for 1440p on the TV, and 1080p in handheld mode. On top of this though, both are getting a seemingly-substantial bit of additional content. For Jamboree this comes in the form of new modes and minigames to make use of the Switch 2’s new features. Though something quite small on paper, the camera support for online parties is something that actually has me quite excited. Mario Party is a game that can get surprisingly heated when playing with friends, and a good amount of that can be diffused as you see them holding back a laugh while your world falls apart around you. Kirby’s update adds a new story: Star-Crossed World. This appears to be a DLC expansion in the purest form, adding new levels with a really striking visual theme.

You can either upgrade your existing Switch game, or buy a new Switch 2 Edition with everything on the cartridge.​

On the other end of the scale we have Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Both of these games aren’t getting any new content, but will support “improved performance in higher resolution”. The varying amounts of detail for each game on Nintendo’s official page is odd, but that’s what we’re working with. Beyond that the games are getting HDR support and a new service within Nintendo’s mobile Switch app in Zelda Notes. You can think of the latter there a helpful tool for your time in Hyrule, allowing you to better track your progress and navigate the terrain. It does seem somewhat handy, though I can imagine most of the people who will be getting access to this are already very familiar with the land, these games being eight and two years old respectively.

Breath of the Wild is in some ways the most notable title of this lineup for it already having DLC to purchase in its Expansion Pass. Since the original announcement of a new release for the game, including a boxed physical version, fans have been left speculating as to whether this DLC will be packaged in for a definitive release. After an interview with IGN, it’s sadly been confirmed that this is not the case. Though the cartridge will contain both the original Switch game and its Switch 2 upgrade without the need for an additional download, you will still be left needing to fork out a further £17.99 for the full experience. This does sting slightly more for the fact Nintendo have released a definitive version of Breath of the Wild in the past that included the DLC on-cartridge, even if it was limited to Asia. It may be of little solace to some, but it is worth mentioning that the upgrades for both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will be free to download for Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers. This could be setting a trend for the more substantial graphical upgrades that don’t necessarily add extra content to be added to NSO, but that is just speculation from me at this point.

Update 18th April:
As a minor addition to the information above, it has been confirmed via Marvelous' FAQ page for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma that the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition cartridges will be compatible with original Switch systems. According to the page, you "simply insert the card into either a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 console, and the correct version will launch automatically." On the same page, Marvelous also confirm a 64GB game card is being used.

Both the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom upgrades will be free to download for NSO+EP members.​

Though each of these four upgrades will cost you, the amount you’ll be paying varies from game to game. The information we currently have on pricing is a little scattered, so to summarise what has been confirmed for the upgrades:

• Breath of the Wild: 1000 JPY / $9.99 / Included with NSO+EP
• Tears of the Kingdom: 1000 JPY / $9.99 / Included with NSO+EP
• Kirby and the Forgotten Lands: 2000 JPY
• Super Mario Party Jamboree: 2000 JPY

In the UK we also have the physical versions of these four titles available to pre-order, each with the same price of £66.99 when ordered directly from Nintendo. Though this may seem like the cheaper pricing of the Zelda upgrades isn’t taken into account, it should be noted that both Kirby and Mario Party retail for £49.99 directly from Nintendo. This is £10 less than the £59.99 Zelda releases. From this we can assume the standalone upgrades will be around £7 for the Zelda games and £17 for the others, which isn’t too far off the confirmed standalone prices from Japan.

Four Switch games have been confirmed to be getting Switch 2 Edition upgrades.​

And that’s pretty much where we stand right now. Most of the key points have been clarified through a number of interviews, but one question I still have on my mind is whether the new physical versions of these games will make use of the increased read speeds that come with Switch 2 cartridges. If that is the case, users sticking with their original Switch games could be left with an inferior experience unless Nintendo decide to make your Switch cartridges act like a Game Key Card on the new system to make use of its faster internal storage.

Are there any upgrades you’re particularly looking forward to? Are there any games you’re hoping will get this treatment down the line? Let us know your thoughts below.

Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Overview

 

[LoggerMan]

Having some upgrade packs included in NSO is nice tbh.

 

[DeadSkullzJr]

If I had to choose, I would still choose to just get the whole game separately, regardless of being a "definitive" version or just a mere revision with fixes. As much as I don't like the idea of buying the same game again a lot of times (depends on what it is and if I'm willing to bend for certain platforms), I look at it from the perspective of when the services end, and I can't install the contents that are download only anymore. Sure, on one hand, I could prepare by hacking the console and dumping the stuff I purchase or upgraded to, but that isn't without its own hassles and integrity checking of its own, versus just having the cartridge with everything on it, all ready to go. Would I do this for every game I own? Probably not, depends on how much I like a game to do such a thing, otherwise I'm fine with the original version. Take Legend of Zelda, The: Breath of the Wild, I own a physical copy of that game for the Nintendo Switch, I don't see myself buying a physical copy of that game for the Nintendo Switch 2, considering I'm not huge on Breath of the Wild, and by extension, Tears of the Kingdom.

 

[Marc_LFD]

It's good but what I wanted was a new Zelda to go along with NS2, not Zelda games we had on NS1.

 

[gohan123]

It's good but what I wanted was a new Zelda to go along with NS2, not Zelda games we had on NS1.

way to early for that

 

[Marc_LFD]

way to early for that

They could have ported TPHD + WWHD instead they'll probably release those games via the rental GCN service.

Sucks those releases are stuck on Wii U, maybe forever.

 

[KanaKonpaku]

I mean these "upgrades" are nothing entirely new to the gaming industry. As much as I dislike them, I really noticed upgrade editions on PS5 (specifically Spider-Man Remastered costing me 20 bucks, as did FFVII Remake Integrade) so whereas I'm not shocked Nintendo is doing this, what gets me is that the upgrades on PS5 at least allowed me to play my PS4 games without needing to buy the upgrade. I'm fine with paying the developers 5-10 bucks for upgraded visuals and the like since the developers do have to implement that, but the prices of the Switch 2 upgrades is a bit steep for me. Not to mention, they picked games I really don't feel a need to play a second time, especially on BoTW and TotK. The "upgrades with DLC" ones are how I expect a 20ish dollar upgrade to be though; Pay us for the time we invested, and here's a little bonus for it.

I just hope they eventually make it so I can at least play games on the system without the upgrades. I'd rather play MK8 than this new one, and it would definitely be interesting to see them use these upgrades to fix broken games (Like the mentioned Pokemon Scarlet and Violet) but we'll see what happens when that time comes.

 

[Scarlet]

I mean these "upgrades" are nothing entirely new to the gaming industry. As much as I dislike them, I really noticed upgrade editions on PS5 (specifically Spider-Man Remastered costing me 20 bucks, as did FFVII Remake Integrade) so whereas I'm not shocked Nintendo is doing this, what gets me is that the upgrades on PS5 at least allowed me to play my PS4 games without needing to buy the upgrade.

There's no indication that this won't be the case on the Switch 2 for what it's worth. Though now you mention it, I am surprised that's not been something they've said explicitly.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

Always whole game separate unless I already have the previous on3 - which for some i do.

 

[Bladexdsl]

so after all that and it can't even do 4K after all! i guarantee you will be seeing most games doing max 1440p

 

[Scarlet]

so after all that and it can't even do 4K after all! i guarantee you will be seeing most games doing max 1440p

They did confirm Metroid Prime 4 to have a 1080/120 mode and a 4K/60 mode, so it'll be interesting to see if they can hit those targets. I definitely wouldn't expect every game to get such high numbers, but I could see a lot of indie titles managing it. Stuff like Hollow Knight would likely have no issues, and really appreciate the pixels/performance.

 

[raxadian]

At minimum Nintendo should release cheaper controllers without the stupid C button.

Also whose bright idea was to make the Switch 2 cost only 50 bucks less that a PS5?

 

[Nozu86]

I'm kinda byped to see the vr mode in odysse and especially botw. Higher resolution and more fps so less puke introducing. Even if i only do it by crossing eyes for a bit. Still see it in depth gonna look great.

 

[JaNDeRPeiCH]

Anyone want to bet the upgrade hd graphics with the fire emblem switch games will cost 50 dls?

 

[RedoLane]

I believe it all comes down to how much people care about quality increase.
Is it enough of a reason to play the same Switch games one more time? Maybe to some, maybe not.

I recently played DOOM Eternal on the Switch OLED, and recently played it a little on my new Steam Deck OLED. The difference was night and day, and yet both experiences felt inferior to the KB+M control on my PC, which I spent more than 5 campaign runs on since 2020.
That's why the upgrade for Metroid Prime 4 is just so important DUE TO MOUSE CONTROL SUPPORT, something which the Switch 1 Joycons don't support. I could care less about playing it on a high framerate, because it's a SINGLE PLAYER game, but an FPS is just not the same with an analog stick.
(Hoping it will run great on Switch 1, btw)

Honestly 10$ is normal for an upgrade(without extras) nowadays, but it kinda makes me wonder if there will be even a slight improvement WITHOUT upgrading the game, as in, just putting it inside the Switch 2 and playing it.

 

[Marc_LFD]

At minimum Nintendo should release cheaper controllers without the stupid C button.

Also whose bright idea was to make the Switch 2 cost only 50 bucks less that a PS5?

I read the C button is used to wake up the console? What about the Home button it can't do that?

 

[LightBeam]

So from what I've seen, the 10€ upgrades are going to be included in the NSO pack, but not the 20€

And honestly, seeing what consist of the 20€ upgrades ...... Makes it pretty clear that absolutely everything is going to be much more expensive.

I don't see anything in that Kirby side story that makes it look like something that couldn't run on the Switch 1
What they've shown of Mario Party doesn't seem to justify a 20€ price increase either

These are just justifications to re-release some games, I can barely call these minimum viable products because it genuinely makes me think that they're trying to do even lower than that.


The 10€ packs is also just an excuse to give value to the NSO pack, the moment you'll be unsubscribed, or when the service will inevitably shut down, you'll own nothing. But people seem to be fine with that because they think that the pack is a bargain if you play Zelda.

Is it really a good idea to price DLCs on top of an upgrade pack of a Switch 1 game ? I'm really not sure, I feel like that could be confusing for consumers and might be labelled as Nintendo hiding some costs. I can imagine someone buying the game on Switch 1, then realizing that whatever DLC is not available in here but only on Switch 2, but now they have to also buy the expansion pack ....
That makes me think that an upgrade pack = definitive edition. But it's Nintendo so .... I'm not holding my breath for that one.

That's why the upgrade for Metroid Prime 4 is just so important DUE TO MOUSE CONTROL SUPPORT, something which the Switch 1 Joycons don't support. I could care less about playing it on a high framerate, because it's a SINGLE PLAYER game, but an FPS is just not the same with an analog stick.

Tbh it does have gyro support already. So that makes any shooter much more than tolerable on console in my opinion.
I wouldn't have said that mouse controls would justify a 10€ cost by itself, but after seeing some video comparatives, it seems that they actually put some work in having the game look better so it's at least better justified than I originally thought

I still think that 10€/$ is a bit much.

 

[NinStar]

Just imagine paying $10 to have a fucking map on your phone.

 

[SillyBee]

Maybe a bit of a controversial opinion but I would think it would be in good faith for the consumers (specially being a new console) to just... Give all the updates for free

An easy demostration of how much more powerful is the console in comparison to the Switch 1

But seeing how they dared to sell what is basically just a gamified console manual... *shrug*

 

[NinStar]

Maybe a bit of a controversial opinion but I would think it would be in good faith for the consumers (specially being a new console) to just... Give all the updates for free

An easy demostration of how much more powerful is the console in comparison to the Switch 1

But seeing how they dared to sell what is basically just a gamified console manual... *shrug*

What I find really insulting is that they didn't include all the paid updates as part of the of NSO highest tier, just as they never bothered to offer DLC for games other than Animal Crossing, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2.

There's absolutely nothing stopping them from doing this (they're all first-party games after all), which would actually add a lot more value to their service, but they choose not to, which is baffling.