Nintendo’s highly anticipated console sequel, the Nintendo Switch 2, will hit shelves on June 5, 2025. The company wants gamers to seamlessly transition from their old Switch to the newer model. The introduction of Virtual Game Cards is a great example, as it allows people to share digital copies. Additionally, players with a Nintendo account can transfer all saved data and digital games with an internet connection.
The console is also backward-compatible, letting people play Switch software on the new system. A few games are also receiving free performance upgrades for a better experience. Compatibility testing is still underway at Nintendo. It’s still researching several titles with startup issues or in-game concerns.
Gamers should hold onto their old Switch for a while before reselling. A handful of games require a pair of original Joy-Con controllers to play on the Switch 2. Joy-Con 2s will not function properly with these titles, and here’s why:
- Ring Fit Adventure: It is incompatible with the Ring-Con accessory.
- 1-2-Switch: New controllers don’t have an IR Motion Camera featured in the right Joy-Con.
- Everybody 1-2-Switch!: Joy-Con 2 force feedback vibrations are reduced, which could impact the Joy-Con Hide & Seek minigame.
- Game Builder Garage: It also needs the IR Motion Camera to use the IR Motion Camera Nodon and IR-Light Nodon in the game’s Free Programming mode.
- Nintendo Switch Sports: It does not fit in the leg strap accessory required for the Soccer Shoot-Out portion of the game.
- WarioWare: Move It!: Some microgames require an IR Motion Camera.
The final exceptions are the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Variety, Robot, and Vehicle Kits. Many of the Toy-Con accessories, like the Fishing Rod and Piano, cannot fit the Switch 2. Also, the Joy-Con 2 won’t fit in the Robot.
Players might have noticed a trend in why these games will not work — it comes down to peripherals and accessories. Notably, fitness games like Ring Fit Adventure have a special controller to make the experience more engaging.
The game was successful enough to warrant a sequel, selling 15.38 million copies as of March 2023. It could be in the cards as a future release with a reimagined Ring-Con to fit the Joy-Con 2. Nintendo has been a longtime maker and producer of fitness games to promote gamers getting their recommended 75 minutes of weekly activity. The commitment is noted by its first-party titles like Wii Fit and successful partnered games like the Just Dance franchise.
While this seems like a lot of games requiring original Joy-Cons, it is a substantial success, considering Nintendo has tested 122 first-party titles and over 15,000 third-party games.
In Nintendo’s Ask the Developer interview series, members of the Entertainment Planning and Development Department explained their decision-making when drafting the Joy-Con 2. Choices suit the larger and more robust specs of the Switch 2, with Kouichi Kawamoto saying, “Compared to the Joy-Con controllers for Switch, the control sticks are larger and more durable, with smoother movement.
“We’ve also made Joy-Con 2 bigger to match the larger console. … we lengthened the L and R Buttons, rounded off the bottom corners, and experimented with various placements of the control sticks and buttons, right down to the millimeter or less, to arrive at the shape and layout we have now.”
While shape and size are two main reasons incompatibilities exist, the technology inside the controller is also different. Kawamoto added: “The HD rumble 2 for Switch 2 has been changed to allow for a wider variety of vibrations. The HD rumble in the Joy-Con controllers for Switch was able to create different sensations of touch … not only provides stronger vibration, but also feels more realistic and has quicker response times.”
The Joy-Con 2 also differs because it magnetically connects to the side of the Switch 2 screen instead of sliding into it. It can also operate like a mouse.
Several games may be unsupported by the new Joy-Con 2 controllers. However, players can keep a pair of old Joy-Cons around if they want to play a nostalgic Switch title. The Switch 2 era is just beginning, so who knows what the future could bring for enhanced compatibility. Given the popularity of physical activity-based games in Nintendo’s past, sequels to some of these beloved games may likely be on the horizon.
