The Nintendo Switch 2 hasn’t even been officially released yet, and already there are a lot of questions about game compatibility for Nintendo’s latest handheld gaming console (and perhaps rightfully so).
While we already know that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards-compatible with most original Nintendo Switch games, Nintendo wasn’t particularly specific about which games would be excluded from that support list. The water surrounding Nintendo Switch 2 games only gets muddier when we learn that there are expected to be at least 3 different types of Nintendo Switch 2 game cartridges.
The findings, first revealed by 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) social media account @CentroLeaks, indicates that the three different Nintendo Switch 2 game cartridges, all of which have the iconic red casing, are distinguishable by the codes on the sticker on the front of the cartridge. They include:
- LB – these are cards that will only work on the Nintendo Switch 2
- LP – these are Game Key cards that contain the ‘key’ for you to download a game from the internet; they do not have any game data on them already
- LN – these are cards that will work on both the Nintendo Switch 2 and the original Nintendo Switch
It’s worth noting that most, if not all, original Nintendo Switch game cartridges began with the LA delineation. These cards will also be compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2; however, they have a black or dark gray cartridge casing instead of the newer red cartridge casing.
It’s worth noting that Game Key cards, much like physical game cards, can be sold and shared with others despite lacking any game data on the card itself and only containing a game key. Not all Nintendo Switch 2 games will be like this, but game publishers can choose to use this format if they want to.
How do you feel about the variety of game cartridge sticker codes? Let us know in the comments section down below.