If you own a legacy Nintendo Switch, and you choose to update your system with the latest 20.0.0 patch, then you’ll see that some interesting Switch 2 features have been added to the mix. Namely, the ability to use Nintendo’s upcoming Virtual Game Card functionality for locally sharing digital software with friends and family, as well as the option to transfer precious data to a Nintendo Switch 2.
Interestingly for me, the update came through today in real-time while I was working on my ongoing Road to Nintendo Switch 2 article series, which so far has included Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury and Super Mario Odyssey. It was a real reminder of the rapidly approaching June 5 Switch 2 console launch, and how soon gamers will be moving all their legacy Switch stuff over to brand new machines. Plus, lending out their digital game libraries like it’s 1993 and we’re all taking SNES cartridges to school for trade.
Apparently, GameShare won’t currently work between two older Switch systems, which is a little silly, if you ask me. It has to be initiated on a Switch 2, and nobody has a Switch 2 yet, so this feature will be visible (and mocking us?) on the Switch’s home screen, but remain frustratingly dormant, at least for the time being. We’ve got a month and change to wait before Nintendo launches its upcoming flagship console, so we’ll need to hang tight.
Additionally, you can peruse the new transfer options in the updated system settings, and you’ll be able to partake in the big move either via local transfer or through the ominous cloud. According to the Big N, cloud data expires after a year, which should give you plenty of time to acquire a Switch 2 to house it or re-download the data to a legacy Switch.
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System transfers and licenses have always been a bit convoluted with Nintendo hardware, and this feels right on brand, honestly. So do the Virtual Game Cards, which, while rather consumer-friendly, have their own weird set of rules in terms of loaning the games out and getting them back. After all these years, Nintendo still marches to the best of its own drum, but hopefully these new features will feel mostly seamless.
June 5 is right around the corner, and now our old Switch consoles are primed for the mothership that is the Switch 2. Mario Kart World can’t arrive soon enough.
