As promised in one of their recent Nintendo Direct, we finally have what is surely the last big system update for the Switch 1. Version 20.0.0 brings us many features to prepare for the Switch 2. Amongst those are Game Share, new UI icons, new options to transfer your data from Switch 1 and Switch 2, including in a Cloud Server in case you want to sell it in advance. But the biggest thing here is definitely the Virtual Game Cards!
Starting now, almost all your digital games fall into this group. The exception would be some NSO app/games (like Tetris 99 or NES/SNES app. Things like that) and demos. But everything else now has a cart icon in front of the name of the game, like real physical game. What this means is that you can "virtually" eject a digital game from one Switch, and then insert it into a second Switch. By doing so, you can now play your digital games library with two Switch, without having to pass the online verification, like the previous "Primary/Secondary Switch" system. Online is only required when you Eject/Insert a Virtual Game Card from one Switch to another, and then you're good.
For those wo have read my previous posts, it's a MAJOR PLUS for me, because I was affraid with the Switch 2 that I would have to chose between my Switch 1 and 2 for a Primary System that could play all my games without the internet. I have over 1000 games currently installed on my Switch 1, and I'm not transfering all of them to the Switch 2. I want to be able to play both the Switch 1 and 2 anywhere without online. This seems to do just that. Though from everything I read you can only do it with 2 systems. If you have more than that, you will need to do the usual Online Verification like you were doing with your Secondary Switch currently. So for that reason, I have not tried it myself yet, since I don't know how hard it will be to unlink systems to share those Virtual Game Cards, so I want to wait the Switch 2 release and then link my Switch OLED to it. But from everything I've read and seen in video, this is exactly what I wanted.
You can also share a game for up to 2 weeks to a member of your NSO family group, as long as their Switch is near you. For most, I admit, this can be pretty limiting. But for me, it's awesome, since I could share digital games with my daugther when she's going to a friend house and she can now use it without any online veritication.
One last thing that have changed is that you can't redownload uninstalled games directly from the eShop anymore. This option is now gone. Instead, when you go in the Virtual Game Cards section of the Home menu, you can see which games are not currently installed on your Switch (their icons are greyed out, like a physical game cart that is not currently inserted), and you can then redownload/insert them directly from that menu. Way faster than the slow eShop. You can even filter and sort the Virtual Game Cards list the way you want, so you can only show those currently uninstalled if you need to quickly browser through them, and even do a quick load of up to 30 games at a time. Even better, you can hide some of those games from the list, so if like me you're tired of seeing Splatoon 2 or Arms test demo still in your uninstalled games list, or games you have bought physically over the years, but still have the digital version always there in your list, you can now remove them from view, so you only see what you truly want to potentially reinstall.
The only bad thing with this update is that they now removed the option to play the same game at the same time on two different Switch when only having bought it once digitally. I could, back then, use my Secondary Switch, start a multiplayer game, go through the online verification, while my wife was playing the same digital game on my Primary Switch, and we could both play online together without having her to buy her own copy. Not possible anymore unfortunately. I know Nintendo was aware of this loop-hole, and was even promoting it on their website, but to be frank, I'm more amazed by the fact that it took them so long before patching it out. As good as it was, it was clearly not something Nintendo intended to do. Now if you want to do the same, you need to each have your own digital copy. You still can both play it if it's a single player game by just going in Airplane mode when you boot up the game on the Secondary Switch. But you won't be able to play it multiplayer like before.
Besides that last point, this update is doing everything I needed! I can now go into the Switch 2 era without any worry. I'll be able to play both the Switch 1 and 2 like they were both Primary consoles.
Comments