Nintendo admits backwards compatibility is easier now, but isn't interested in it
But who's surprised, really?
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The man, the myth, the legend himself Shigeru Miyamoto recently spoke about how backwards compatibility is much easier now, though it doesn't seem to be something Nintendo is that interested in.
In a recent Q&A session that follow Nintendo's publication of its latest financial results, the company's executives were asked about how backwards compatibility is being handled internally (thanks to and translations from VGC). Miyamoto apparently didn't give an answer that pointed in any particular direction when it comes to backwards compatibility, but did talk about how it's easier these days.
"In the past, we provided a service known as the ‘Virtual Console’ that allowed users to play older video games on new consoles with newer hardware," Miyamoto explained. "As long as the hardware remained unchanged, those games could continue to be played. However, the publishing rights to video games are complicated, and we have said that we would only add titles after securing the necessary rights."
The Mario and Zelda creator went on to note how, obviously, games that were developed for specific consoles also had specific environments they were created in for each console. He also made the point that as a result, with the hardware changing, games released on older consoles couldn't be played on newer consoles without "additional modification.
"Recently, however, the development environment has increasingly become more standardised, and we now have an environment that allows players to enjoy older video games on newer consoles more easily than ever before."
Despite acknowledging that things are easier now, you shouldn't get your hopes up at something like the Virtual Console returning (as if the Expansion Pass nonsense didn't tell you that already). "However, Nintendo’s strength is in creating new video game experiences, so when we release new hardware in the future, we would like to showcase unique video games that could not be created with pre-existing hardware," Miyamoto concluded, which feels as good as saying 'yeah, sorry, no older games for you.'
It's a frustrating stance to take considering Nintendo's stance on the illegal distribution of its ROMs, without providing access to many legacy titles. At least Tears of the Kingdom looks pretty good, ey?