Nintendo DS Games May Come to Nintendo Switch, Patent Suggests

A recent patent filed by Nintendo has sparked excitement within the retro gaming community, suggesting the company is actively developing ways to adapt Nintendo DS games for the Switch family of systems. The core challenge has always been the DS’s iconic dual-screen setup, a feature absent on the standard Switch.

The patent outlines several potential display modes to emulate this experience on a single screen. These could include a vertical split, a picture-in-picture option, or the ability to dynamically switch which screen is displayed prominently. This technical exploration indicates a serious interest in preserving and re-releasing this beloved segment of Nintendo’s portable history.

While a patent does not guarantee a final product, the feasibility is supported by the fact that DS games were previously available on the Wii U’s Virtual Console service. With the ongoing expansion of the Nintendo Switch Online classic libraries, the addition of DS titles seems like a logical and highly anticipated next step for Nintendo’s legacy content strategy.