The Nintendo Switch was out of date on release, and the years haven’t done it any favors. Nintendo fans deserve a next-gen Switch Pro. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they’ll get one.
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Foreign Switch has a performance problem this Isn't news for switch fans or haters the Limitations of its humble Nvidia Tegra X1 chip were visible in early exclusives Like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 which ran at 720p docked yet sometimes dipped below 30 frames per second still the issues Were rarely distracting but today six Years after the switch's release the Cracks visible at launch have widened Into gaping fissures sometimes literally IGN's Rebecca Valentine saw this first Hand while reviewing Pokemon scarlet and Violet these games run like garbage There are also tons of bizarre model Clipping issues and the camera sometimes Gets stuck at an odd angle and shows an Empty void on half the screen the issues Are too numerous to detail here but easy To summarize they're bad so bad they Sour what should be a refreshing open World spin on game freak's usual Pokemon Formula Pokemon scarlet and violet are Singularly terrible examples of how Modern switch games perform but they're Not the only games that struggle Bayonetta 3 ambitiously targets 60 FPS But fall short with many detours to 45 FPS and below the switch Port of Sonic Frontiers is drastically scaled back Running at or slightly below 30 FPS and Suffering major object popping besides
Which Outlets like digital Foundry made Very clear in their tech review some Publishers such as Square Enix have Given up on real switch ports of Graphically demanding games like Kingdom Hearts 3 instead releasing Cloud Versions that stream the game from a Remote server it's not all bad news Splatoon 3 achieves a stable 60 frames Per second in gameplay though the city Sections are in 30fps and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 runs at a much more stable 30 FPS than its predecessor yet these Improvements are small Comfort to switch Fans hoping for ports of Eldon ring or Call of Duty Modern Warfare two these Games along with many others released on The PlayStation 5 and Xbox series X are Unlikely to ever see a switch release The gap between the switch's Capabilities and that of its competitors Is too wide for most developers to Bridge it's a problem but not a surprise The Nintendo switch is six years old the Nvidia Tegra X1 chip that powers it is Even older it was first released in 2015 Meaning it was already a bit out of date When Nintendo released the switch a 2019 Chip revision improved efficiency Boosting the battery life of the new Switch consoles but performance was Unchanged the switches lackluster Performance might be a contributor to Slowing sales though a hit for Nintendo
With over 114 million consoles sold so Far switch sales have lost steam in the Past year and in the US the PlayStation 5 has outpaced the switch in recent Months Nintendo blames this on Production not demand but that Explanation feels incomplete with switch Consoles routinely in stock at Major Retailers Declining sales of switch Hardware Contrasts with its continuing dominance In software Pokemon scarlet and violet Sold 10 million copies in their first Few days according to npd's latest October report six out of the 20 Best-selling games in the US were switch Exclusives including near automata which Landed its spot because of a new Switch Release Gamers want to play switch Exclusive we just prefer to do it on Better Hardware so what might a switch Pro deliver well the most obvious Improvements would be in resolution and Frame rate first the bad news a switch Pro will struggle to handle 4K at 30 FPS Never mind 60 FPS yet the current switch Is so far behind the curve that more Meager improvements will seem impressive The most ambitious switch games are Running at 720p to 900p resolution in Dock mode and despite that many also Stick to 30 FPS a consistent 1080p at 60fps would feel field it'll feel like a Win a switch Pro could also support
Technology the current model doesn't Such as HDR and adaptive sync the latter Could be especially useful if Implemented well adaptive sync would Smooth out minor detours below 60fps Making such dips imperceptible to Players and don't forget machine Learning Nvidia dlss2 uses neural Rendering to upscale games with Incredible results Nvidia dlss3 can even Insert new AI generated frames Dlss3's performance mode can use AI to Generate up to seven out of every 8 Pixels visible in a 4K image which in a Best case scenario can improve Performance by up to five times over Native rendering it's a great fit for a Power constrained device like the new Nintendo switch in theory at least Gamers want an upgrade and Nintendo Needs to boost sagging Hardware Sales Surely a switch Pro is on the cusp of Announcement right Maybe not switch fans are all too Familiar with hopeful rumors the switch Pro was about to arrive in 2019 and then In 2020 and then in 2021 these rumors Were put to rest by the Nintendo switch OLED which arrived last year with a Gorgeous new screen and the same old Silicon I wasn't surprised by this move For a simple reason it was never clear What exactly would power this so-called Switch Pro the switch's unique hybrid
Design binds it to a much lower power Target than the hardware in competing Consoles which means the designs found In other consoles as well as gaming Laptops won't work for switch the Situation is complicated by nvidia's Decision to shift gears on Tegra it Originally launched to compete in Consumer devices with armed Market Leaders like Qualcomm the first Tegra-powered product was the Microsoft Zune HD but it's stalled so Nvidia Switched tactics the lineage is now Referenced by names like Xavier and Oren And focuses on automotive industrial and Robotics with an emphasis on machine Learning these new Chips which Target a Broader range of power consumption and Offer significant IO connectivity or a Less obvious fit for a portable game Console now that's not to say it can't Happen the least powerful Nvidia Jetson Nano and Jetson or Nano chips Target a Thermal design power from 5 to 15 watts Which is suitable for the switch the Most recent switch Pro rumors lean on a Customized chip codenamed t239 the T is For Tegra based off nvido's Oren this Feels plausible the cost die size and Power draw of the chip all look on Target a variant of Oren Nano could Probably handle 1080p at 60fps albeit in More graphically modest games it also Has the potential to add features
Nintendo fans crave including HDR Adaptive sync dlss and Ray tracing Custom chips take time however the more Customization needed the more time Required if the rumors surrounding the T239 proved true Nintendo and Nvidia Started working on it around Mid-2021 the first reference of it Appeared on Twitter in June of last year But these leaks only involve apis and Linux kernel updates which is much less Convincing than prototype Hardware Leaked plans for chip production or die Shots Nintendo's president shuntaro Furukawa has also gone on record saying There will be no new Hardware in the Company's current fiscal year which Continues until April of 2023. it's Possible that Nintendo and Nvidia are Keeping secrets and will surprise launch A switch Pro in summer of 2023 but that Would be an aggressive timeline for a Switch sequel that's not officially Announced or even hinted belief in such Miracles requires an unhealthy dose of Hopium so buckle up Nintendo fans it Looks like we have at least another year Of questionable switch performance to Struggle through
