Nintendo showed a small handful of developers the new Switch 2 system during Gamescom 2023 and demoed some of its graphical abilities, sources told Eurogamer and a few other publications. While these sources didn’t say when Nintendo plans to launch the supposed new Nintendo Switch console, they did suggest the system is more powerful than some analysts previously suggested.
Eurogamer’s sources said Nintendo showed them a demo reel of the Switch launch game Breath of the Wild running at a higher resolution with smoother framerates. Nintendo often uses Zelda games as tech demos for hardware, and Eurogamer’s sources said there’s no indication Nintendo will re-release the game in some form.
From the sound of it, though, they might not have to. Some developers who reportedly viewed the Switch 2 presentations told Video Games Chronicle that Nintendo’s new console uses Nvidia’s DLSS for upscaling. DLSS is technology that takes a low-resolution image and reproduces it at higher resolutions, and developers can use it to improve performance and visuals even on less powerful hardware.
All current models of the Nintendo Switch have their resolution capped at 720p in handheld mode and 1080p in docked mode – or HD and Full HD, respectively.
VGC’s sources also said that Nintendo showcased The Matrix demo for PS5 and Xbox Series X running on the Switch 2, and it reportedly even had ray tracing features enabled. Ray tracing is an enhanced visual technique that results in more dynamic light effects, though it’s often implemented only on high-end PCs and current-gen game consoles.
Both sets of sources believe Nintendo plans to launch the Switch 2 in late 2024, though it may release earlier.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
