Nintendo’s big reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 was the talk of the town yesterday, but they kept mum about the technical details of its new chip. However, we’ve now got a bit more insight, thanks to Nvidia—a key player in crafting the custom system-on-a-chip for this device. They decided to share some snippets of information on their blog.
During a developer roundtable, the Switch 2’s technical director, Tetsuya Sasaki, noted, “Nintendo usually doesn’t dive too deep into hardware specs. Our main goal is to focus on delivering value to our users.” True to form, Nvidia has mirrored Nintendo’s approach, not delving into specifics like core counts or clock speeds. Yet, they have made a bold claim: the new chip provides “10 times the graphics performance of the original Nintendo Switch.”
Excitingly, the chip’s RT cores will handle hardware ray tracing, including complex lighting and reflections. Meanwhile, the tensor cores are set to drive DLSS upscaling. This is probably how the Switch 2 will push up to 4K resolution when docked and achieve up to 120 frames per second in handheld mode.
Nvidia also confirmed that these tensor cores facilitate AI features like face tracking and background removal. These features were highlighted in the new social GameChat function and during hands-on sessions with upcoming titles like Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV. It’s yet to be clarified if this is leveraging similar technology found in Nvidia Broadcast on PCs.
In another exciting development, Nvidia stated that the variable refresh rate (VRR) display in the Switch 2’s handheld mode will be powered by G-Sync, offering a smoother gaming experience without screen tearing.
If you recall, Nvidia was also behind the first Nintendo Switch, which featured a custom Tegra X1 chip. Despite it being slightly dated at launch, Nintendo’s ability to wring every ounce of performance from it was remarkable, with games still rolling out eight years later.
As we countdown to the Switch 2’s release on June 5, priced at $449.99, the gaming community is eager to see how developers will harness the capabilities of this new chip. It’s set to be an exciting new era for Switch fans and gaming enthusiasts alike!
