An indie developer with extensive experience creating games for the original Nintendo Switch has offered compelling reasons why the brief glimpse of Mario Kart 9 strongly suggests the Switch 2 boasts significantly enhanced processing power.
Last week's unveiling of the Nintendo Switch 2 generated considerable excitement. However, Nintendo has remained notably tight-lipped regarding the console's technical capabilities. While upgrades like new Joy-Cons, a redesigned kickstand, and a larger form factor are evident, the Switch 2's raw power remains officially undisclosed.
But could the fleeting Mario Kart 9 footage from the reveal video offer clues? In a recent YouTube video (via GamesRadar), indie developer Jerrel Dulay of Sungrand Studios, a veteran who worked on titles for the Wii U and 3DS, shared his expert opinion, predicting the Switch 2 will be substantially more powerful than its predecessor. His intimate knowledge of Nintendo hardware lends significant weight to his analysis.
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Dulay argues that the Mario Kart 9 trailer showcases the Switch 2's potential. He highlights the use of "physically-based shaders" on vehicles and textures, enabling realistic reflections and lighting effects.
Late in 2023, Digital Foundry published a detailed report (link) on the Switch 2's purported hardware, including the Nvidia T239 ARM mobile chip. This chip is projected to have 1536 CUDA cores—capable of processing shaders—approximately 40% fewer than the desktop RTX 3050 GPU, but sharing the same 8nm Nvidia Ampere architecture. This aligns with Switch 2 motherboard leaks suggesting an 8nm chip.
The original Switch's Tegra X1 chip had only 256 CUDA cores, representing a 500% increase in CUDA core count alone for the Switch 2.
Dulay emphasizes that the extensive use of complex shaders in the Mario Kart 9 footage, along with material reflections and high-resolution ground textures, would have severely taxed the original Switch's hardware, potentially causing significant frame rate drops. He notes the high-resolution textures demand considerable RAM.
The original Switch had only 4GB of RAM; the Switch 2 is rumored to have 12GB, supported by motherboard leaks showing two 6GB SK Hynix LPDDR5 modules. While the RAM speed remains unknown, similar SK Hynix modules operate at up to 7500MHz, potentially offering a substantial increase in bandwidth compared to the original Switch's 1600MHz. This faster memory transfer rate, combined with the increased RAM capacity, would significantly accelerate texture loading. Dulay points out not only the high resolution but also the sheer number of unique textures used.
The trailer also demonstrates "true volumetric lighting," computationally intensive for any GPU. This effect accounts for distance and density, creating realistic light rays. Dulay believes the Switch 2's rendering of volumetric lighting, along with far-distance shadows (also computationally expensive), indicates significant processing power, crucial for maintaining a smooth 60 frames per second.
Furthermore, the high texture count, high-poly character models, and real-time cloth physics on the flagpoles collectively showcase a substantial leap in processing power compared to the original Switch.
While awaiting further details and footage, Dulay's analysis provides valuable insight into the Switch 2's potential graphical capabilities. Nintendo's planned April Direct should reveal more.
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