After Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa hinted at the brand’s next gaming console reveal this fiscal year, speculation about its specifications has continued to increase.
A successor to the 2017 Nintendo Switch has been long awaited by fans, with many feeling that the handheld console has reached its limit in hardware capabilities.
This is evident with recent AAA releases such as Mortal Kombat 1, which struggled to perform to a good standard along with its poor visual quality.
With AMD and NVIDIA utilizing upscaling methods in FSR 3 and DLSS 3 for a plethora of recent titles, performance on PC and console platforms where applicable, are seeing significant improvements.
Recent handheld devices such as the ASUS ROG Ally, have seen huge benefits due to the addition of FSR 3 and Fluid Motion Frames.
It is clear to note that the Nintendo Switch 2 will take a huge leap over its predecessor. The rumored March 2025 release date and specifications suggest the new console will utilize a custom NVIDIA T239 chip, meaning DLSS 2 will be utilized.
This spells good news for Nintendo fans looking to get their hands on the highly anticipated handheld console, but the presence of NVIDIA’s DLSS may not perform in the same manner as gaming PCs.
How is DLSS expected to perform on the Nintendo Switch 2?
According to Digital Foundry, the Nintendo Switch 2 may only be able to provide players with 4K 30fps performance. This is supposedly due to DLSS at 4K on Switch 2, mostly being used for the frame time in-game, meaning performance would remain within the 30fps region.
While there is no doubt that this is a leap over the Nintendo Switch, it still falls behind what most NVIDIA users are accustomed to.
On gaming PCs and even the aforementioned handheld device from ASUS, DLSS and FSR upscaling methods are present to push performance to at least 60fps. This is the case with full-fledged desktop gaming PCs when attempting to game at 4K.
It appears as though a target of 1080p or 1440p using DLSS may be ideal for a 60fps target, as it has far less of a performance tax compared to 4K.
While this may come as a disappointment, fans may be reassured by the rumored specifications of the Switch 2, which will likely result in better quality graphics and performance in a plethora of new titles.
