Digital Foundry offered its take on the latest rumors about the Nintendo Switch 2's technical performance.
Nintendo's upcoming console remains a mystery, with fans eagerly anticipating any morsel of information they can get.
With a release expected sometime in 2025 and an official reveal set to come before the end of Nintendo's fiscal year on March 31, it should not be too long before the Japanese tech giant pulls the curtain back on its next-generation main machine.
A Disappointing Switch 2 Update
According to a new report, fans should not get their hopes up for the Nintendo Switch 2 being a technical powerhouse.
Speaking on Digital Foundry Weekly (via Eurogamer), insider (and renowned tech expert) Richard Leadbetter dampened fan expectations about how powerful the Switch 2 will be.
Despite previous reports saying that the console would be on the PS4 Pro level, Leadbetter and his Digital Foundry co-hosts seem to think that will not happen.
This came days after the Switch 2's motherboard leaked online, revealing a slightly less powerful chipset than initially expected.
Leadbetter posited that because of the recently revealed info that the console's chipset will be produced by Samsung (based on an Nvidia design), it will start at an immediate technical disadvantage.
Leadbetter instead compared Nintendo's new gaming machine to the performance of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One rather than their Pro variants.
However, this will benefit from recent processing advancements, including super-sampling/AI upscaling tech like Nvidia's DLSS. This would allow the less-powerful console to use an internal software solution to upscale content and make it look and run better than it would without.
Leadbetter added that with some upscaling solution, the Switch 2 should still be expected to play current-gen titles at least 30 FPS and potentially output 4K resolution when in docked mode.
It is worth noting that these technical notes remain speculative, with few Switch 2 details having been revealed by Nintendo.
Will Switch 2 Be Underpowered?
For fans hoping that Nintendo would finally go toe-to-toe again with its competition, Xbox and PlayStation, that does not look like it will be the case.
The original Switch was underpowered when released, coming in significantly less technical than its (at the time) competition, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2020 deepened that technical chasm.
Nintendo has seemingly turned its back on competing with Microsoft and Sony regarding raw technical power, focusing on the software rather than the hardware.
Even if the Switch 2 is somewhat equivalent to the PS4/Xbox One, that might not be bad. Valve's beloved Steam Deck has previously been compared to both last-gen consoles in terms of power, meaning the Switch 2 will likely be competitive with the fan-favorite line of portable PCs.
Still, most triple-A titles are coming to PS4 and Xbox One, so the Switch 2 will likely be able to handle just about any modern tentpole release.
Upscaling technology like Nvidia's DLSS will make these A-list games look and play even better than they would on the PS4 and Xbox One. Gamers can do what they could not with those last-gen consoles: take those titles with them portably.
What those titles are remains to be seen, with a launch lineup not yet being revealed for the game. Still, recent rumors have included games like Elden Ring, Gotham Knights, and potentially Hades 2 (whenever it eventually is released).
The Nintendo Switch 2 has no publicly known release date but is rumored to be revealed sometime in January.
