Video: Performance Over Resolution - Digital Foundry Tackles Super Mario Odyssey

I think there's zero chance this won't be 900 or 1080p by October. No way would Nintendo risk this gem losing any buzz. This is a second coming system seller.

Performance obviously. 60 fps all the way.
Strange that they can't achieve 1080p in docked mode, though, since it gain more bandwitch and more processing power.

InB4 Eire claiming this is a port because Jumpman was in arcades 25+ years ago

If they can't offer a rock solid 1080/60 docked, drop the resolution first. I'd rather not die or miss a jump due to harsh FPS spikes. Definitely happened a few times in BotW (on WiiU.)

How pathetic is this? Like seriously??? Xbox and PS gamers relax and take a solid 1080p 60fps for granted while we sit like ducks hoping for such resolutions and framerates? This isn't good at all. Nintendo should keep ALL games at 1080p 60fps docked and 720p 60fps undocked. Plain and simple.

I don't see why this can't be 1080p and 60fps when it's complete.

@Yasaal there are several reasons why it cant be 1080p60fps. And I bet you don't follow the other platforms either considering that both the PS4 and Xbox One have numerous games that don't hit 1080p or 60fps.

I think it will hit 1080 60fps when the game launches. Since there is still a while left, it will be optimized. Ninty showed it in its most fluid state at E3, at least I think they did to make a good impression. Let's just wait and see. Cheers!!

@Yasaal Umm... do they? Xbox One certainly struggles to even reach 1080, let alone 60fps. Sony maybe better at reaching it but first party games like Uncharted is only 30fps.

@Yasaal a lot of games run 30fps on those, original XBOX One's constantly ran at 900p and currently owning the Playstation Pro is the only way to get 1080p 60fps consistently. Nintendo's Switch while VERY impressive for a handheld, lacks a lot of power.

So be grateful for what you're getting.

I've played 4K games a lot, Wipeout Omega is 4K, 60fps AND has HDR and BOTW comes close to how beautiful it looks.

Honestly HDR is the real thing Switch needed, you would be astonished at the difference it can make.

Both ARMS and Splatoon 2 were 720p60 when first showed off, and now we know both are/will be 1080p60 when docked. I am sure Nintendo will bump the resolution for Odyssey, as they did for the others.

Pretty sure resolution will see a bump before release, like Splatoon 2 going from 720p/60 a few months ago to 1080p/60 now. Either way its reassuring to see a solid framerate this far out.

@Yasaal " Xbox and PS gamers relax and take a solid 1080p 60fps"

It's clear you don't follow this topic. Not even the PS4 PRO can run AAA games in 1080p60, with The Surge being the only exception. The pattern for AAA multiplats is 1080p30 on the PS4 and 900p30 on the XONE.

@Yasaal xbox one you will struggle find a lot of games running at 1080p 60fps even exclusives

Honestly any resolution looks like crap when you put your eye next to the screen, even 1080 looks pretty bad up close but when you're sitting back on your sofa you can't even notice the difference really. What your eye notices is frame rate, which I'm glad is pretty stable.

@Yasaal As a PS4 Pro owner, I'll bite. Far from everything on PS4 is 60 fps, not even on the Ps4 Pro.

Meh I honestly doubt the Rez won't be bumped. Unless there is some hidden performance intensive additions to the game. With that being said a steady performance seems to be a loss art nowadays. Happy to see Nintendo do what it does best.

@Anguspuss @Sinton @Jayvir @FragRed @PAHTK @AlternateButtons @PhoenixStar8765 Ah well my bad for not realising that. But that doesn't let Nintendo off the hook. Even if 1080p 60fps isn't maintained by Sony and Microsoft they at least get close. Or if not, the engine makes up for it. Nintendo should really be trying to make 1080p 60fps the standard in all their games. Just equalling Sony and Microsoft won't be enough. The Wii U proved that games that only 'look colorful with mediocre graphics' aren't the norm. Now I liked the Wii U but this is inexcusable for both consoles. I'm perfectly fine with even 900p 60fps but if Nintendo wants the Switch to be a huge success, it absolutely has to work on upscaling the res and framerate too. Or else they'll end up with a Wii X on their hands (bad joke, my bad)

@Yasaal The problem with you arguement is that you seem to be saying the Switch, Xbox one, and Ps4 are equal. And we all know they aren't so why would you expect Nintendo to do better with less resources? Nintendo doesn't care about graphics it cares about gameplay, that's been established for awhile now. And if you don't like it Nintendo just isn't for you, as I honestly don't see them changing it up. Especially since the Switch could be a mega hit with stock.

I'd take 60fps over 1080p any day. However, let's hope they reach 1080p when docked by release time. It won't be such an issue on a HD display, but I'd imagine it wouldn't look great on a 4K TV. Either way, I'd still take 60fps over resolution.

@yasaal there is so many things wrong with what you said. PS4 and Xbox One have both struggled to maintain 1080p with stable frame rates since their launch. Most games upscale or stick with 30 FPS to compensate. The truth of the matter is that this generation of consoles is not well equipped to have games outputting 1080p 60 FPS, or even more taxing when you put the resolution at 4K. Xbox One X should be able to handle it theoretically but all current consoles have been struggling to do this not just Switch.

@GravyThief it doesn't matter if it's an HD display or a 4K display. The size of the tv would come into play. Not the specs. 720p becomes more noticeable the larger your tv is.

@Nintendoforlife I'm not trying to prove that they are equal neither do I think so. It's just that the Switch is capable of producing games that are 1080p 60fps yet Nintendo keeps away from doing so. Yes, you're absolutely right in saying that Nintendo focuses on gameplay more than graphics. It is true too, because games wouldn't be fun otherwise. But few people think that, and if Nintendo needs anything, it's sales, so they'll really have to work up on the res and framerate if they really wanna succeed. All this talk about stock is good to hear, but Nintendo ought to think beyond that. I want Nintendo to succeed but I don't wanna paint their errors as right too.

@Yasaal Most games actually don't run 1080p/60 on both Xbox one and PS4. It's mostly 1080p/30 on PS4 and 900p/30 on Xbox one. Theres nothing wrong with being mad at them running it at 720p/60fps but try to get your facts straight.

Awesome game, 60fps, looks like it’s going to be a blast to play and I can take it anywhere with me, but it’s only 720p? My PS4 Pro can display a solid white screen at 4k, 60fps, so this game sucks…derp. For those of you who have an impairment, that was sarcasm.

@Yasaal you clearly have no understanding of the current consoles or their capabilities. Xbox and PS4 have frame dips when trying to push graphically intense games to 1080p. It is extremely rare that a game is a rock solid 60 FPS at 1080p unless it's a less demanding game. When you look at the average of actual accomplishments Nintendo leads the way if you ask me. Splatoon 2 looks amazing considering it's 1080p 60 FPS. Same with Mario Kart 8. BOTW is one of the only games I can think of in recent memory that Nintendo had frame issues with and when you look at the scale of the world it's not hard to see why. Stop trolling. Nintendo needs to keep doing exactly what they're doing, refining and polishing their games with the perfect balance of gameplay and graphics.

@PAHTK this 100 times. I'd take HDR over 4k every time (sadly you can't)

@Snakesglowcaps Point noted. But the console is specifically made for handling 1080p 60fps. 'But Xbox and PS4 are also made for that' I hear you say. True, very true especially because Switch is not a direct competitor to them. But why underscale your game? (Just talking about Nintendo here). If you made a console that can run 1080p 60fps then do it! This goes to all three companies but I direct it towards Nintendo more than the others because Nintendo has a console to fix. Sony and Microsoft are better off because they don't have to better anything because their previous console wasn't the Wii U. Not hating.

@Yasaal The Switch is a portable console, unlike Xbox One and PlayStation, so it makes sense that 1080 60 fps is hard to achieve. And frankly, I am glad they went for fps over frame rate, so I have no complaints.

It' s alright! I'll take 60fps over high res in this kind of game...but I do think they will bump up the resolution because it's not open world and they can optimise a lot.

@Yasaal Most of the games on those two systems do not achieve 1080p 60fps, and they're big boxes with big power supplies. Do you really expect something the size of a large phone to be equivalent? For something that you can play anywhere it's truly amazing.

@Yasaal The Switch was built to be portable, not to be 1080 60 fps. Not sure where you got that idea.

@Yasaal I think what they need is less consumers like you. You have zero facts to back up what you're saying and you're a graphics whore plain and simple. Xbox One and PS4 do not consistently output games at 1080p 60FPS or even at 30 FPS for that matter. It took a whole different console cycle to even come close which is the PS4 pro and Xbox One X. So are you saying Nintendo needs to now compete with the next level premium consoles as well? The ones that ripped off their consumers because they couldn't even keep their own promise of 1080p?

1080p or 720p doesn't really matter for me since I will use my Switch in Handheld mode a lot.

@Moneyjaypr7 Well it is true that I didn't get my facts right earlier now I do know. And my say is that Nintendo has to try and put their best efforts in getting it to that level so that more people get attracted and buy it. And I'm not talking about Nintendo fans here, but about the wider market. Like I said before Nintendo has a console and a reputation to fix not Sony and Microsoft. And maximising framerate and resolutions are one of the effective methods of fixing it.

@Yasaal once again that doesn't make sense. Xbox One and PS4 are not even capable of outputting those frame rates or resolutions. And they haven't been. Switch is a portable. So if anything they actually have an excuse not to but still somehow are. You are hating. And trolling. Just stop.

@Yasaal ...and the Switch can do some games at 1080p, 60fps. That doesn't mean that it can do everything at that rez/fps. If you don't understand that, then you simply don't understand how the technology in any computer, phone, tablet or game system works.

@Snakesglowcaps I don't think he's trolling.

@Yasaal Now this can't be confirmed because I'm not developing the game but they aren't underscaling the game because they want too. There vision was 60fps and as of right now during development, 720p docked is the only way they can hit 60fps. They still have 4 months to iron out all the problems but in the end there goal is 60fps first. Performance over resolution. Some people hate this while others rather have this. Nothing wrong with either just keep in mind that it seems the developer is going for performance over resolution.

@Yasaal Because it's so easy to take the games that the PS4/Xbox One can achieve 1080p/60fps with you in handheld form.

Steady framerate matters more than 60, IMO. Uncharted 4 is locked at 30 fps and looks incredible. Same with Horizon Zero Dawn.

That said, I would definitely always choose smooth frame rate over resolution.

@Snakesglowcaps Me? A graphics whore? XD I'm anything but that. I'm a staunch supporter of the Wii and even the Wii U, own both consoles and engage in console war debates everywherez trying to make Nintendo the better console. And if you didn't know the Xbox is capable of producing it but doesn't. I'm trying to say that the Switch has to use it's hardware to its maximum potential in order to appeal to the other people. I'm perfectly fine with my Switch, I'm just talking about the other people because I personally want Nintendo to succeed and sadly this is one way to fix that.

@Amsterdamsters @TheSpeedyMouse I was talking about the Switch in docked mode, where these things can be upscaled.

@Amsterdamsters True, but currently the amount of games that can output it to that point are low, which should increase. Other than that, you were talking about a large phones capabilities, yes I know that the Switch can't obviously handle that at handheld which is why I was talking about it in handheld mode where in it could possibly happen if Nintendo put in the effort.

720p 60fps I'm happy

1080p 60fps it's a nice bonus.

720p 30fps boooooooooooo no

@Moneyjaypr7 Well said. Performance is definitely what Nintendo should be targeting instead of resolution. And it's pretty noticeable that Nintendo is following that ideology. I just hope that they try to improve the resolution somehow. I'm okay with 900p 60fps though it'll be a bit bad that it couldn't hit 1080p 60fps.

Splatoon 2's docked resolution was upgraded to 1080p after the 720p testfire, so I hope the same happens with Mario Odyssey.

720p is fine for me IMO as I play mostly undocked, but it would be nicer if the game was 1080p when docked.

1080p, they have enough time to reach that goal.

@Snakesglowcaps I'm not a troll. That's all I can tell you. I support Nintendo in almost everything but not if they're wrong at a point. I'm just not that kind of fanboy who'll defend Nintendo even if they're wrong. Nintendo is a company. They make mistakes. And consumers point out those mistakes and faults and suggest ways to improve. That's all I'm doing.

"Of course, the broader question is whether framerate or image quality matters more - when it comes to Nintendo games, "

It's only a question because Nintendo forces people to ask it, by gimping their hardware specs every generation.

@gatorboi352 Except every other console on the market can't run AAA games at 1080p 60p 🤔

I'm betting on 900 or even 1080p by release achieved by using dynamic resolution like BOTW.

@Nintendoforlife Have you not played a PS4 Pro? Also, Scorpio will achieve this in the Fall as well.

EDIT: FWIW, just so we're discussing apple to apples here, both those consoles mentioned above would run Odyssey @ 4K 60fps

I think Nintendo is going to try their hardest to deliver us a great fun game. That's all I expect. They can put it into whatever resolution they wish. I expect they're bringing their best to their flagship game.

@gatorboi352 The question is have you played the PS4 Pro? The pro or Xbox One are both not capable of doing so. They will either run at 1080P 30FPS or 900 60FPS for major AAA games. As for the Scorpio: http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/14/e3-2017-bungie-confirms-destiny-2-is-30-fps-on-xbox-one-x

@Yasaal

Or maybe have some flipping patience and wait to see what the final build is like?

Damn kids...

@Nintendoforlife that's weird, because this very article is stating that Odyssey is confirmed 720p. I guess that's set in stone also huh?

Who cares! DF always focus on frame rate they should stick to PS4, Pro, Xbox One/X and leave Nintendo alone while we just enjoy and play the games for the reason they were made - fun!

@Dakt And Bomberman looks fine in handheld mode!

@gatorboi352 Except one is making a claim based off the analyzation of a demo version of the game. And one is "confirmed" directly from the Design director of the game. But yeah you're right no difference...............

It seems clear to me that they start production on these titles at 720p for handheld, and then just work their way up. This way it's easy to release demos or builds.

@Yasaal fine you're not a graphics whore or a troll but you're definitely talking out of your ass. Xbox One hits a nice balance as far as compromises. 900p at 30 FPS is reasonable. PS4 has made continuous claims at being the most powerful console so it pushes 1080p 30 FPS even when it shouldn't. I rarely play my PS4 because I can not stand frame hiccups and drops. Takes me right out of the game. Sometimes PS4 is the better platform for example Resident Evil 7 was much smoother and crisp on PS4 but mostly because Xbox one pushed 1080p when it should have with a drop down to 720p when in outdoor areas. The swap was rather jarring. Now that being said you need to accept that Xbox One and PS4 are not capable of delivering 1080p visuals with 30fps on most AAA titles. Only on the less demanding ones. I love what Nintendo does with their visuals. Arms looks great and runs at 1080p 60 as far as I'm aware. Splatoon 2 1080p 60fps and Mario Kart 8 60fps 1080p. They design their own 1st party titles from the ground up for their console. It's not developed by an outside company. In that regard Nintendo will always have an advantage. Even games that really sell the PS4 like Horizon and Uncharted have the occasional frame drop or hiccup. Nintendo sacrifices detail and life like environments for an art style that allows for 1080 60 FPS without compromising what they aimed to do. I will never have a problem with that.

@Dakt Just the online play is.

@abe_hikura could you just imagine a dragon flying accross a blood moon while it rained in BOTW in HDR? 😍😍😍

@gatorboi352 Utter nonsense. Have you not noticed how the games that actually do support the PS4 Pro almost always require you to literally choose between a higher resolution or a higher/smoother framerate?

Then you want to compare fruits? Like in the sense that PS4s and XB1s are apples that you can only eat at home? Come on now. It's all a matter of how hardware is utilized and you I imagine you know that, so why pick this moment to fall on your sword? I don't get it.

Bottom line is Switch has Super Mario Odysessy and can run it in your lap. Those consoles don't, and can't.

@gatorboi352 Don't you mean Checkerboard 2k 30 fps with Dynamic Resolution.

Don't kid yourself The X.B.O.X will not run at True 4K 60fps unless it's Indies or Racing Games

I don't really get why people - even Nintendo themselves - always cite Mario 64 and Sunshine as the exploration/open world predecessors of Odyssey.
Sure, Galaxy 1 & 2 levels were a little bit more linear, but most of the time you could go back to previous planets. You weren't running around in one vast world with one connected ground per level, but everything felt like a vast connected world in every level. If anything, Mario Galaxy felt more open world to me as any of the other games because you never encountered any borders.

I also don't get the obsession with 60fps. Sure, it's nice-to-have, but almost every human being won't be able to see the difference between - let's say - 50 and 60fps.
Granted, there are (very) few people able to see flickering with 60fps and some trained(!) pilots are said to be able to spot 1/255th of a frame. But these are rare exceptions.
Our bodies, our minds and our DNA all are different in various ways, every human being has some other kind of mutation that might give them heightened abilities (or weaknesses) in some very specific area.
Just like some people are audiophile and some people immediately get sick when watching something in 3D or VR, some people can see every single frame in 60fps or less.
But that doesn't mean every game has to be catered to everyone - in fact, almost all games ignore these kind of special abilities/weaknesses.

When I play games on PC, I tend to set the graphics as high as possible while achieving a framerate of 30-40fps. Anything above 42-45fps and I can't tell the difference. And I doubt that many people (except for a chosen few, as mentioned before) can do either.

So I don't really get the obsession with 60fps when 50fps (with 1080p) would totally suffice.
Heck, they could even claim it's 60fps and (almost) everyone would believe it! Because it has more to do with psychology than perception, I think.

@samuelvictor lol. I still play Mario 64 too and that's 25 fps 240p but still my favourite 3d Mario

@ACK I believe this is the first time ever someone has been able to shut him up.

All the people up on Arms.... come on, guys, this is a demo made from a months old build. Splatoon was the same and it's final release is 1080p with solid 60fps.
Odyssey will probably be the same exact thing. I like DF's analysis, but this time it would have been better that they didn't do it. They gave bait to the trolls!

I fully expected the "Switch too weak to run Mario in 1080p 60 fps, checkboard 4k 30fps on ps4pro xboxonex ftw" crowd to pop up, and I was not disappointed.

The Switch should output native 8K minimum at a rock solid 360fps and also dispense cola on demand without the need for refills, ever.

It's frankly pathetic that Nintendo refusing to do this. It they want to compete with the other consoles, they need to not only equal them, but outperform them. As far as I know, no other console dispenses unlimited supplies of cola, so it's basically an open goal for Nintendo. But they're not taking it.

As a long time fan, it really frustrates me to see them letting themselves down as well as the wider gaming community. Frankly, we deserve better.

I'm working on a petition for the cola thing. They could probably just patch the feature in overnight if they wanted to. I mean, why should we support a company when it doesn't support us with cola? They're taking our support for granted, and I urge all other real gamers to boycott the company until this simple demand has been met.

@shani
The Galaxy games were very linear. Sure, they were some "open" areas that may involve collecting the 5 parts of a Power Star/Launch Star in any order, but most of the time, you couldn't ignore the main objective and walk somewhere else to pursue another objective(s) like you can in Mario 64/Sunshine/Odyssey.

This is basically a (semi) open world game running at 60fps. Say what you want about the visuals, but it's not often that you get games with large spaces like this running at 60fps on consoles.

@Maxz See. Here we are again. People prioritising cola over toast. How many more people would buy a Switch if you could actually put more than one slice of toast to toast in the dock? Yes, the fact that it supports one slice is already impressive, but if they cut the resolution in half, they could offer support for two slices, which no other console can do. This would mean that Nintendo is competing with PC in a way that consoles never do! Even a PC with a GTX 1080 Ti can't manage more than 5 slices of bread, and even then it only has support for toasting bread rather than toast. And yet all you want is cola. You're obviously not a real gamer.

@Snakesglowcaps Point noted. I'd like to see Nintendo thrive once again in the power wars again though. It's depressing to see Nintendo bring out the weakest console time and again. What if Nintendo made a console that was strong in terms of computing power and if that were true then Nintendo's 3rd party problems would vanish. Now that damage is done, Nintendo have shown their stubborn side again by making a weak console while giving the excuse that it isn't a direct competitor. To still stay in the race, Nintendo would have to work harder than Sony and Microsoft and try even harder to maintain higher framerate and resolution. Like you said, framerate drops are irritating and Nintendo is guilty too of said drops (take Zelda for example) with drops that make you wanna bang your head on the wall. I can compromise with minor drops but those Korok Forest frame drops have GOT TO GO. What I'm saying is that Nintendo should try to avoid that by upscaling the resolution and thus avoid these problems, at least in docked mode. I don't use the Switch for handheld anyway and on a more important note it isn't so important to improve the resolution and framerate in handheld mode.

@EVIL-C Lol read my above comments and you'll get what I'm saying. There's no guarantee that the graphics will improve. Splatoon 2 is not enough of an example.

@westman98 Well yeah, but was there ever really a point to do 'exploration' in Mario 64 (gotta admit, haven't really played Sunshine that much)?
Don't get me wrong, it's one of my all-time favourite games (and I still love it), but I always felt like you couldn't do anything else in Mario 64 but follow the objective.
Jumping from one planet to the other certainly felt more free and explorative to me than running around in those confined Mario 64 levels.

I mean, in Galaxy 2 you had the green stars too, so you were actually free to ignore the main objective (yellow stars) and really explore the levels in search of the green stars.

I still get why Mario 64 and Sunshine are used as open world examples over Galaxy from a software development perspective, but as a player it was the opposite for me.

What we saw in E3 was just a demo. They still have a few months to polish it.

I realize it's a "hybrid system"... but Nintendo markets it as a home console and it should play games at 1080/60, because it's 2017 and that's what most TVs display. I really hope Odyssey is 1080p when it releases.

@Yasaal "What if Nintendo made a console that was strong in terms of computing power and if that were true then Nintendo's 3rd party problems would vanish"

Not likely. The 3rd party issues are a lot more complicated than simply "not being powerful enough." Put yourself in the position of a decision maker at, say, Activision. You're spending...I don't know.....$120,000,000 on a new game. You have to tune it for PC in all the configurations. You ahve to go through XBox licensing and approval and distribution. You have to go through Sony licensing and distribution. So now, Nintendo has a very similar box. Your teams are working at 120% capacity on overtime with the other 3. Nintendo's customers have traditionally not been big purchasers of the genre of your new game. Adding support for Nintendo would add another, say $900,000-1,200,000 to the budget and divide the teams attentions, possibly causing delay. Worse, on Nintendo's platform a new Mario game is coming out the same month....a competition you don't have to worry about on the other 3.

Will you spend the money on bringing your game to Nintendo?

Ultimately there's no reason for a publisher to add another platform to play the game on for the platform likely to yield the lowest sales and face increased competition against the only publisher bigger than yourself. If they had their preference they'd get rid of one of the existing ones and have only 2 to worry about. They're very comfortable with the status quo and have very little interest or desire in changing it. Magically making a powerful machine would not likely change their 3rd party fortunes, but will differentiate themselves less from the other two.

It's not by accident they stay out of the graphics arms race. It was the explicit advice of the late Gunpei Yokoi back in the 90's, which he explained well in his book . So far, it's been working out pretty well with WiiU being the lone exception that was a failure (the GameCube failed but was their final attempt at entering the arms race....)

@Anguspuss It has exclusives?

@Yasaal You can only do so much with hardware, for example a N64 cannot and will not ever hit 1080p 60fps. Just because the Switch can produce an image of 1080p and have 60fps, does not mean that it will have that for all games.

Oh, I am SO not going to enter the maelstrom that is this discussion... I know who I think is right and who is not however...

Eh, no biggy. I care a lot more about the framerate than the resolution, and, if the Wii U is any indication, the game will look glorious either way.

Just like Splatoon 2 was 720p when it was first shown off, Mario Odyssey will be 1080p when it comes out. Don't understand why there's a big freakout over it.

@NEStalgia
I don't buy 3rd party games for Nintendo systems because I have a PS4 and XboxOne. Why would I pay for an inferior version? 99% of the time I'm playing at home, so portability isn't that much of a factor. If a game was slightly better for the Switch, I would buy the Switch version. On top of that, Nintendo's online is about a decade behind the times. As much as I love Nintendo, I'm not using my phone to play with my friends online. Sure, some fans will buy into whatever Nintendo does (Nintendo could make them a dog crap sandwich and they would say it's great).

As far as Mario Odyssey, I'm sure Nintendo will do an incredible job and get the most out of the hardware. When the specs for Switch was released, we all knew it wasn't on par with the current systems. It is what it is.

@shani
You had to beat the entire game (i.e. collect the 120 Yellow Stars) in order to have access to the Green Stars in Galaxy 2. The game wasn't ever designed in a way such that the objective was to find the Green Stars; Nintendo just placed the Green Stars in random and hard to reach areas of each level for hardcore completionists to find.

Jumping around planets felt awesome, and I hope we see a Mario Galaxy 3 on the Switch if Nintendo feels like the Switch deserves a second 3D platformer. Still, the Galaxy games are not very open-ended like Odyssey is. Each mission is very linear, with the occasional secret Power Star in some of the missions.

I don't understand this 'performance over resolution' backhanded compliments. Of course performance over resolution. Always performance over resolution. Not like said resolution is 240p or the like. 720p is entirely satisfactory.

Aaaahahhhahaha I'm totally obsessed with FPS and big numbers even if I don't actually understand how they work or what it means to me in game!
Lol sorry @Yassaal I know you taken a lot but come on now!
There was some frame rate drops in zelda. Ultimately didn't affect my game.

@Yasaal actually there are a lot of Xbox One/PS4 games that won't run at 1080p. And even more of these games won't run at 60fps.

Honestly, the game looks really jaggied. They can push It , even If It means not locking to 60 fps

@Yasaal At the end of the day, FPS and Resolution doesn't sell consoles... The games do. So maybe you should just concentrate on that like Nintendo is doing. So far it's been working because Nintendo has had one of the best console launches in a long time and if you also haven't noticed, since it seems you don't notice much, the Switch has been sold out since it's release.

@WOLF1313 so you can play them portable DUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

@djtwenty9
Intelligent response. But before you respond next time you might want to read my post.

@westman98 Oh you're right, totally forgot about that with the Green Stars. I really enjoyed finding them though, probably more than the regular ones.
I really loved Galaxy 2, I think it's even my favourite 3D Mario (and I like all of them, except for Mario 3D World). Would be glad to see that specific series being continued. So I totally second you on the second 3D platformer for the Switch!

Looks great.

Even Zelda hit 900p/720. And both Splatoon 2 and Arms are 1080p/720p despite being 720p/720p for their respective demos.

This game will definitely be 1080p/720p at launch. At the very least, 900p/720p.

Well it doesn't seem to be a game which demands much hardware. BotW is a much more complex game and it is 720p. So I bet Odyssey will hit the 1080p 60.

I don't really care about resolution for a Mario game like this.

Going from 720p to 1080p is almost double the raw pixel output, so it might take some tweaking, but I'm sure they have predominantly been occupied so far with hitting 720/60 for the undocked version.

@Yasaal Umm - exactly where do xbox (let alone PS4 gamers get 60fps with 1080p... games on Xbox One are generally 900p and DO NOT normally run 60p.. there are some, but not normal. 30p is standard for many of them.

PS4 pro does not do many games at checkerboard 4K but even still only 'some games run faster than 30fps.

.. And for the millionth time - you're getting a handheld as well.. it's 10 times smaller than a PS4... what do you want LOL.

@Yasaal Simply addding more power won't make Nintendo's third party problems go away. So far with Switch they have done a good job of learning from Wii U's mistakes and have secured a good amount of support among Japanese devs. It's mainly the western developers they have problems with mainly cause they either don't care for the Nintendo audience or are firmly in bed with Sony and MS.

BoTWs issues were less with hardware and more due to optimization issues. They released a patch not to long ago that helped improve the performance

I don't know where people get the idea that the NS somehow attains more processing power when it's docked... the dock has almost no hardware in it at all, it simply provides connectors for the NS. The only significant benefit to docking is to let the console know that it can max itself out, since it is connected to a sustained power source. The NS is coded to underclock and weaken itself when it's using battery power.

Well, too bad we won't have Cemu to bring this one up to 4K/60 FPS eventually. Or even a consistent 1080p/60 FPS, it seems. Oh well, attaining only 720p instead of 1080p isn't a problem on the small screen. It only really looks long in the tooth on the big screen.

Ultimately, it's more important to have good shaders and anti-aliasing with high minimum frames instead of high top frames, regardless of resolution. Just make sure that the city doesn't get bogged down. It was embarrassing enough for the Korok Forest to make mincemeat of a brand new console, optimization or no.

@Yasaal Well, do you want to pay $500 for an NS with a Pascal based Tegra chip? The price of an XB1X? Because that would be about the only way to get significantly better performance at the moment. Newer mobile GPU's are expensive. You want more, you have to pay a premium. Especially since Nintendo would be competing with Tesla vehicles for the chips. The current Maxwell chips are about as good as it gets for affordable mobile GPU's.

And about this?

"...I don't use the Switch for handheld anyway..."

I think you may have bought the wrong device.

Yet Crash looks worse than SMO and is 1080p but only 30fps so people really need to shut up about 720p...Plus Nintendo WILL boost the resolution

@PlywoodStick 500 would be a pipe dream for that. Bigger cooling solution too!

@NEStalgia If Nintendo got a good deal from NVIDIA, an extra $200 for that type of SKU could be feasible by next year. Pascal is significantly more energy efficient than Maxwell, and it doesn't run that much hotter. Maybe a few degrees celcius at most, mainly because of higher base clocks? The NS is coded to underclock itself already, anyways. I don't think it would even need a bigger power supply for the dock, since the power requirements are so close. Maybe use an improved fan, but the size and general design of the console could remain the same. Would Nintendo pursue NVIDIA's philosophy? Probably not. But it's interesting to consider.

There's bound to be people out there who would pay $500 to have a consistent 1080p/60 FPS in BotW on a Switch. Even in the middle of the Korok Forest. Sure, people here talk about it like it doesn't matter, but I bet there would be plenty of people here who would buy it, despite the proclamations in the above comments.

@hieveryone Only PS4Pro support has been detailed thus far. Which will have 1440p/30 FPS (and 2160p lolcheckerboard upscaling support), not 1080p/30 FPS. We don't know yet what the performance will be tuned towards for the base PS4. In any case, the highest supported native resolution of the Crash trilogy will be at least twice that of the currently known native base of SMO.

(And what's this? I thought people around here didn't mind BotW hovering around 30 FPS much of the time? Why would a highly tuned remake of a legend like the Crash Bandicoot trilogy at 30 FPS be so concerning? Some here even claim to not be able to tell the difference between 30 and 60 FPS, or that it doesn't matter.)

Why y'all keep talking to Yasaal.

Most people wouldn't even notice the difference if df didn't tell us. (Most, not all)

Little off topic here .. can't Wait to play it regardless of final resolution and FPS.

Look, I applaud Nintendo's development teams for making outstanding games but I gotta say. 1080p/60 fps should be pretty close to the norm for 2017. While we are looking at the competition working on 4k consoles we're supposed to be content with a supposed "home console you can take with you," is hitting 720p with some frame rate dips even with zero AA. I'm sure it'll be optimized more for launch but sometimes I feel like you have to call out Nintendo for not going with a little more horsepower for the Switch. Third party support is still terrible and mediocre hardware is part of the reason why.

Rant aside Mario Odyssey looks really good. But once again I won't call it impressive that a game that looks about as good as any Wii U title running at 60 fps is some technical prowess given the sacrifices are still being made to compensate.

@NEStalgia Agreed

@Setery10 True, but I'm saying it should be so for all the major games at least like Super Mario Odyssey, MP4, etc

@Filth_Element Ya the drops didn't affect gameplay so much but it was nerve wracking at times in the Korok Forest, having played there before the framerate update I feel like I've gone through the worst XD Even after the update there are still some major drops. Only in Korok Forest though. At other times it happens when I defeat a guardian in tall grass, which also causes a framerate drop.

@djtwenty9 I've obviously noticed that the Switch has been sold out since launch, but so was the Wii U (though the Switch lasted longer). Just because a console is selling out at launch doesn't guarantee a success. I'm happy it's selling out, but I'm not impressed with the way Nintendo is handling the console after buying it. Games are generally ports with just a few being upscaled to max resolution (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is perhaps the only example of a Switch game performance at Max res and framerate), VC has disappeared and Nintendo has revealed almost nothing about future games to be released next year (MP4 will launch in about 2 to 3 years I s'pose, we don't know much about Kirby and Yoshi either).

@FTL Yes, true. It is a handheld too. But I'm talking about dock performance not handheld. Nintendo can't obviously strain the Switch in handheld mode. At least try to do something about it in docked mode. I don't know what games you're talking about but most if not some of the games on the other consoles are generally 1080p 60fps

@Wolfgabe Your first point is wrong to some extent but your second point is right. The excuse or reason most devs give when they can't or don't bring a game to Switch is hardware issues. They usually say "it's too weak to run the game so we're not bringing it" and refuse to bring it to Switch. Why did I say you were wrong to some extent? Because of your second point which is also what Nintendo is suffering from. Most devs are burned out by the Wii U and find it hard to support a Nintendo console right from the start, and are comfortable with making games for MS and Sony. So no arguments there.

About the BotW issues, it's still not solved. If you have progressed that far and try going to Korok Forest or fight a guradian in tall grass you'll see that the framerate drops hard (was that the right word?). It gets really frustrating when that happens, although Nintendo has minimised the problem from before with the update.

@PlywoodStick It wouldn't have been that expensive tbh. Nintendo sold the Switch at profit and it's at 300$. So I don't see the Pascal architecture costing Nintendo too much (if you've watched SuperMetalDave64 you might know as he's done such analyses). On the second note of me saying that statement in my defense that's how I use the Switch. It's my preference of playing games. I don't go out much so don't take the Switch out with me much as a result. But when I do, it's great to see that I can take the whole game with me. That statement was an opinion, and I'm not against Nintendo for making the Switch. I love the portable aspect of the Switch, don't get me wrong.

@JpGamerGuy90 Exactly what I'm saying. Nintendo has to get ahead with the times. They're still making games not reaching 1080p 60fps in 2017. We don't even have a proper online service in 2017, a service MS and PS players have enjoyed for 10 years. Hardware is at fault for Nintendo's losses time and again if Nintendo doesn't fix that, soon Switches won't be flying off the shelves as fast. Unless we call out to Nintendo they won't listen and will stubbornly do it their way which is another point I agree with you upon. I won't be surprised if Super Mario Odyssey could run on Wii U at this rate. In terms of frame rates and resolution the Switch and Wii U are on par I guess, and that's Nintendo's fault.

@Yasaal

Yasaal - You said ""How pathetic is this? Like seriously??? Xbox and PS gamers relax and take a solid 1080p 60fps for granted while we sit like ducks hoping for such resolutions and framerates? ""

I understand that you're saying when docked - but you might want to fact check your comments about PS4 and Xbox being a given that they run 1080p and 60fps... Xbox definetely doesn't do this as a standard (around 20 games in total run at this on Xbox One) BUT The PS4 (which is more powerful than the xbox one) has a list of around 40 which run at 60fps and 1080p. This list is for a console that is 4 years into its run - BUT it's definetely not every game (not even remotely close!!).. which is fine I might add, but it goes directly against what you're saying..

Meanwhile, many games released for Switch already run at 1080p 60fps including the just released Arms, Mario Kart and upcoming Splatoon 2 and others. Docked or not, it's able to achieve 1080p 60p for many games but it's running much lower powered and much much smaller hardware - maybe Nintendo deserves credit for this rather than saying what you said.

So to summarize - PS4 has some 60p 1080 games... xbox has some too. So does Switch.

@FTL Ok. But as of now Switch's library of games with said rates are low. Now I know it launched recently but it should build up it's library of games supporting 1080p 60fps. Zelda, the Switch's biggest game in terms of sales can't manage 1080p 60fps. It can't even maintain 60fps in some places. So what I'm saying is they gotta build up a bigger library of games able to run at Max res and framerate.

@Yasaal Now 'that' I will agree with, and hopefully, just like Splatoon, Mario will do the same, fingers crossed. Zelda is perfectly fine to be honest (Horizon, although looking great, isn't even 60fps on PS4 and released in the same week) but it was also literally the first game on the console, and technically ported, so can't expect the most out of it.

As you say, hopefully more and more come at that standard, but as programmers get used to the hardware they get much better results as a general rule for any console, so should be fine.

Wow this thread seems to be going around in a loop, we've even had the Xbox Defence Force pipe in.

720/1080/900 - doesn't really matter for me as long as the game maintains a 60fps framerate in terms of fast action titles. More sedate games like RPGs don't really require higher framerates, but as long as it's locked then that's all good.

@Yasaal Very few XO/PS4 games are 1080/60. The most common scenario by far is for PS4 games to be 1080/30, and XO games to be 900/30.

I love that Nintendo are putting frame rate at the top of the list of priorities. That said, I expect Mario 2ill see a bump to at least 900p when docked, as there's really no technical reason not to use the huge increase in GPU speed the Switch gets when in docked mode.

@WOLF1313 But the question is, you're here on a Nintendo site. You would be interested in buying 3rd party games on a Nintendo system if the Nintendo system was the most powerful.

But would most of the people that only a PC, Playstation, or XBox and do not own a Nintendo? Which is where most of those company's audiences are? Even if Nintendo came out with a box equally powerful to XB1X, would most of the Sony/XBox/PC crowd suddenly buy Nintendo instead or stick with the platform they know and like? And even if they would be willing to switch, if I were Activision, would I spend another 1-10mil or so bringing my game to Nintendo when I know, that if I did, all I would be doing is spending money so that my customers who would have bought on PS4 might now buy on Nintendo Superbox? I'd be spending MORE money to acquire the SAME $60 from the customer. If they restrict available platforms their audience will come to them. If they expand their platforms, their same audience divides, basically costing more money to support. There's little value in it for them unless they think that Nintendo Superbox, the Scorpio-like box from Nintendo, would suddenly net them a lot MORE customers than they'd have if they stayed on the existing supported platforms.

That's the thing, it's complicated, and the status quo is working. A powerful Nintendo box wouldn't do much to change the 3rd party position. Nintendo's chance to keep 3rd parties was in 1996. They effectively lost their position as the status quo with the Nintendo PlayStation/N64 situation, and once it was lost and Sony moved into that position, a company they could not outspend in marketing or hardware subsidy, they were never going to attain that position again. So they went another direction, rather successfully.

Were they to do that, to build a Scorpio-like box, they would be opening significant challenge. They couldn't provide the hardware at the same subsidized price their deep pocketed competitors can....so it would be the most expensive box. They would still be the lowest priority platform for 3rd party as they're not interested in changing the status quo, and they're less interested in having their software titles compete against Pokemon and Mario directly. Indirect is painful enough. Nintendo's own games would then have to cost much more to produce as they would be expected to be graphics powerhouses that their art style doesn't really need. But worse, their current offerings are "other" enough that Sony and Microsoft (expecially Sony) can largely ignore them, cooperate with them, and even publicly accept their customers owning both machines. There's a symbiosis. Were Nintendo to signal a direct competition for Sony's market, they would aim both barrels at them. that's a competition where only one can survive, so Sony's goal would move toward ending Nintendo. When you're the smaller company, signaling a direct toe to toe contest is probably a bad idea. Such a box could never be made without putting the company in grave risk. So they have to utilize their position in other ways....which works out pretty well for gamers. Most of the types of games we enjoy on Nintendo platforms never seem to be made for other platforms.

@Dakt Yeah that's right. I think they patched in the 540p after release because online was so sluggish. Even at 540p, I still find it kind of sluggy, feels like I "stick" to the tiles. I was willing to put up with the semi-ugly graphics in the game just to online against people.

Nintendo doesn't care about graphics?
That's new to me as I've always seen Nintendo as one of the best in that regard making beautiful, flawless graphics and some of the best art directions perfectly developed for the system they're working on.

I think some people misunderstand graphics quality with horsepower.

The thing is if you have great artists you really don't need a "perfect" 1080p60fps.

I've seen it in PS4's game Horizon. Compared to Zelda BotW it looks rather lifeless, missing most of the amazing physics (weather, wind, particles), realtime lights and detailed animation, but when you're comparing still screenshots Horizon looks much better. I don't wanna look at still shots though, I wanna play a good-looking&feeling game. Resolution and framerate is overrated. Detail, polish, animation and physics are more important to bring a game to life. Of course it would be nice though if every console could maintain vivid graphics at 1080p and 60fps but currently that's only a standard for PC gaming and a few selected console titles, so maybe next gen.

@PlywoodStick I take framerate over resolution anyday..Crash is much more linear unlike Odyssey and Zelda which are much more open and for a game like that to run at 30fps on a much more powerful hardware because they chose to go for resolution instead is funny.

Looked bloody good to me already.

@Nintendoforlife Don't give me that much credit. It's seemingly possible he choked on his foot... Actually, do we have evidence of his present well-being?

@Maxz ICE, I want ice in my cola. Anything less and the whole world must acknowledge its failure!