Rumour: Nintendo Is Reportedly Asking Switch Developers To Make Their Games 4K-Ready

Good. If they release this Switch Pro. I will buy it for sure! I'm waiting for better version with more power.. [email protected] even docked.. Need a bit more. But hey that's me

This was covered by Digital Foundry a while ago (oops seen link). Makes sense really.

Dammit...yes I would buy it

That's technologically difficult.

I'm personally more interested in a switch which has higher resolutions in handheld-mode so that every game runs at least in 720p undocked

Got my cash ready for series X. Will buy my son his replacement switch after loosing both ours in a fire. Wait and see what's happening in regards to a switch pro before I replace my one (gives me time to save for that as well.)

This would be great, native resolutions are a waste of resources and DLSS us already providing great results in the PC space for very little performance loss

I DidN't KnOW tHiS SItE ChANgEd iT'S nAMe tO RuMOrLiFE

If this really happends its a day one buy for me.

@Omarzy Because it's low effort and gets your website lots of traffic? They didn't say they were providing quality journalism...

Meh, Bloomberg is the source. Not credible.

That is absolutely fascinating. And with the Xbox Series S not being overkill, the gap between the Switch lineup and next gen consoles may not be as wide as we thought. And really smart on Nintendo’s part holding out until all PS5 and Xbox news was revealed

Sony looks to be the odd one out, not offering a cheaper, budget friendly 4k option

No. Just no. Not planned.
Not interesting for nintendo to do so.
Not even possible technically.
We are talking about a mobile device here that you can also use on TV, not the other way around. You can't do much better than what we already have in such limited device.
Stop with those stupid clickbait rumors that's been turning around since the switch release. It makes no bloody sense.

ah Nintendo ...4K? ...why? better graphics and better framerates are just BETTER to have than pursuing the 4K resolution for the sake of having 4K ....

But I’m not 4K ready 😣

I hope Nintendo will have actually good hardware in order to play 3rd party games combined with innovation.

"New Switch" is a rumour in itself (and an annual one to boot), but we're talking rumours about what it will do? Rumourception indeed.

As usual, names and quotations or GTFO. If the "outside developers" are speaking anonymously "because it's a private matter", they're either completely unrelated to the industry or gleefully breaking the NDAs they consciously signed for the noble goal of letting a few tabloids earn a few clicks (an irresistible cause, I know). And again, anyone expecting "Switch Pro"™ with blackjack and 4K sooner rather than later is welcome to lecture me on what 2021 factors can help realistically price it at least within $400 and leave it marketable outside a few rich "core gamers" who are on the edge of their seats even about the possible PS5 pricetag. Especially if you still wetdream it as a portable machine that runs all third parties on par with the latter.

As for upscaling... if Nintendo wanted it, wouldn't it have been there from the start, seeing as even Shield can reportedly do it?

While 4k is nice, I'll take a consistent 60 FPS over that any day.

All I want is Nintendo saying that a stable 60 fps is required for all games. Even their own and in multiplayer.

It's strange. If it's related to DLSS or any upscaling they shouldn't bother, since it's post processing. Maybe something bigger is going on (I don't believe it) or they just want all games future proof, since someday in a (not so close) future they will release a true 4k console (maybe 2025?)

@BrintaPap Console makers can't force developers to do that. All they require is that the game at least works.
@nhSnork Excessive much?

The Switch is now over 3 years old so nintendo will definitely have started piecing together the Switch 2. This feels more of an indication of the Switch 2's potential than a Switch Pro in my opinion. I do want a Switch Pro but I'm not expecting anything more than 1080p supported handheld play.

If it's true this is amazing.

A switch+/pro would only have to be able to do 720p native but with DLSS can look as good as 4k fidelity. Awesome stuff. Hope it's true.

Nintendo have to have a more powerful console or resign their future to the handheld market. They always seem to be playing catch-up regarding the consoles capability.

Asking 3rd party developers to get 4k ready, suggests this is the reason why Super Mario All Stars sales are limited. A 4k version will be released with a new console next March.

@Entrr_username the new Switch would have to be on a par with PS5 and XSX to be able to run games in native 4K

@zool Nintendo was and still is fine in the console department despite the inferior hardware. Don't know where you were going with your "resign their future to the handheld market" bs.

Another rumor news. Wake me up when this site starts making real news.

Oh, perhaps this will be a traditional game console. (A stationary box in the living room). A hybrid console for people who like the convenience, a handheld for people who love handheld gaming and kids who might need a more robust device..
And finally a traditional home console for people who cares more about the living room experience.
Seems possible...
Especially with new stand alone joycons being rumored. And the 4K support...
I doubt they could deal with the cooling if it was a hybrid or handheld and ran games in 4K.
Unless they have a new dock that provides the cooling. But to me that also sounds like a huge challenge.

Although I’m not really all that interested in a Switch like this.

@Stremon The Switch is gonna be 4 years old in a few months. It is more than possible that a new model can deliver 4K, especially with DLSS. Easy.

In 3 years we went from PS4 to PS4 Pro.
In 4 years we went from Xbox One to Xbox One X or from Wii U to Switch.
Or even from PS1 to Dreamcast

It's more than possible.

And the portable technology from Nvidia at the centre of the Switch can do miracles. Remember the end of 2016 when people were saying "no way the Switch will be more powerful than a Wii U as it's a portable !". Result : 1080p vs 720p for most ports, better framerates and more details in graphics.

I dont have a 4K TV so this would be useless for me, also play as desktop/hanheld most of the time, so unless the screen is better, there is no point in my eyes.

As long as it is fully backwards compatible and I can transfer my downloads, I will buy

I usually care more about form factor than hardware specs

@Bunkerneath Why? At minimum, a Switch Pro will run all current games better, with smoother stability.

@Gerald I don’t think you have anything to worry about, if it’s a Switch it will play Switch games.
After all this is not a rumor of a next gen console from Nintendo.
A lot of people get confused with this.

I think they need to focus on a stable 1080p first..
A lot of the switches games don't run at 1080p

The Switch will be 4 years old next year, so I expect another new model will come fairly soon and I doubt we'll get a Switch 2 for several more years. If they could drop a new Pro model at £280 with the original Switch taking a big price cut I think that would be a decent move as Sony and Microsoft release their new machines.

I'd grab a new Switch with a built in 1080P OLED screen. If it has a bit more oomph under the hood to run games at 1080/60 in portable then I'd definitely buy it. I've still got enough of a games backlog to not need a completely new machine.

@BionicDodo There is absolutely zero reasons to increase the resolution of the built-in screen. Keeping it 720p with a faster CPU would result in better battery life, though.

@Entrr_username you don't know where I'm going, then you add bs. So you do know where I'm going. Either that you don't understand and anything you don't understand is bs, to you.😁

Nintendo probably knows already what their next console will be. At least, that's how it's been in the past. I remember they have said they usually start developing a new console almost instantly the current one has gone to the market.

Switch pro with 1080p handheld screen please

@Ratking to be honest thid day an age 1080 should be the minimal for a screen, even cheap phones that sell on ebay for £50 have 1080 resolution

With Series S being the same price as the Switch (cheaper than the Switch in some regions), I guess Nintendo does have to do something about that gigantic power gap.

Could be to do with their next console rather than a Switch upgrade, but it’s more nonsense, much like every other Switch “Pro” article there’s been for the past 3 years. Fling something at a wall enough times, something will eventually stick. Then they can claim all the credit.

I’m very happy with 1080p on switch, but will be ok with 4K too.

Alot of people have their heads in the sand judging from comments. Nvidia just announced their next gen GPUs, they make PS5 and XSX look like fisher price toys (nearly). A downscaled mobile version labeled Tegra X3 in a Switch may not be able to get it to native 4K but it'll certainly get it to 1080/60 and have an upscale option to 4K (as even the current Tegra has this-Nvidia shield upscales to 4K convincingly already).

If we get a Switch Pro it will be 1080. 4k is years away on Nintendo consoles. And rightly, I see no reason to chase specs that many people simply don't care about.

Hmm the need to get a 4k tv is growing.... 🤔

I dock mine to a 4k monitor, so I'll definitely take it (provided it's not docked only). That said, I don't think it looks so bad playing at monitor distances as is. I'm much more interested in seeing what nvidia can add for handheld mode enhancements.

"and will launch in 2021 alongside major software releases."............I can not wait.

Nintendo should focus on doing 60fps on 1080p first.
Even if it can do upscaled 4K it would be running on 20fps, we all know nintendo systems aren't going to be powerhouses and would probably feature an older chipset, that's fine since we didnt buy nintendo systems to play state of the art graphical games but just FUN games.

@playstation_king Let me know if you see the difference in handheld, i doubt you are gonna see the difference on such a small display. On the otherhand it would be nice if ecery game actualy reach the 720p minimum.

@Stremon Did you read the article?
Did you check the video?
Plz educate yourself before you comment. And grow some brains plz

My only concern is that Nintendo starts to produce “new” switch games that are incompatible with the original models. (a la xenoblade 3d)

@hakjie11 DLSS also makes it possible to have better frame rates.

@smashboy2000
There are hard limit to what you can do with a small ARM chip without heating, using too much energy, or taking too much space.
Or else the switch wouldn't be underpowered compared to the Tegra chip on the nvidia shield series, which was its model.
You're comparing the very small switch to full blown machines that are huge, use a lot of power, and produce LOT of heat. Not really the same world.

And comparing those hardware update to the PSX to Dreamcast update is the huge stretch. The hardware back then was evolving way faster, because there was still lot of space for improvement. Can't you see how slowly it evolves now?

I wasn't part of the guys saying that in 2016.
The shield portable and tablet (which I owned) were already around remember? Anybody spending 10 minutes on google could see it was possible.
I've been working in the game industry for 20 years now, I know how things are working.
But I feel people who had hard time believing it back then are the same that believe now anything is possible.
Sorry to disappoint, but it's not that simple.

The only way we could have a 4K Switch (for ingame contents) would be making it 100% non portable, which would indeed allow more power use and more air flow. But that would not truly be a "switch" anymore. Like the Switch mini isn't really.

Also, there is absolutely no point for nintendo to release a new model now, their old models are still selling like hot cake.

People were laughing at me too few years ago, when I was saying the most logical route for nintendo was to release a hybrid machine instead of getting back into the console war 😏

After doing research on the SoC chip Xavier, if Nintendo goes with that chip install I can see a new Switch doing the Sony PS4 upscaling to 4K for games and telling 3rd party devs to have on their kit 4K support. Personally 4K upscaling is fine by me versus native 4K because I enjoy the better battery life.

The counter argument I would have to those saying to not release an updated tech model would be that 3rd ports may begin to die off as devs move on due to labor intensive to water down their games to make it doable for the Switch, and it escapes me why one would not want something with better graphics?

Seems these rumors are creating a reader base of group A- yes please I want better graphics and group B - But why, sells are good as if they would have no choice but to buy this new Switch (Nintendo has made no hint that they would split their gamer base if they released a new model).

I’ve recently been playing control on my pc with every setting turned up to max (including the Ray Tracing) and getting a locked 60fps as I’ve been rendering it at 960x540 and that’s been up scaled to 1080p using their DLSS technique and I can’t tell the difference between that and native 1080p (beside the frame rate of course).

Also I hope this has HDR support. That’s one of my favourite things on PS4 and Xbox one and I’d love to see Mario, Zelda and the rest with expanded colour.

@FoxMcCloud on YouTube going from 720 to 1080 on a video I can see a big difference, don't know how much effect it would have on an actual game though. But saying that when I first used a hdmi for my original ps3 I saw a massive difference

@Stremon Don't talk nonsense. They once said we'd never fill a 100mb hard drive. Technology moves on exponentially. Of course its possible to do more.

Since the Series S is discless I've lost interest in buying a next gen console. So a Switch Pro/Home would be the most enticing console for me for the foreseeable future.

I think we’d all be thankful if Nintendo invested their R&D budget into some new analog sticks instead.

If the new switch will upscale to 4K, why would Nintendo need to tell developers at all to prepare for it

@AlienigenX Yes that is my concern as well. I just got a switch in January and I'm getting a ps5. There's no way I can get another switch pro.

Upgraded Console with 1080p screen and a few QOL improvements playing games at same level as Docked Switch.

Dock includes whatever is needed to upscale. Plus HDR, Nintendo games would really benefit from HDR and it’s low overhead.

Sorted.

The rumor refuses to die because the gaming media keeps resurfacing it each time it turns out not being true.

@mariomaster96 there were signs in datamining of console updates that this might be a docked-only type one (for thermal reasons most likely)

@Stremon Interesting point of view. Really.
But I think that if it's feasable, the Switch Pro will be the first to prove it. We'll see !

"And comparing those hardware update to the PSX to Dreamcast update is the huge stretch."
Yeah, I know, that was a little joke

We have these "credible sources" and then alongside that a story where Nintendo is ramping up Switch production again. I do not believe it because Nintendo has always been cautious about MFG capacity and this does not fit their typical approach to console support.

man we still got alot of koolaid drinkers following NintenDoomed fandom. Did those not even try to read the rumor and what it really said was coming. I'll remind them to re-read what it says:
4K output(Docked)
1080p(Portable)

And yet people keep drinking the koolaid saying 4k portable. Remember even a Pure Gaming 4K computer even has issue for stable 60fps and yet people talk as though it's a Switch only issue. And yet people talk as though Nintendo isn't making a new more power model is laughable. Are you mole pretending to be Nintendo supporters. You act as thought Nintendo should remain only at 3DS XL model. All these talk that Nintendo shouldn't evolve is at best child talk. Sound more like they are scared a portable Switch will knock them off their High Horse mindset that they say or do anything to deny the fact a more Powerful Switch is coming regardless and they have no response to it. It's funny to hear them talk about consoles their console getting more power but mention Switch and they are in uproar no that can't happen. And you have to ask them why or are you getting Scared something innovative as Switch will rain down your party. I would say the later it true....Having one's bubble busted is scary but innovation moves on and being stuck on Coffee Table doesn't move you far into the Gamer's world of Gaming on the Go.

@Entrr_username actually they can but it would seem petty and 60 fps does not make a bad game good. It would just be more fluid while still sucking.

Please just DON'T.

If anything, ask them to have games that look decent at 1080p, because then they will look exactly the same on a 4K screen.

AI upscaling is a waste of everybody's time.

@Alucard83 It depends on the game, but most games are either 1080p and 60 fps or 1080p and 30 fps docked. 720p is in handheld mode

@Alex79uk @arpaktiko
Yeah I did read and watched the video.
It's just a bunch of hypothesis and rumors, nothing concrete.
The tech isn't growing exponentially anymore, google Moore's law "power wall" if you want to know more and not insult people (which I doubt).
Tech improvement has been slowing down a lot since we reached the 4GHz max frequency in 2005. If your PC is a 10 years old high end PC, you can still run recent games on it. It won't run perfectly for sure, but it will still run. Back in the day, after 2 years you couldn't run anything anymore.
As I said, I've been working for 20 years in the game industry (as a engineer and technical artist), so thanks for trying to teach me my job 😏
Anyway believe me or not, I don't give a damn.
Trying to educate people but I guess some people are too far to be educated.

@Zeldawakening That's exactly what I was thinking. Surely either the developers were told to prepare for native 4k, or the developers were told that the switch pro is gonna be 4k ready so don't bother doing anything different.

NGL I'm sick of hearing the rumors about a more powerful switch, just give us more good games and I'll be happy.

@Stremon not sure but you want to re-read Moore's law again from wikipedia and re-evaluate your claims. You seems to be cherry picking something engineers shouldn't do. Here's more what you forget to at least mention:
Industry experts have not reached a consensus on exactly when Moore's law will cease to apply. Microprocessor architects report that semiconductor advancement has slowed industry-wide since around 2010, below the pace predicted by Moore's law. However, as of 2018, leading semiconductor manufacturers have developed IC fabrication processes in mass production which are claimed to keep pace with Moore's law. Also GPU are not CPU and those are still evolving so how you went from CPU limit to GPU limits also indicate one isn't a Engineer. You seemed so locked that Nintendo should only use a Tegra chipset and not move onto new GPU is laughable for a Engineer whom should be using the latest tech.
When someone claim to be engineer and talks down that indicates they aren't whom they say they are. Love how others read what was indicated that Nintendo said to developers and they created their own revisionists conclusion is laughable. If one really took time to think xbox/psx can't do True 4K they are upscaling just like the Switch will more likely do when Docked but when the Switch is mentioned fandom of theirs are offended a childlike Switch can do that. It sounds more like they are afraid something with no Power can do that scares them.

4K ready? I'm sure this signals the TV-only model is coming out, alongside an updated OG Switch as well. I would hope the Switch Lite will see update in 2021 or 2022.

Maybe 4k in docked and 1080p in handheld? Can that be done technology and software wise?

@progx That's is called shooting yourself in the foot or Foot in mouth disease. People keep trying to pigeon hole Switch to making just console but take a good look at what playing around you besides smart phone games on the go. It's Switch that allows people the Freedom to game whenever and where-ever. Those coffee consoles aren't moving to a table near you when you travel or want to game on the go.

@playstation_king That's true, it can make a big difference. But on a small screen i think you would not be able to see this. But with some extra power to use anti-aliasing..... that would be a huge difference. And for games like Xenoblade to run 720p.....

Massive waste of time, focus on 60fps 1080p a decent 4K tv will scale that crisply due to integer scaling. Unless there has been a massive shift at Nintendo I don’t see them suddenly caring about 4K.

@sanderev there's some potential reasons for increasing the display. Depending on suppliers it could be cheaper getting a 1080 panel since they are in higher demand and a newer panel may be more energy efficient than an older 720 one so it might make more sense to change it even though in real terms your eye won't see much of a difference

How about any decent panel? The LCD in the switch is crap. The colors are bad, the view angles poor, it's dim and the bezels are huge.
OLED panel under glass, just like a cheap phone would be fine.

So many people posting without knowing what they're talking about.

@SwitchForce It's still the point. The software is doing the "switching", not the hardware. The Switch Lite is handheld only, then you have the OG Switch (TV/Handheld). Why wouldn't you add a TV-only model? All optional. Buy whatever system you want. Play your games between the TV and handheld (Lite and OG). Plus, it would be a great reason to bring in Netflix and all the streaming services since they'll compete with the other boxes from Apple and Roku. This was heavily rumored all year.

@StevenG Nintendo won’t go with a cheap OLED the failure rate would be too high. A good IPS panel is all they need, or they could wait for micro led.

Also an AI based way to hit 4K like the series S combined with an soc that can do 1080 or 1440 is a great compromise. If Nvidia can even get performance close to an a12x then the next switch will be a beast.

lol links awakening is a freaking gameboy game they remade that nintendo can't even get to run smooth in 720p. 4k isn't for nintendo, ya'll.

@SwitchForce no ***** dude, you know how to read wikipedia, congrats. You also cherry picked what I said, I was talking about the frequency we reached in 2005. I didn't said it stopped improving either, but slowed down.
Since we can't go much higher in frequency (tell me ONE consumer cpu/gpu that is sold to work as a frequency higher than 4.5GHz), we have to make smaller transistors, increase their numbers, increase the number or core/parallel threading. Which is a harder and slower task than booster the performances by increasing the frequency like it used to be. We switched from a transistors+frequency increase to a transistors increase only. But of course that's super simplified, or else we will still be here talking in 2 years.
Oh and you completely ignored my exemple of the power increase for PC tech now vs pc tech then, which show perfectly the difference if you use your brain for 10 seconds.

Now you think Nintendo would switch to a different chipset than the Tegra? Seriously, do you have any idea how heavily the switch rely on specific hardware optimisations?
Nvidia also made the dev kits if you aren't aware of it. Again you're talking about things you obviously have no clue about.
They are locked to the Tegra chip for the switch, for better or worse.

Now stop comparing the switch to the like of ps4/xb1. Your comparing big power hungry machines to a small ARM machine. It's like NOTHING alike. It's a bit like comparing a gaming pc to a smartphone. Go tell game devs that it's the same, see how they react.

Rumors are just rumors, no matter if people write or talk about it. It won't make it true.

Now you are telling me I'm some kind of fanboy? How old are you?
You think a fanboy of the switch wouldn't want to run it in glorious 4K without lag?
Seriously, you make no sense.
I'd like to see the switch improving like anybody else owning it, I'm just talking about realistic expectations here, not some of your wet dreams.

Those rumors have be going on since the Switch was released.
Nintendo Life as well as other website are always talking about them because they attract clicks.
People always jump on it and think they know better. "THEY SAID IT'S TRUE! SO IT HAS TO BE TRUE! DERP!"
Obviously time showed they don't know anything.
But keep living in your fantasies if that makes you happy.

@DavidMac Even a middle of the road IPS would be a massive improvement over what the switch has today. I still don't understand why they cheaped out so much on the panel.

@Stremon just to clarify are you talking about the switch running native 4K which I agree is ludicrous or are you including a chipset with DLSS in your comments as not going to happen?

The latter I could see happening and based on playing control (see my previous comment) it could be a good way to increase image quality without a huge increase in performance needed. However I don't have in depth knowledge on the size, TDP or cost of the AI Tensor cores that the DLSS runs on so I could be completely wrong.

@ItsOKToBeOK The series S is not a budget 4k gaming machine. It's meant for 1080p and 1440p max. Also the ps4 does have a budget 4k option. It's the digital version. That is more than likely gonna retail for $100 cheaper with out the disc drive.

@RazumikhinPG what? It’s not difficult stop complaining 🤨😠

Bloomberg seems to be doubling down hard on the existence of a 4K-capable Switch Pro. I guess they have chosen their hill to die on.

Anyways, squeezing tensor cores into a mobile processor has not been done before, so if the Switch Pro indeed supports 4K via DLSS from tensor cores in its processor, it would be a very impressive technical achievement.

This makes me wonder what GPU the Switch Pro will utilize since Maxwell GPUs don't support DLSS.

@Glassneedles both, I'm saying a big hardware upgrade of the switch won't happen anytime soon, because the tech isn't there yet, and there aren't enough reasons for nintendo to do so.
I do believe this rumor comes from the fact that the last shield TV comes with an upgraded Tegra X1+ chip, that has the AI upscaling function.
But it's aimed mainly at video processing, is different from DLSS, and doesn't always give great results.
DLSS could be nice indeed, but would require an awful lot of R&D and technical change on the switch itself. It would also require more energy to work, that would make the battery melt like butter in the sun.
And all that doesn't really adds up when you see the normal switch is still selling like hot cake. Why would nintendo invest in something new when they already own the market?
The Switch mini made sense, because there was a strong demand in japan, as a replacement of the N3DS.
But the switch pro?
Now if time prove me wrong, well I'd be happy to be wrong and playing on a better switch 😉
Just saying it's very unlikely to happen.

If Nintendo is actually asking 3rd party publishers to make their games "4K-ready", then this is a lot more than just a basic resolution upscaling.

Hopefully they make a special edition Breath of the Wild 2 model that comes with a copy of the game! Either way though, I’m definitely picking one up!

@Alucard83 i dont think its the switch pro more likely their just going to bump up the resolution on the new model and just save any major spec upgrade till switch successor comes around 2023

Will our normal Switch's be upgraded via an update? If Stadia is supposed to be updated to next-gen that way. Couldn't the Switch too?

There are many features I would like to see in an updated switch. 4K sits at the bottom. I feel steady frame rates, better res on handheld mode, more ram are way more important.

@JonathanXMarvelous45 I'm mocking Nomura's reason behind no KH Collection on Switch.

@Alex79uk I was talking to the other guy, in case you didn't realize. Specifically his comment "Plz educate yourself before you comment."
I never questioned your own intelligence, but the general lack of education of people here. It's ok to say you don't agree, and tell your opinion, but not insult people by telling what they say is *****.
I have strong opinions, but I avoid disrespecting people unless they do.

Man who are you talking about? 🤣
So you are trying to find my real identity to do what exactly? Threaten me?
I mean it's like when you don't agree with someone so you threaten them and their family, just for the fun of it?
Talk about inappropriate behavior.
But whatever man 😅

Hmm, suddenly Mario 3D stars being only until March makes sense.

They’ll release Mario 3D stars 4k at that point

@PretendWorking : Mario 3D stars isn’t upscaled.

Upscaled means rendering in low res to a texture, then running filtering software on it and render that in HD.

That’s not what they’re doing. Looking at screenshots/videos it’s clear they are natively rendering in HD.

@Alex79uk paranoid? dude you're attempting to reveal someone's private info on a public chat.
I couldn't care less that you don't believe me, or don't agree with me, I'm only telling you it's both inappropriate and so messed up thing to do, whatever you are trying to show.
Do you even realize how it makes you look?
And you say I'm the weird one?

Coronavirus really has had an affect on people's mental health. Be safe everyone.

@Stremon I think you've been needlessly patronising to people on here, but you're right, that was out of order. I've removed it.

@Deltarogue Same. I've been playing games for 35 years and specs don't interest me in the least. Keep the fun games coming and I'll be good.

Why would developers need to get "4k ready" for DLSS upscaling? that makes zero sense.

There's no chance the console is native 4k. Even the fancy XSeS isn't native 4k. So that rumor should die here. But if it's upscaling, well, that's great! But it has nothing to do with anything developers need to be worrying about. It's just a high quality scaler built into the chip. Great feature when docked! But has nothing to do with games or the actual redndering, other than doing a QA check to make sure there's no odd scaler artifacting, I suppose.

Unless this comes out in about a year from now (or later) Switch will have had a shorter lifespan than that of the abysmal failure known as Wii U! See for yourself:

Wii U's launch: November, 2012
Wii U's replacement: March, 2017
Total: 52 months

Switch's launch: March, 2017
Switch's replacement: August, 2021
Total: 53 months

See? If it doesn't get at least 53 months on the market before its successor comes out, it'll have lived a shorter life than that of Wii U, Nintendo's worst selling system ever!

@Alex79uk
Thanks, I appreciate.
I do have strong opinions, and I am not shy speaking them out. But here I'm only answering to people telling me I talk BS.
My rant was never supposed to be directed to the users, but to whoever keep doing those clickbait rumors since the switch exists.
Somehow public websites would get super secret info that we don't get here?

@NEStalgia where are you getting your information that the new series X can’t do native 4K? The one x has multiple games that run at native 4K including red dead 2 so it isn’t just less graphically intensive games. With double the power in teraflops (I know it isn’t a 1:1 comparison but it’s an easy benchmark) the new series x shouldn’t have any issues rendering at 4K.

Whether that’s a good use compared to more effects at a lower frame rate is a whole other argument.

I’m sorry, but who is gonna pay for a new switch just for 4K, when the Xbox series s is gonna be the price of a normal switch, and have next gen graphics? I still don’t believe this “switch pro” rumor, after we have had a run our for one every year after the switch launched, even the year it launched.

Whatever Nintendo does to enhance the console will be more than welcomed by me. I love the Nintendo Switch.

@Glassneedles The Microsoft press release?

1440p up to 120Hz with upscaling to 4k (and 4k media playback, of course.) If you want 4k gaming, you get Series X. Or PS5.

Yes, that's a resolution downgrade from 1X and PS4 pro despite being otherwise more powerful....which, as a 1X owner, is why it's kind of a lame drop to me.

Point is, the latest greatest next gen console's budget entry can't do native 4k gaming, just scaling. Yes, the 1X&4Pro can, which are also far outside the power capabilities of any mobile device right now. Native 4k on the switch isn't even a pipe dream, it's a plain old mushroom induced hallucination.

DLSS scaling to 4k would be quite nice to have, and is presumably more or less with Series S is also doing, but it still doesn't jive with the "developers should ready their games" part of the rumor. It's literally an internal video scaler.

@Slinkoy1 I wouldn't be looking to 'upgrade', but if they end up doing what happened with the 3DS and start releasing games that only work on the new model or at least run a lot better, then I'd think about it. Having said that, I can't see Switch being 4k any time soon. It's too much of a leap from the current tech used. Maybe in a few years, but Nintendo have never been one to try to keep up with MS and Sony have they.

@hotgamer77 Nobody's talking "switch 2" and discontinuing switch. They're talking hardware refresh or "premium version" of Switch (which it will be is the part up for debate except for a few people that think its a full on new generation.)

That means compare 3DS to 3DS XL to NEW 3DS XL. Compare DS to DSLite to DSi. Compare PS4 to PS4 Pro. XBox One to XBox One S and XBox One X. For that matter, Switch to Switch Lite. A mid-gen premium model, or just a hardware revision that adds some niceties. Still a Switch either way, not a WiiU type discontinuation.

@NEStalgia I misread your original post and thought you were talking about the X in your first post could blame my lack of glasses at the time but who knows!

Since 4K is the topic here I'm just going to say this will definitely help with all these image quality issues in many Switch games. But how will this compare to the other 4K methods used in the other consoles? Hopefully I'll know it soon, thanks Nvidia!

Speaking on how this could help Nintendo games, I'm sure large-world games like Zelda: BoTW could benefit from higher clarity.

@Beermonkey hope there was no personal stuff lost (pictures etc.) and glad to sense no one was hurt. Fire can be so heavy on people's souls. Hope you're doing fine! Best wishes from Germany!

@Ratking oi, a friend of mine had the very same thing. I gave him one of the small devices that act like a dock and it works fine. It's about 25 euro as far as I remember. Never bricked mine or his console. If you need a link, just ask. I dunno if I can post it here. Cheers

@SwitchForce Hey, I bet you know what are you talking about. It's just to aggressive and to long to read it through... maybe you should consider to make your point first and then start explaining?

I don't know if anyone is 4k ready. I still think its 2 early for a better switch just yet.

@Atomic77 lol too early? The Switch will be about 4 years old when it launches early next year, considering the PS4 pro came just under 3 years after the original launched, I would actually say that Nintendo are late on this.

I would also look at the New 3DS and normal 3DS, was about 3 years apart too, you normally want to do these things about halfway into the consoles lifespan.

Normally Nintendo consoles/handhelds historically have lasted 5 to 6 years before the new version is released with the notable exception of the Gameboy the DS and the Wii U (the former two because they were so successful and the latter because it was such a flop).

Anyway it's certainly overdue a mid life revision, especially if they want to maintain sales when the PS5 and Xbox are released.

The current hardware can support on-the-fly 4k AI upscaling. It's a fantastic feature that made me want to upgrade my Nvidia Shield - which is almost what the Switch is anyway.

RTX30XX CONFIRMED! Hope a refreshed switch will have benefits for 1080p too. Maybe better framerates or oversampling. I'd personally love faster loading times too.

@sportvater Thanks. We were safe and thankfully no one injured. It was our car that set fire. Like most long day trips me and my son prepared ourselves with our switches. We had parked up for half an hour for him to stretch his legs and us grab a coffee. On returning to car my wife smelt burning. Some flames were coming from bonnet. While on my phone to emergency services the car had completely gone up taking out 2 other cars and damaging a third. We lost a hell of a lot of money's worth of stuff we are not covered for BUT no one was injured and we more upset for the other people (some people who were stopping half way to a holiday and 100miles from home and a heavily pregnant lady the other side.) His switch and my one couldn't be seen in the wreckage. Did find the carry case for my son's by the car after but carts had been too damaged and switch had been taken out and put in glove box before we left car.
Stressful times but we are safe and my recent retro console sales will pay for my son's new switch. I can just borrow his when he goes to bed.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/t9NNo5swAEFFBeWg6

This is just such a bullsh!t PR.

Upscaling is crap. Modern (highend) TV's have been doing this for years. They have to, to make low res TV channels watchable, especially on large TV's. Doesn't mean a non-4K TV channel upscaled to 4K suddenly looks stunning. On the contrary. It's basically just doubling the pixels to fill the 4K screen. Unlike true 4K resolution output from say a 4K bluray. The difference is staggering!
Even Netflix 4K HDR is not truly 4K resolution. It looks great, but its only 2K. So each pixel only has to be copied once instead of 3 times with normal HD content.
There is of course some other stuff going on in the background to smooth things out other than just copying pixels to fill the 4K screen, but you get my drift.

TDLR; 4K upscaling is not true 4K resolution! People really need to get that out of their heads.

If you currently own a high-end 4K TV, then your Switch signal already gets upscaled to 4K on your TV.
It's not true 4K, but it looks great nonetheless. NVidia's PR bullscrap upscaling technology isn't going to do this job any better than any current high-end 4K TV!
Perhaps for some cheap 4K TV's out there were people might notice some difference, but that's about it.

I rather want Nintendo to focus on performance improvements with an upcoming Switch revision, so games can at least run at a stable 1080p 30FPS minimum, 1080p 60fps optimal. The current Switch console can't even handle that.
That would be a huge bonus already worth the upgrade. Add in better energy efficiency and even longer batterylife for when playing handheld and I am all for it.

If Nintendo really has seen the light of the future and truly wants to get into the 4K game, then they just need to release a traditional home console version of the Switch with PS5/XBoxX comparable performance.
This would compliment the Switch Lite perfectly. Then you have the Switch Lite for handheld on the go and a Switch Home console for 4K gaming on the couch.
That is a path they could follow too, though it would practically go against what makes the current original Switch so unique and popular to begin with.
Of course it would still be a good combo, since the cartridges are compatible with each other on a unified platform, unlike the old home console and handhelds in the past, that had their own separate media and development platform.

With those "ugly" "new" Joy Con patents (the ones which are standalone) i could think of a TV only switch.

so nintendo would have a portable only, a system that can do both (2017 model) and a tv only model with raised power.

i think, nintendo HAS to do something, i mean with the xbox series s on the horizon at 299 bucks ... with MUCH MORE POWER than the switch, for LESS money.

2 options: nintendo must reduce the price for the switch MASSIVELY, or bring a better revision + reduce price for the actual models.

@eRaz0r Nintendo doesn't need to reduce jack when they are moving every Switch they make.

@Entrr_username Exactly, none of us Nintendo fans really care about 4K and it would just be better to play botw in 1080p 60fps.

Has everyone forgotten this rumour from back when the Switch launched?

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/switch-scd-to-potentially-have-8gb-ram-3-5-teraflop-1060-class-gpu-will-s-your-d.1334753/

@tr1pp3r I was going to mention something like this. It seems like everyone has forgotten the potential dock expansion. This could easily improve the look and performance of the switch on TV whilst leaving handheld at 720p which doesn't really need to be any higher on such a small display.

Okay, what if the Pro upgrade is a Dock Pro? We know that DLSS 2.0 currently isn't possible on such a small chipset to fit inside a Switch, so why not just place it inside the dock?

We know that Nintendo has been researching prototypes to share processing power between two connected consoles, and we also know that Nintendo is exceedingly ramping up production on OG Switches. If the Switch Pro is actually just a Dock Pro with upscaling and maybe slightly better performance in docked mode, then this fits with the increased production.

This would also balance out the model chart. We would have Switch Lite (dedicated handheld) > OG Switch (both) > Dock Pro (dedicated TV play)

The critical part of the Switch Lite is that it doesn't cancel out the OG Switch's value proposition. If the Switch Lite could HDMI out to a TV, then it would invalidate the OG Switch. In the same way, the Switch Pro probably wouldn't invalidate the OG Switch's value proposition.

Of course, if this is an iPhone-esque gen 2 upgrade however, then all this theorizing goes out the window. But Furukawa has explicitly promised shareholders that the OG Switch is only halfway into its lifecycle, so I doubt that a Switch Pro would essentially replace the OG Switch.

@eRaz0r yeah I don't see why they need to reduce the price when they are selling faster than they can make them.

That isn't logical from any standpoint.

Everytime a pro model comes up someone proposes a pro dock. But wasn't the c port not capable of anything more powerful. It feels like such a circular discussion. Either way the system is going to be 4 years old. For something portable that's ancient. People don't get excited to keep using their iPhone 8 when the 12 comes out. At some point were going to need some sort of upgrade. As long as it's backward compatible the sooner than later approach suits me and I'll have to upgrade 4 systems.

As another poster said those xbox/psx aren't true 4K that is upscaling otherwise their system would have a meltdown since to have a GPU separate to achieve either SLI/CF to achieve True 4K @60fps - so let's put this to rest. And even doing that PC using this setup have problems running full bore 4K gaming aka tearing. So anyone that thinks xbox/psx are true 4K @60fps are drinking too much Koolaid here.

Bloomberg reporting this makes it legit for me