Nintendo's firmware update 13.0.0 had the headline feature of adding support for Bluetooth devices, which was overdue but nonetheless welcome. It did some other work too, however, such as an 'Update Dock' option for the OLED model equivalents, effectively ensuring support of the LAN port that'll be introduced in the new model.
One boost that wasn't in the changelog, however, seems to relate to game boot times. Now this isn't a load time for an individual game, but the transition of the Switch to booting the game up - that black screen with the little animated Switch 'click' at the bottom right. As highlighted by @pikuri_ on Twitter, this has sped up for some games to the extent that the click animation can't even fully complete.
We've been testing a variety of games around the NL team and reckon this is indeed the case in some examples - larger games still take a second or two to 'boot' and start loading properly, but some smaller titles in particular seem to be notably faster than before.
[Update: Our video boffin Alex is currently testing and thinks some games may be a tiny bit slower when comparing across updated and non-updated hardware, so it appears to be a little random. For example, that testing suggests a physical copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a little slower, along with a download of Hollow Knight. Yet in a similar test Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is seemingly booting faster, so it's certainly inconsistent.
This scribe has tested various download-only games (in a very unscientific way) that are booting quickly enough that the black screen animation doesn't complete or even start, so some titles are faster. Examples are Shinsekai: Into The Depths, Hades, Mega Man 11 and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles.
In summary, results seem to vary, it certainly feels to some of us in the team that a number of download titles in particular are getting into the software quicker, but factors like connection speeds / microSD card speeds etc will vary for each user. Our gut instinct is that some games are quicker, but clearly not all.]
In reality this is a small boost at best, of course, and game load times after this initial screen will be the same as ever. It's a fun thing to note though, as Nintendo's firmware updates often have a few little tweaks that can easily be missed.
Have you noticed this in any of your games? Go on, try it out for yourselves.
- For the full history of Nintendo Switch updates, be sure to check out our firmware guide
- PSA: Remember To Update Your Joy-Con, As Well As Your Nintendo Switch
- How To Use Bluetooth Headphones On Switch - Connect AirPods To Nintendo Switch
Comments (35)
No, I didn't notice. Please excuse me while I go lie down to process this bombshell.
Yeah, this is cool and all...
But does anyone else's copy of 3D All Stars load instantly?
I just did a tested on 2 games (warioware and Scott Pilgrim) and the results seem to vary from game to game.
Warioware (physical) loaded so fast that the the icons flashed on screen for a split second that it didn't even start the animation while Scott Pilgrim (digital) played out the whole animation.
Interestingly, the games actually boot up behind those screens anyway.
When making Kid Tripp, I discovered that if I allowed the Four Horses logo screen to be skipped, the game into would play underneath the Licensed By Nintendo and Switch logo panels.
I actually noticed the whole UI seemed ever so slightly snappier. So it's not so much that they boosted load times, but the whole UI
[sighs comfortably in PC]
I enjoy my Switch, but yeah : )
If the animation doesn't finish isn't that a bug?
@gcunit I know, take all the time you need. A cool flannel on the head, make sure it's low light in the room.
I'm still baffled by Bluetooth support. Also baffled by the awful news of no mic support hiding inside the Trojan horse of Bluetooth support. Haha
@IceClimbersMain
you too
SSBU installed on my brim-filled SmartBuy card:
I actually thought it seemed a bit slower, I'll have to try some smaller games.
Yes!!! Finally, Game Boy, GBC and GBA games announced for NSO, with N64 to follow by the end of the month!!! So happy!
(I got bored early on and made up the ending)
Great news now when can we finally get folders?
WarioWare loads even faster.
3D All stars loads before click.
Animal Crossing is still slower
Shovel Knight loads while the right joycon still moves up.
Super Mario Maker 2 also loads a lot faster.
Also actual loading of game menu's / save files feel faster.
Just tested it. In Trials of Mana the boot takes around a quarter of a second. Other games are also sped up, but in Taiko no Tatsujin Drum n' Fun it still took a very long time to boot as usual.
@IceClimbersMain I just tried it with a physical copy and yes, it loaded stupidly fast.
EDIT: Tried it with the physical games I own. Will try with my digital games later.
In New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Luigi's Mansion 3, Paper Mario: The Origami King, Tetris 99, Snipperclips Plus, LEGO CIty Undercoverand, Super Bomberman R and Starlink, the boot was barely there for a moment. Like, if you blink, you miss it.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sonic Mania Plus and Mario & Sonic Tokyo 2020 seem to boot at the same speed as before.
In all the cases, it is just the boot-up, it doesn't seem to improve the in-game loading times. Which means the startup of LEGO City Undercover and Starlink are still very long.
I was already super impressed with Mario Golfs boot time, I wonder how that is now
Yeah, I noticed The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles started up way faster. Blew my mind.
Games like Fast RMX, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, and some other load so quickly I can't imagine them being sped up. I'll have to mess around and see if I notice any changes. This is cool.
OMG I went to press my Switch power button to turn the console on and BAM my game started before my finger even pressed it! #PsychicSwitchUpdate
Didn't notice a thing!
Haven't put a StopWatch to the load test yet.
Part of the reason I didn't notice may be that I'm mostly playing Dragon Quest Builders at the moment, and the animation plays out as normal still. Not that I normally take any notice of it anyway.
Update 53.0.0.1: games boot before the console.
The Switch Pro was always with us...
i think it got a tad bit faster with pokemon sword.
can't really tell d̶e̶s̶p̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶'̶v̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶s̶o̶f̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶h̶i̶n̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶g̶i̶e̶l̶e̶k̶i̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶p̶o̶r̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶t̶h̶
I haven't noticed a performance boost yet, but what I have noticed is the awful excuse for Bluetooth audio support.
I just did some comparison testing a pair of Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones that support aptX (low latency) with my Switch and Switch Lite. I compared the new Bluetooth audio to using a third party USB-C audio module I bought for the Switch over a year ago. The third party module also supports aptX.
There's a VERY noticable difference in latency between the two. I wish I had a way of measuring it scientifically. I'd love to publish some hard numbers.
I didn't even add any additional controllers and I tested the regular Switch with my pro controller hardwired via USB to make sure I ruled out any controller related interference.
This is bad bad bad. They had so much time to work on this. What have they been doing???
The fact that the update was so quick tells us that the actual code has been on the Switch for at least the past update or two. Maybe more. This was just a simple flipping a bit to turn it on. Maybe it should go back in the oven until version 20?
@Cyberjew Agreed. I own some Sony XM4s and the connection quality to the Switch is downright abysmal. Connection is inconsistent and drops out frequently in some games (Pokemon Sword music seemed too much for the console's Bluetooth to handle), and when it's not dropping it suddenly gets VERY choppy. Sounded so terrible that after disconnecting and reconnecting, paring over and over again, I just gave up and went back to using my Bluetooth dongle.
It's insane how garbage the Bluetooth feature has been on this console when it works beautifully on every other next-gen system. Nintendo needs to work on this ASAP.
@IceClimbersMain Yes, in Yuzu on PC.
That 13.0.0 update must have included some really solid memory optimizations.
Dragonball Fighters still takes a while to load, though...
And so does Skyrim.
@Ventilator On cool, piracy.
Oh, erm, I mean, 'emulation from legally purchased and backed up copies of physical media', of course.
@Iggy-Koopa I don't like piracy, but i have 100% backup of all my Wii U and Switch games. Around 250 purchased games on Wii U, and 200 on Switch.
Many of them runs better in a PC emulator than on consoles.
On top of it, option for 4K.
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