New year, new Switch 2 leaks. While Nintendo's plans for its Switch successor officially remain under wraps, a company patent has emerged detailing plans to use upscaling technology to include games with up to 4K textures on cartridges of physical games.
The patent describes a technology similar to Nvidia's DLSS, or PlayStation 5 Pro's PSSR, to enhance visuals using AI. A key advantage listed here is reducing the size of games that would otherwise include significant native 4K assets. This helps keep download sizes small and also allows these games to fit on moderately sized physical media.
Nintendo's patent dates back to July 2023, but it was not publicly published until this week. As noted by industry consultant Laura Kate Dale, the patent suggests that “a game with native 4K textures might require a 60GB download, but a native 1080 version might only need 20GB (which would allow it to fit on a cart). 32 GB Switch, the current maximum size)”.
The news comes as a new leak shows our best look yet at what appears to be the internal components of the Switch 2. The images match what we know about the size and internal composition of the device from past leaks, including a look predating the Switch 2's motherboard and the suggestion that the console will have a second USB port on the top of the device.
Change 2 motherboard
byu/MHN1994 on NintendoSwitch2
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Nintendo has previously said that it will announce Switch 2 before the end of its current financial year, on March 31. But much of the console's design can now be assumed: all signs point to it being a slightly larger version of the current Switch, with magnetic Joy-Con and a mysterious new “C” button on the right Joy-Con.
“Nintendo won't have much time in January, so a possible announcement at the beginning of the month could make sense,” industry analyst Serkan Toto told Eurogamer last month. “You can bet that Nintendo is aware of all the leaks and is not happy about them, even if some of them turn out to be made up. In reality, things are getting so bad with those leaks that they could cause Nintendo to release information sooner than planned.”