A recently discovered Nintendo Patent outlines how the company could use AI upscaling in its Switch successor.
The patent, originally filed in July 2023 but made public this week describes a machine-learning system that can improve the resolution of images. This AI upscaling method is similar to Nvidia’s DLSS (deep-learning super sampling) and would allow developers achieve better technical performance with less powerful hardware. Many consoles use AI upscaling, including the recently released $959 PS5 pro.
It’s easy to understand how this technology would benefit Nintendo’s next-generation console, also known as the Switch 2. After all, Nintendo has traditionally avoided having beefier components, which has kept some of the most demanding third-party games off consoles such as the Switch. AI upscaling allows developers to upscale to 4K resolution without having to use native 4K components. Nintendo mentions specifically upscaling 540p to a 1080p resolution and 1080p a 4K.
AI upscaling can also reduce the size of games, which is useful for a system such as the Switch 2, which is expected to be portable like its predecessor. Laura Kate Dale noted in Bluesky that the Nintendo patent explains upscaling, which would allow modern games to be fit on “smaller capacity physical medium” like Switch game carts.
Nintendo’s patent states that a native 1080p version may only require 20GB of storage, while a native 4K version could require 60GB. The AI upscaling would then be able to bump the game to 4K without increasing the storage requirement. This would also fit within the current 32GB limit for Switch carts. However, it is unclear whether Nintendo plans to increase this capacity with the next console.
This AI upscaling has significant implications for the next Nintendo Console, especially in terms of third-party game support. Square Enix, for example, used Nintendo’s cloud technology to stream its game to the console-handheld hybrid.Kingdom Hearts IIIRemedy’s Control IO Interactive’s Hitman 3 It remains to see how AI upscaling will drive more third-party developers to bring their games natively to the Switch 2, as well as how it might improve Nintendo’s own first-party games, which tend to favor colourful and stylized cartoonish graphics.
The patent follows a series of Switch 2 leaks. A reported image of the Switch 2 motherboard was also posted online earlier this week. It seemed to confirm, among other rumours and rumors, that a second USB port would be included. This leak and previous ones all suggest that the Switch 2 is a slightly larger version of the Switch with magnetic Joy-Cons, and a mysterious ‘C’ on the right Joy-Con.
Nintendo has only released two official pieces regarding the Switch 2. The first was in May last year when Nintendo finally admitted that it is working on a successor for the Switch. A formal reveal would come before the end its fiscal year, March 31st 2025. The second announcement came in November, when the company confirmed that the Switch 2 would feature backwards compatibility.
The clock is ticking as we approach April in less than three months.
Via: VGC
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