How Nintendo and Nvidia could bring 4K to the Super Nintendo Switch

The rumors of the Super Nintendo Switch are back thanks to a new report from Bloomberg. You can read what rating editor Mike Minotti thinks the system needs here. The Bloomberg story states that Nintendo is acquiring new 7-inch 720p OLED screens from Samsung for the updated device. And then the system will target 4K in docked mode.

This joins a long line of rumors related to a switch update that would increase the capabilities of the hardware. But how is it possible for the Switch to render games in 4K – after all, the current hardware struggles to run at 1080p.

Let’s look at some of the options available to Nintendo. This includes significantly upgrading the hardware, implementing Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and a variety of post-processing and video tricks. And then we will try to find out which one is the most realistic.

A next-generation Switch processor with superpower

One possibility is that Nintendo will release a Switch with an ultra-powerful Nvidia GPU. 2021 switch models are still using the Tegra X1 design that debuted in 2015. And since then, Nvidia has not only reduced the size of its chips, but has also introduced several new generations of architectures.

This means that Nvidia and Nintendo could design a new system on a chip (SOC) with significantly more power and efficiency than the X1. Maybe even enough to make some games – like the original Nintendo releases – running at 4K60.

How realistic is that?

A next-generation Tegra is inevitable, but it’s not the kind of thing that makes a lot of sense for a Switch upgrade. Completely new SOCs are expensive and Nintendo wants to improve the profitability of its hardware at this point in the generation cycle. In addition, there is still a lot that Nintendo can do with the current architecture for more power and efficiency.

So don’t expect the so-called Switch Pro to follow that path.

DLSS on the switch

DLSS is Nvidia’s magical image reconstruction technology. It is capable of taking a 1080p image and enlarging it to a 4K image without losing details. In some cases, the deep learning model is so effective that DLSS 4K includes more details than native 4K.

How realistic is that?

This seems more likely than a next-generation Switch processor, but it is not a straightforward scam. DLSS relies on Nvidia’s specialized Tensor computing cores and the Tegra SOC on the Switch has no Tensor cores. But I wouldn’t say that means that Nvidia wouldn’t find out how to add them.

It is possible that Nintendo and Nvidia may choose to move the Tegra X1 from the current 16nm TSMC manufacturing process to TSMC’s 7nm process or Samsung’s 8nm process. In both cases, this would significantly reduce the size of the matrix and create space for dedicated Tensor cores. An added benefit of this is that it would also dramatically improve the efficiency of the Switch SOC, and Nintendo could use this to increase clocks, using less battery and generating less heat.

Nvidia AI upscaling

Nvidia has other AI upscaling technique cleverly called AI Upscaling. The company uses this to make 480p images look sharp at 1080p and even 4K on its Nvidia Shield decoder. You can see that the details are significantly sharper in the streaming content in the video below.

How realistic is that?

Scaling up AI seems to be the right answer at first. It is already running on Nvidia Shield, which uses the same Tegra X1 processor as the Nintendo Switch. But it is possible that this technique does not work so well with games.

At Shield, Nvidia only uses it with content like YouTube video and Hulu movies / shows. My guess is that, as with a lot of image processing, increasing the AI ​​scale introduces an unacceptable delay. This would prevent it from working with Switch games.

Of course, it is possible that Nvidia and Nintendo could adjust a version of it to work for games. But we saw no evidence of that.

Image processor

Another possible solution is something like a post-processing add-on chip. Nintendo could build an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) on the switch dock that specifically deals with scaling up and improving the video signal to 4K. Something like this is already possible with devices from a company called Marseille. Your MClassic dongle can upscale an image from 720p or 1080p to 1440p while adding contextual anti-aliasing, color enhancements and image clarity.

I still use MClassic with my switch on a 4K TV to this day, and that makes a big difference. The image is much cleaner.

How realistic is that?

This idea works very well on paper. Put something like an MClassic inside the dock to get 4K, but it doesn’t really fit with what we know. Nintendo is telling developers to prepare their games for 4K, and an upscaler inside the dock would not require them to change their games that way. In addition, a post-processing ASIC would only improve the game in docked mode. I think Nintendo will want to improve the performance of the Switch on notebooks as well.

Nintendo will do what’s cheap and easy

It is important to remember what the purpose of a hardware revision is. This is not a new generation of hardware. Nintendo wants to save money, keep demand high and keep the average selling price high. And it wants to do this at the same time that its biggest fans subsidize the distribution of more Switch systems. Therefore, Nintendo just needs to do enough for its most loyal customers to update so that we can sell our older Switch systems or give them to friends or family.

While Nintendo was sketching out what a Super Nintendo Switch would look like, it just needs to find a list of features that look good on paper. This means bringing buzzwords like “4K” and “OLED” and maybe even “HDR”. Then he will look for the easiest and cheapest way to come up with those buzzwords.

So what do I think this is? Surprisingly, I think it is a more efficient form of SOC with Tensor cores for DLSS. Nvidia wants to continue to push DLSS before AMD’s open competitor has a chance to launch on Radeon consoles and GPUs. And one way to expand support for DLSS as an industry standard is to get it up and running on one of the fastest selling consoles of all time.

Nvidia’s motivations would line up well with a Switch update, and Nintendo can reap the benefits without having to force the issue.