The Nintendo Switch has a show problem.

This isn’t quality for Switch fans (or haters). The limitations of its humble Nvidia Tegra X1 spot were disposable successful aboriginal exclusives similar Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which ran astatine 720p docked yet sometimes dipped beneath 30 frames per second. Still, the issues were seldom distracting.

But today, six years aft the Switch’s release, the cracks disposable astatine motorboat person widened into gaping fissures—sometimes, literally.

IGN’s Rebekah Valentine saw this first-hand portion reviewing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. “These games tally similar garbage,” she says. “There are besides tons of bizarre clipping issues wherever Pokémon tin get caught successful walls oregon underground, oregon the camera gets stuck astatine an unusual space and amusement an bare void connected fractional the screen.”

The issues are excessively galore to item present (read her reappraisal for the afloat scoop), but casual to summarize. They’re bad. So atrocious they sour what should beryllium a refreshing open-world rotation connected Game Freak’s accustomed Pokémon formula.

It's Not Just Pokémon

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are singularly unspeakable examples of however modern Switch games perform, but they’re not the lone games that struggle.

Bayonetta 3 ambitiously targets 60 FPS but falls short, with galore detours to 45 FPS and below. The Switch larboard of Sonic Frontiers is drastically scaled back, moving astatine oregon somewhat beneath 30 FPS and suffering large entity pop-in besides. Some publishers, specified arsenic Square Enix, person fixed up connected “real” Switch ports of graphically demanding games similar Kingdom Hearts III, alternatively releasing cloud versions that watercourse the crippled from a distant server.

It's not each atrocious news. Splatoon 3 achieves a unchangeable 60 frames per 2nd successful gameplay (though the metropolis sections are 30 FPS) and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 runs astatine a overmuch much unchangeable 30 FPS than its predecessor.

Yet these improvements are tiny comfortableness to Switch fans hoping for ports of Elden Ring oregon Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. These games, on with galore others released connected the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, are improbable to ever spot a Switch release. The spread betwixt the Switch’s capabilities, and that of its competitors, is excessively wide for astir developers to bridge.

It’s a problem, but not a surprise. The Nintendo Switch is six years old. The Nvidia Tegra X1 spot that powers it is adjacent older: it was archetypal released successful 2015, meaning it was already a spot retired of day erstwhile Nintendo released the Switch. A 2019 spot revision improved efficiency, boosting the artillery beingness of caller Switch consoles, but show was unchanged.

The Switch’s lackluster show mightiness beryllium a contributor to slowing sales. Though a deed for Nintendo with implicit 114 cardinal consoles sold truthful far, Switch income person mislaid steam successful the past year and the PlayStation 5 has outpaced the Switch successful caller months (in the United States, astatine least). Nintendo blames this connected production, not demand—but that mentation feels incomplete with Switch consoles routinely in-stock astatine large retailers.

What would a Switch Pro bash for you, really?

Declining income of Switch hardware contrasts with its continuing dominance successful software. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sold 10 cardinal copies successful their archetypal fewer days. According to NPD’s latest October report, six retired of the 20 best-selling games successful the U.S. were Switch exclusives (another, NieR: Automata, landed its spot due to the fact that of a caller Switch release).

Gamers privation to play Switch exclusives. We’d conscionable similar to bash it connected amended hardware. So, what mightiness a Switch Pro deliver?

The astir evident improvements would beryllium successful solution and framerate. First, the atrocious news: a Switch Pro volition conflict to grip 4K astatine 30 FPS, ne'er caput 60 FPS. Yet the existent Switch is truthful acold down the curve that much meager improvements volition look impressive. The astir ambitious Switch games are moving astatine 720p to 900p solution successful docked mode and, contempt that, galore besides instrumentality to 30 FPS. A accordant 1080p astatine 60 FPS would consciousness similar a win.

A Switch Pro could besides enactment exertion the existent exemplary doesn’t, specified arsenic HDR and Adaptive Sync. The second could beryllium particularly utile if implemented well. Adaptive Sync would creaseless retired insignificant detours beneath a 60 FPS, making specified dips imperceptible to players.

And don’t hide instrumentality learning. Nvidia DLSS 2 uses neural rendering to upscale games with unthinkable results. Nvidia DLSS 3 tin adjacent insert new, AI-generated frames. DLSS 3’s show mode tin usage AI to make up to 7 retired of each 8 pixels disposable successful a 4K representation which, successful a best-case scenario, tin amended show by up to 5x implicit autochthonal rendering. It’s a large acceptable for a power-constrained instrumentality similar a caller Nintendo Switch…in theory, astatine least.

The occurrence spot doesn't exist. Yet.

Gamers privation an upgrade and Nintendo needs to boost sagging hardware sales. Surely, a Switch Pro is connected the cusp of announcement. Right?

Maybe not.

Switch fans are each excessively acquainted with hopeful rumors. The Switch Pro was astir to get successful 2019, past 2020, past 2021. These rumors were enactment to remainder by the Nintendo Switch OLED, which arrived past twelvemonth with a gorgeous caller surface and the aforesaid aged silicon.

I wasn’t amazed by this determination for a elemental reason: it was ne'er wide what, exactly, would powerfulness the alleged Switch Pro. The Switch’s unsocial hybrid plan binds it to a overmuch little powerfulness people than the hardware successful competing consoles, which means the designs recovered successful different consoles, arsenic good arsenic gaming laptops, won’t enactment for the Switch.

The concern is analyzable by Nvidia’s determination to displacement gears connected Tegra. It primitively launched to vie successful user devices with ARM marketplace leaders similar Qualcomm (the archetypal Tegra-powered merchandise was the Microsoft Zune HD), but it stalled. So, Nvidia switched tactics. The lineage is present referenced by names similar Xavier and Orin and focuses connected automotive, industrial, and robotics with an accent connected instrumentality learning. These caller chips, which people a broader scope of powerfulness depletion and connection important I/O connectivity, are a little evident acceptable for a portable crippled console.

That’s not to accidental it can’t happen. The slightest almighty Nvidia Jetson Nano and Jetson Orin Nano chips people a thermal plan powerfulness from 5 to 15 watts, which is suitable for the Switch. The astir caller Switch Pro rumors thin connected a customized chip, codenamed T239 (the “T” is for Tegra) based disconnected Nvidia’s Orin. This feels plausible: the cost, dice size, and powerfulness gully of the spot each look on-target. A variant of Orin Nano could astir apt grip 1080p astatine 60 FPS, albeit successful much graphically humble games. It besides has the imaginable to adhd features Nintendo fans crave including HDR, adaptive sync, DLSS, and ray tracing.

Custom chips instrumentality time, however—and the much customization needed, the much clip required. If the rumors surrounding the T239 beryllium true, Nintendo and Nvidia started enactment connected it astir mid-2021 (the archetypal notation to it appeared connected Twitter successful June of past year). But these leaks lone impact APIs and Linux kernel updates, which is little convincing than prototype hardware, leaked plans for spot production, oregon dice shots.

Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa has besides gone connected grounds saying determination volition beryllium nary caller hardware successful the company’s existent fiscal year, which continues until April of 2023. It’s imaginable that Nintendo and Nvidia are keeping secrets and volition astonishment motorboat a Switch Pro successful summertime of 2023, but that would beryllium an assertive timeline for a Switch sequel that’s not yet officially announced, oregon adjacent hinted. Belief successful specified miracles requires an unhealthy dose of hopium.

So, buckle up, Nintendo fans: it looks similar we person astatine slightest different twelvemonth of questionable Switch show to conflict through.