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Just a little bit extra to share: When Nintendo unveiled the Swap 2, it was imprecise in regards to the chip powering the gadget, solely mentioning that it was a customized design from Nvidia. It did not checklist any specs apart from normal data – as much as 120fps on gadget, 4K at 60fps, VRR, and so on. Fortunately, Nvidia has shed just a little extra mild on the topic.
Nvidia has posted a weblog highlighting the options supplied by their {hardware} powering the Swap 2 past the data Nintendo offered. Amongst them is ray tracing help.
Whereas ray tracing can be out there on different consoles, it took some time for builders to begin truly utilizing it. Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Cyberpunk 2077 had been a few the primary titles to implement RT within the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Sequence X. The Shortcut notes that as of January, the checklist of PS5 titles with RT help has grown to 58. Nevertheless, some solely supply ray tracing on the PS5 Pro version.
One other bragging proper Nintendo can declare is DLSS help, now a mainstay for desktop gaming. Group Crimson’s platform-agnostic different, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), has lately trickled into gaming laptops, consoles, and handheld PCs. Each applied sciences permit techniques to extend picture high quality whereas sustaining efficiency, however Swap 2 is the primary gaming handheld to supply Nvidia’s arguably superior DLSS. Due to its Tensor Cores, Nvidia claims Nintendo’s hybrid has 10 occasions the graphical efficiency of the unique Swap.
All of this appears to be like nice on paper, however this is the rub. Whereas having DLSS and ray tracing on the Swap 2 is a plus, it is as much as builders to implement it. We aren’t simply going to see video games leveraging these options instantly. It took a while for studios to prioritize it in PS5 and XBSX video games. Rockstar did not add it to GTA 5 until 2022 – two years after the consoles debuted. It would possible take even longer earlier than builders implement them on a tool with a relatively smaller display screen.
Even contemplating the increase in decision the Swap 2 affords whereas docked to a TV, there’s a onerous push to market the gadget as a handheld gaming unit. Its 8-inch show at 120fps in 1080p is greater than satisfactory for that use case. So, builders in all probability will not rush to implement DLSS and RT in patches or new video games for some time. Nvidia did not point out any video games in improvement that will implement both know-how.
The extra urgent issues with the Swap 2 are its value level and that of its video games. At $450 for sub-console efficiency, many Swap homeowners are taking a tough go on the upgraded mannequin. Nintendo’s new $70 to $80 target for brand new and beforehand launched video games has additionally raised many followers’ hackles. Whereas the gadget is clearly a succesful handheld, it isn’t on par with dwelling consoles besides in its value.
